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Objectives: Early detection of cognitive impairment is essential for timely intervention. Currently, most widely used cognitive screening tests are influenced by language and cultural differences; therefore, there is a need for the development of a language‐neutral, visual‐based cognitive assessment tool. The Visual Cognitive Assessment Test (VCAT), a 30‐point test that assesses memory, executive function, visuospatial function, attention, and language, has demonstrated its utility in a multilingual population. In this study, we evaluated the reliability, validity, and diagnostic performance of the VCAT for screening early cognitive impairment in Chongqing, China Methods: A total of 134 individuals (49 healthy controls (HCs), 52 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 33 with mild dementia) completed the Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), VCAT, and domain‐specific neuropsychological assessments. The diagnostic performances of MMSE, MoCA, and VCAT were evaluated using the area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity. Construct validity of the VCAT was assessed with well‐established domain‐specific cognitive assessments. Reliability was measured using Cronbach's alpha. Results: The VCAT and its subdomains demonstrated both good construct validity and internal consistency (α = 0.577). The performance of VCAT was comparable to that of MoCA and MMSE in differentiating mild dementia from nondemented groups (AUC: 0.940 vs. 0.902 and 0.977, respectively; p =.098 and.053) and in distinguishing cognitive impairment (CI) from HC (AUC: 0.929 vs. 0.899 and 0.891, respectively; p =.239 and.161), adjusted for education level. The optimal score range for VCAT in determining dementia, MCI, and HC was 0–14, 15–19, and 20–30, respectively. Conclusion: The VCAT proves to be a reliable screening test for early cognitive impairment within our cohort. Being both language and cultural neutral, the VCAT has the potential to be utilized among a wider population within China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Scrub typhus is an increasingly serious public health problem, which is becoming the most common vector‐borne disease in Guangzhou. This study aimed to analyse the correlation between scrub typhus incidence and potential factors and rank the importance of influential factors. Methods: We collected monthly scrub typhus cases, meteorological variables, rodent density (RD), Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and land use type in Guangzhou from 2006 to 2019. Correlation analysis and a random forest model were used to identify the risk factors for scrub typhus and predict the importance rank of influencing factors related to scrub typhus incidence. Results: The epidemiological results of the scrub typhus cases in Guangzhou between 2006 and 2019 showed that the incidence rate was on the rise. The results of correlation analysis revealed that a positive relationship between scrub typhus incidence and meteorological factors of mean temperature (Tmean), accumulative rainfall (RF), relative humidity (RH), sunshine hours (SH), and NDVI, RD, population density, and green land coverage area (all p < 0.001). Additionally, we tested the relationship between the incidence of scrub typhus and the lagging meteorological factors through cross‐correlation function, and found that incidence was positively correlated with 1‐month lag Tmean, 2‐month lag RF, 2‐month lag RH, and 6‐month lag SH (all p < 0.001). Based on the random forest model, we found that the Tmean was the most important predictor among the influential factors, followed by NDVI. Conclusions: Meteorological factors, NDVI, RD, and land use type jointly affect the incidence of scrub typhus in Guangzhou. Our results provide a better understanding of the influential factors correlated with scrub typus, which can improve our capacity for biological monitoring and help public health authorities to formulate disease control strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Altered expressions of genes in immune cells and synovial tissues are involved in the pathology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Long noncoding RNAs act as competing endogenous RNAs and can cause immune disorders. The goal of this study was to reveal the association between noncoding RNA linc00324 and RA, and a plausible action mechanism was proposed. Methods: RT‐qPCR was used to evaluate the expression of linc00324 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from 50 RA patients and 50 healthy controls, and the correlations between linc00324 level and the clinical indicators were analyzed. Flow cytometry was used to characterize CD4+ T cells. The effects of linc00324 on cytokine production and cell proliferation of CD4+ T cells were evaluated by ELISA assay and Western blot. The interaction between linc00324 and miR‐10a‐5p was investigated by RNA immunoprecipitation and dual‐luciferase assays. Results: The linc00324 expression was significantly enhanced in RA patients, and linc00324 expression was positively correlated with rheumatoid factor and CD4+ T cells. Overexpression of linc00324 promoted CD4+ T cells proliferation, and enhanced chemokine MIP‐1α secretion and NF‐κB phosphorylation level, whereas knockout of linc00324 blocked CD4+ T cell proliferation and NF‐κB phosphorylation. Overexpression of miR‐10a‐5p led to the decrease of CD4+ T cells proliferation and NF‐κB phosphorylation, and reversed the effects of linc00324 on cell proliferation and NF‐κB activity. Conclusion: Linc00324 was upregulated in RA and may exaggerate inflammation by targeting miR‐10a‐5p through NF‐κB signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The highly sluggish kinetics of oxygen reduction/evolution reactions (ORR/OER) at air cathodes lead to problems such as low power density and unsatisfactory cycling life with rechargeable Zn–air batteries (RZABs). To engineer the reaction kinetics at the air cathodes, a hydrophobic–aerophilic strategy is developed to fabricate a self‐supported air cathode based on CoS/Fe3S4 nanoparticles encapsulated in S, N co‐doped carbon plate arrays (CoS/Fe3S4@SNCP). It is experimentally shown that the in situ growth of bimetallic sulfides nanoparticles on the carbon plate arrays improves the intrinsic electrocatalytic activity and electron conduction of the air cathode. Meanwhile, the ab initio molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the hydrophobic–aerophilic surface can repel water molecules to create abundant solid–liquid–gas three‐phase reaction interfaces as well as to expose Fe‐sites, which consequently promote the diffusion of reactive molecules/ions across the interface and the oxygen adsorption. As a result, the CoS/Fe3S4@SNCP electrode exhibits excellent OER and ORR activities with a smaller potential gap of 0.65 V. For the engineered hydrophobicity of the catalyst, the RZAB demonstrates a high power density of 272 mW cm−2, a narrow discharge/charge gap of 0.75 V at 10 mA cm−2, and long‐term cycling stability over 1400 h, outperforming its hydrophilic CoS@SNCP counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: For efficient use of available synthesised nematicides, bioassay-guided analysis is required to understand the behaviours of nematicides. In this study, the key nematicides on the market, including avermectin B1a, avermectin B2a, emamectin benzoate, fluensulfone, fluopyram and fosthiazate, were evaluated by both in vitro and in planta approaches with optimised solvent and nematode inoculum. We found that acetone was the only one of the six solvents tested safe for both root-knot nematode (RKN) second-stage juveniles (J2) and cucumber at the tested concentration. The optimal numbers of RKN J2 for inoculation on cucumber seedlings in the glass-tube assay, cup assay and microplot experiment were 200, 700 and 1250, respectively. No obvious phytotoxicity symptoms were observed in the in planta assays for all nematicides selected at the tested concentration in the soil drench application. When the substrate changed from pure sand to matrix-sand, the EC50 and EC90 of all six nematicides increased. Among them, fluopyram rose the most. In the microplot experiment, avermectin B2a showed the lowest EC50 but the EC90 of avermectin B2a, fluensulfone, fluopyram and fosthiazate were similar. The results are useful as a guide to the application of commonly used nematicides in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Poor cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC) has been proposed to be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. However, current evidence is inconsistent, especially in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. This meta-analysis aims to identify whether CEC is impaired or altered by drug therapy in RA. Methods: The PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library and ClinicalTrials.gov databases were browsed to identify studies on CEC in RA patients. The searches mainly focused on studies in human subjects that were published before November 14, 2020, without any language restrictions. The effect size was pooled by the standardized mean differences and mean differences (SMD & MD) as well as the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) in a random or fixed effect model. Heterogeneity across the studies was tested using Cochran's Q test and I2 statistic. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and the Downs and Black scale (D&B) were applied to evaluate the quality of included studies. The GRADE-system with its 4-grade evidence scale was used to assess the quality of evidence. Results: A total of 11 eligible articles, including 6 observational and 5 interventional studies, were retrieved. The pooled results showed that in patients with RA, CEC was not significantly different than in healthy controls (SMD: -0.34, 95% CI: − 0.83 to 0.14), whereas the plasma HDL-C levels was significantly lower (MD: -3.91, 95% CI: − 7.15 to − 0.68). Furthermore, in the before-after studies, the CEC of RA patients (SMD: 0.20, 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.37) increased, but the plasma HDL-C levels (MD: 3.63, 95% CI: − 0.13 to 7.39) remained at a comparable quantity after anti-rheumatic treatment comparing with the baseline. In addition, the funnel plot of included studies displayed a lightly asymmetry, while Egger's and Begg's test did not suggest the existence of publication bias. The quality of evidence was rated according to GRADE as moderate to very low. Conclusion: The current meta-analysis demonstrated that HDL-mediated CEC can be improved by the early control of inflammation and anti-rheumatic treatment in RA patients, which is independent of the plasma HDL-C levels. However, the results should be interpreted with caution because of low-quality and limited quantity of evidence. Future randomized controlled trials are needed to determine whether therapeutic strategies to enhance CEC in RA patients have beneficial effects for preventing CVD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The utilization of computer vision technology and automation for monitoring and collecting pigeon eggs is of significant importance for improving labor productivity and the breeding of egg-producing pigeons. Currently, research both domestically and internationally has predominantly focused on the detection of eggs from poultry such as chickens, ducks, and geese, leaving pigeon egg recognition largely unexplored. This study proposes an effective and lightweight network model, YOLOv8-PG, based on YOLOv8n, which maintains high detection accuracy while reducing the model's parameter count and computational load. This approach facilitates cost reduction in deployment and enhances feasibility for implementation on mobile robotic platforms. In response to the high breakage rate of pigeon eggs and the significant labor costs associated with egg-producing pigeon farming, this study proposes an improved YOLOv8-PG (real versus fake pigeon egg detection) model based on YOLOv8n. Specifically, the Bottleneck in the C2f module of the YOLOv8n backbone network and neck network are replaced with Fasternet-EMA Block and Fasternet Block, respectively. The Fasternet Block is designed based on PConv (Partial Convolution) to reduce model parameter count and computational load efficiently. Furthermore, the incorporation of the EMA (Efficient Multi-scale Attention) mechanism helps mitigate interference from complex environments on pigeon-egg feature-extraction capabilities. Additionally, Dysample, an ultra-lightweight and effective upsampler, is introduced into the neck network to further enhance performance with lower computational overhead. Finally, the EXPMA (exponential moving average) concept is employed to optimize the SlideLoss and propose the EMASlideLoss classification loss function, addressing the issue of imbalanced data samples and enhancing the model's robustness. The experimental results showed that the F1-score, mAP50-95, and mAP75 of YOLOv8-PG increased by 0.76%, 1.56%, and 4.45%, respectively, compared with the baseline YOLOv8n model. Moreover, the model's parameter count and computational load are reduced by 24.69% and 22.89%, respectively. Compared to detection models such as Faster R-CNN, YOLOv5s, YOLOv7, and YOLOv8s, YOLOv8-PG exhibits superior performance. Additionally, the reduction in parameter count and computational load contributes to lowering the model deployment costs and facilitates its implementation on mobile robotic platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Analyzed the types and characteristics of multi-agricultural scenes. • Summarized the principles and models of agricultural autonomous navigation technology. • Summarized the agricultural autonomous navigation system and its architecture. • Summarized the research status of autonomous navigation technology in multi-agricultural scenes. • Development challenges and future trends of autonomous navigation technology in multi-agricultural scenes are reported. Due to the increasing demand for food, the global shortage of agricultural labor and the reduction in the utilization of agricultural resources, the demand for agricultural autonomous navigation technology and equipment has become increasingly urgent. Compared to the closed express structured environment for self-driving cars, the agricultural scene is complex and diverse, and its navigation modes and core technologies are also significantly different. In view of this, it is of great value to summarize the development characteristics and trends of autonomous navigation technology in fields, orchards, greenhouses and other scenarios. In this paper, (1) firstly, the types and characteristics of multi-agricultural scenes are analyzed, the principle and mode of agricultural autonomous navigation are expounded, and the agricultural autonomous navigation system and architecture are introduced; (2) secondly, the research status of autonomous navigation technology in open field agriculture, orchard agriculture, facility agriculture, livestock and poultry agriculture and aquatic agriculture is investigated; (3) finally, it is predicted that the differentiated autonomous navigation technology scheme for multi-scene agriculture, multi-dimensional perception, self-understanding navigation technology in agricultural scenarios, selective autonomous navigation technology for task self-matching fusion, the cooperative autonomous navigation technology for multi machine ad hoc network clusters, and the fault self-checking remote diagnosis navigation system are the future research hotspots and development trends. At the same time, it is clear that the in-depth practical application of artificial intelligence, the in-depth research and development of high-precision and low-cost sensors, and the collaborative integration technology of agricultural machinery and agronomy are the critical path to promote the breakthrough of agricultural autonomous navigation technology. The summary and prospect of this paper have positive significance for promoting the overall development of agricultural autonomous navigation technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Pulsed micro-discharge ambient ionization mass spectrometry was developed for direct surface analysis. Highlights • Pulsed micro-discharge ambient ionization MS was developed for direct analysis. • The source with simple apparatus requires no solvent and auxiliary gas. • Sharp tip reduces the discharge volume and results in a crater of 60 μm in diameter. • Sensitive detection and imaging of atrazine infiltrated in plant tissue was achieved. Abstract A method named pulsed micro-discharge ambient ionization mass spectrometry (PMD-AIMS) was developed for direct surface analysis with simple apparatus. In PMD-AIMS, micro-discharges is generated between a copper plate and a tungsten needle with pulsed high voltage applied, in which the analyte on the surface of copper plate is desorbed and ionized, then drawn to the inlet of the mass spectrometer. In this experiment, the tungsten needle was fabricated via an electrochemical method with sharp apex to reduce the volume of the discharge. The experimental parameters were optimized to achieve a high sensitivity and high spatial resolution for mass spectrometry imaging. LOD (S/N = 3) was determined to be 20 ng/ml for atrazine on the yam and 1 ng/ml for atrazine on the copper plate with a lateral resolution of 60 μm. The PMD-AIMS technique was further applied for the rapid detection of the residual herbicide on epidermis. The distribution of the herbicide in plant tissue was investigated with mass spectrometry imaging. The results indicate that PMD-AIMS is a sensitive analytical technique with the capability of mass spectrometry imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Without discourse connectives, implicit discourse relations recognition (IDRR) remains a challenging task and has attracted increasing attention. However, most studies ignore the issues of class imbalance and data noise. To alleviate these two problems, in this paper, we propose to improve the robustness of IDRR models with two novel meta-learning based instance manipulation networks: Meta-Weight-Net (MW-Net) and Meta-Label-Net (ML-Net), which adaptively control the effect of training instances and smooth the label distributions during model training, respectively. Specifically, we use MW-Net to adaptively learn an instance weight function directly from data and integrates the instance weights into the objective function of IDRR. Meanwhile, we adopt ML-Net to dynamically refine the label distributions, leading to the smaller variance in updating gradients. We conduct experiments on the PDTB 2.0 corpus. Experimental results and in-depth analysis empirically demonstrate the effectiveness of our networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• For the low contrast feature pain points of the color and texture of rice and wheat at the maturity stage, build a grain lodging region extraction strategy based on the depth point cloud data. • Adopt single depth point cloud data to synchronously extract multi feature data such as lodging boundary degree direction, which simplifies the difficulty of the algorithm and improves the robustness of the algorithm. • The hardware structure of the single depth vision system is simple, while avoiding the cumbersome technical processing processes such as multi-sensor detection coordinate system I, time registration and space registration, so as to better meet the needs of agricultural production practice. The phenomenon of grain lodging significantly affects the low-loss harvesting performance of automatic drive harvesters, and it has become an objective trend to simultaneously detect multi-feature grain lodging information with machines in the field. In order to solve the problem of high harvest loss in grain lodging areas, we propose a new method for synchronous detection of grain lodging multi-feature information based on 3D point cloud data of a depth camera, in order to realize adaptive regulation of unmanned and low-loss harvesting. The multi-feature information of lodging grain is composed of lodging position, degree and direction, which can provide effective support information for the adaptive regulation of automatic driving harvesters. For the scene of grain harvesting operation with low contrast characteristics, we make full use of the environmental characteristics of the lodging areas that are located in the non-lodged area, and construct a synchronous airborne extraction strategy for grain lodging multi-feature information. The test results show that the maximum detection error of the lodging degree is less than 9.0 cm, and the minimum detection error is better than 1.0 cm; the maximum detection error of the lodging direction is not more than 9.0°, the minimum detection error is less than 1.0°, the maximum harvesting height error is less than 5.0 cm, and the minimum harvesting height error is less than 5.0 cm. Better than 2.0 cm. Our method provides an effective solution for synchronous airborne detection of multi-feature grain lodging information, which can significantly reduce harvest loss in grain lodging areas, and is expected to accelerate the development of truly unmanned harvesting operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemoresistance is a significant factor associated with poor outcomes of osteosarcoma patients. The present study aims to identify Chemoresistance-regulated gene signatures and microRNAs (miRNAs) in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The results of Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) included positive regulation of transcription, DNA-templated, tryptophan metabolism, and the like. Then differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were uploaded to Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) to construct protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks, and 9 hub genes were screened, such as fucosyltransferase 3 (Lewis blood group) (FUT3) whose expression in chemoresistant samples was high, but with a better prognosis in osteosarcoma patients. Furthermore, the connection between DEGs and differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) was explored. GEO2R was utilized to screen out DEGs and DEMs. A total of 668 DEGs and 5 DEMs were extracted from GSE7437 and GSE30934 differentiating samples of poor and good chemotherapy reaction patients. The Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) was used to perform GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis to identify potential pathways and functional annotations linked with osteosarcoma chemoresistance. The present study may provide a deeper understanding about regulatory genes of osteosarcoma chemoresistance and identify potential therapeutic targets for osteosarcoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: carbon plate arrays; CoS; Fe 3S 4; hydrophobic-aerophilic interfaces; rechargeable Zn-air batteries EN carbon plate arrays CoS Fe 3S 4 hydrophobic-aerophilic interfaces rechargeable Zn-air batteries 1 1 1 03/15/23 20230310 NES 230310 B Rechargeable Zinc-Air Batteries b In article number 2204245, Yong Hu and co-workers report an advanced air cathode made of CoS/Fe SB 3 sb S SB 4 sb grown on S, N co-doped carbon plate arrays with hydrophobic-aerophilic properties for high-performance rechargeable Zn-air batteries. Carbon plate arrays, CoS, Fe 3S 4, hydrophobic-aerophilic interfaces, rechargeable Zn-air batteries Engineering Self-Supported Hydrophobic-Aerophilic Air Cathode with CoS/Fe3S4 Nanoparticles Embedded in S, N Co-Doped Carbon Plate Arrays for Long-Life Rechargeable Zn-Air Batteries (Adv. [Extracted from the article]

[Display omitted] • Two distinctive clusters constrained by H-bond were determined by linear extension method. • The transformation from dimer to H-bond cluster till monomer was concentration-determined. • Different model were proposed for different volume fraction of the mixture. • Vibrational coupling induced splitting theory can reproduce the noncoincidence effects. The isotropic and anisotropic component Raman spectra and H NMR of N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP)/carbon tetrachloride and NMP/methanol binary mixture at different volume fractions have been collected. The polarization Raman frequencies and frequency differences of C O stretching vibration for NMP/methanol mixture show unique concentration-dependence and abrupt jump feature. It is found that the H-bond between solute and solvent does not destroy the noncoincidence (NCE) phenomenon, but has a significant synergistic effect on the NCE. Two distinctive clusters constrained by H-bond and intermolecular interactions were easily determined by means of linear extension method from abrupt jump curve. The experimental phenomena can be well explained by aggregation-induced splitting theory with the proposed dimer structure and H-bond cluster model. Applying the same methodology the conformation of NMP in water has been determined successfully. The establishment of this method will play an important role in the determination of biomolecule aggregation behavior and supramolecular self-assembly structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Device-free localization has long been playing a key role in the anti-intrusion applications. However, current multi-target localization solutions mainly use uneconomical equipment, which are not cost-efficient for large-scale scenarios . Moreover, they only consider the line-of-sight (LoS) path signals distorted by the targets, hence can't exactly pinpoint the locations when faced with multipath effects and non-line-of-sight (NLoS), which are typical in real-world deployments. In this paper, we propose FISCP, a fine-grained device-free positioning system for multiple targets working in sparse deployments. The RFID passive tags are employed, which are much cheaper than other devices for localization. Meanwhile, unlike past approaches, which ignore the multipath effects or even take multipath as detrimental, FISCP exploits the dynamic distortion in multipath caused by the targets and considers the distortion as fingerprints for localization. We make a prototype system for FISCP using the commercial off-the-shelf products, including RFID systems and omnidirectional antennas, and develop a software program for the RFID systems. All the experiments are conducted in the deployments where the distance interval between each pair of tags is 1.2 m, and the deployments are sparse with respect to the short communication range of passive RFID systems (from a few meters up to tens of meters). The results of our experiments demonstrate that FISCP is effective in multi-target localization with low localization errors of 0.33 m in average. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delivery of drugs, especially bioactive macromolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids, to the posterior segment is still a significant challenge for pharmaceutical scientists. In the present study, we developed an injectable thermosensitive polymeric hydrogel for sustained release of Avastin ® to treat posterior segment disorders. The payload of Avastin ® to poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA-PEG-PLGA) hydrogel did not influence its inherent sol–gel transition behavior, but shifted the sol–gel transition to a lower temperature. The resulting Avastin ® /PLGA-PEG-PLGA hydrogels had a porous structure (pore size, 100 ∼ 150 μm) as determined by scanning electron microcopy (SEM), facilitating sustained Avastin ® release over a period of up to 14 days in vitro . The PLGA-PEG-PLGA hydrogel was immediately formed in the vitreous humor after intravitreal injection, followed by slow clearance over an 8 week study period. The PLGA-PEG-PLGA hydrogel exhibited no apparent toxicity against retinal tissue, as indicated by the absence of inflammation, retinal necrosis, and stress responses, using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and histological/immunochemical analyses. Electrophysiology (ERG) examination also showed that the PLGA-PEG-PLGA hydrogel did not affect retinal function. In vivo pharmacokinetic studies indicated that the use of the PLGA-PEG-PLGA hydrogel greatly extended the release of Avastin ® over time in the vitreous humor and retina after intravitreal injection. Together, these results demonstrated that the PLGA-PEG-PLGA hydrogel was a promising candidate for ocular drug delivery of Avastin ® via intravitreal injection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Four frequencies have been observed in the VV and VH component Raman spectra of VC. • Established the model for the conjunction of intramolecular and intermolecular vibrational coupling. • Proposed the Schrödinger equation and obtained four energy solutions for the antiparallel alignment mode. • Intramolecular and intermolecular interaction constants have been determined individually at different concentration. • Dimer structure and DFT calculations can reproduce the NCE and concentration effects. The positions of splitting bands resulting from simultaneous intramolecular (such as Fermi resonance) and intermolecular interactions were calculated by a variational method. Hamiltonian calculation model employed an antiparallel arrangement. Four nondegenerate energy solutions were obtained, which correspond exactly to the four peaks observed in polarized Raman spectroscopy and high resolution infrared spectroscopy: two in the VV component and two in the VH component. The intramolecular coupling constant W, unperturbed intensity ratios R, and unperturbed band difference X 0 for vinylene carbonate (VC) were calculated from the derived equations and the experimental data at infinite dilution concentration. Additionally, the intermolecular interaction constants V of VC in different polar solvents (VC/CH 3 CN, VC/CHCl 3 and VC/CH 3 OH binary mixtures) at varying concentrations were calculated. The curvature of V vs concentration was found to fit the Logan model very well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Naphthalene, the most abundant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon in the atmosphere, significantly influences OH consumption and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. Naphthoquinone (NQ) is a significant contributor to ring-retaining SOA from naphthalene degradation, impacting the redox properties and toxicity of ambient particles. However, inconsistencies persist regarding concentrations of its isomers, 1,2-NQ and 1,4-NQ. In present work, our theoretical investigation into naphthalene's reaction with OH and subsequent oxygenation unveils their role in SOA formation. The reaction kinetics of initial OH and subsequent O 2 oxidation was extensively studied using high-level quantum chemical methods (DLPNO-CCSD(T)/aug-ccpVQZ//M052x-D3/6–311++G(d,p)) combined with RRKM/master equation simulations. The reactions mainly proceed through electrophilic addition and abstraction from the aromatic ring. The total rate coefficient of naphthalene + OH at 300 K and 1 atm from our calculation (7.2 × 10−12 cm3 molecule−1 s−1) agrees well with previous measurements (∼1 × 10−11 cm3 molecule−1 s−1). The computed branching ratios facilitate accurate product yield determination. The largest yield of 1-hydroxynaphthalen-1-yl radical (add1) producing the major precursor of RO 2 is computed to be 93.8 % in the ambient environment. Our calculated total rate coefficient (5.2 × 10−16 cm3 molecule−1 s−1) for add1 + O 2 closely matches that of limited experimental data (8.0 × 10−16 cm3 molecule−1 s−1). Peroxy radicals (RO 2) generated from add1 + O 2 include 4- cis/trans -(1-hydroxynaphthalen-1-yl)-peroxy radical (add1-4OO add- cis/trans , 66.0 %/17.5 %), 2- cis/trans -(1-hydroxynaphthalen-1-yl)-peroxy radical (add1-2OO add- cis/trans , 10.3 %/6.3 %). Regarding the debated predominance of 1,4-NQ (corresponding to the parent RO 2 , i.e., add1-4OO add- cis/trans) and 1,2-NQ (corresponding to the parent RO 2 , i.e., add1-2OO add- cis/trans) in the atmosphere, our findings substantiate the dominance of 1,4-NQ. This study also indicates potential weakening of 1,4-NQ's dominance due to competition from decomposition reactions of add1-4OO add- cis/trans and add1-2OO add- cis/trans. Precise reaction kinetics data are essential for characterizing SOA transformation derived from naphthalene and assessing their climatic impacts within modeling frameworks. [Display omitted] • The reactions of naphthalene + OH and subsequent O 2 oxidation mainly proceed through addition and abstraction pathways. • The computed total k of OH and subsequent O 2 reaction are 7.2 × 10−12 and 5.2 × 10−16 cm3 molecule−1 s−1 at 300 K, 1 atm. • The add1 (93.8%) and add1-4OO add- cis (66.0%) are the predominant products of naphthalene + OH and subsequent O 2 oxidation. • The formation of 1,4-naphthoquinone (1,4-NQ) is more favorable than that of 1,2-NQ during naphthalene degradation. • The dominant role of 1,4-NQ is weakened due to the competition from the decomposition reactions of 1,4-RO 2 and 1,2- RO 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Increasing number of studies reported the positive effect of metformin on the prevention and treatment of cancers. However, the genetic causal effect of metformin utilization on the risk of common cancers was not completely demonstrated. Methods: Two-sample Mendelian Randomization (two-sample MR) analysis was conducted to uncover the genetically predicted causal association between metformin use and 26 kinds of cancers. Besides, two-step Mendelian Randomization (two-step MR) assessment was applied to clarify the mediators which mediated the causal effect of metformin on certain cancer. We utilized five robust analytical methods, in which the inverse variance weighting (IVW) method served as the major one. Sensitivity, pleiotropy, and heterogeneity were assessed. The genetic statistics of exposure, outcomes, and mediators were downloaded from publicly available datasets, including the Open Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS), FinnGen consortium (FinnGen), and UK Biobank (UKB). Results: Among 26 kinds of common cancers, HER-positive breast cancer was presented with a significant causal relationship with metformin use [Beta: − 4.0982; OR: 0.0166 (95% CI: 0.0008, 0.3376); P value: 0.0077], which indicated metformin could prevent people from HER-positive breast cancer. Other cancers only showed modest associations with metformin use. Potential mediators were included in two-step MR, among which total testosterone levels (mediating effect: 24.52%) displayed significant mediating roles. Leave-one-out, MR-Egger, and MR-PRESSO analyses produced consistent outcomes. Conclusion: Metformin use exhibited a genetically protective effect on HER-positive breast cancer, which was partially mediated by total testosterone levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we designed and synthesized four novel multi-nuclear silver complexes (1–4) coordinated with pyrazole- or pyridine-functionalized N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands. The crystal structures of the silver–NHC complexes were confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. In vitro assays showed that the silver–NHC complexes effectively killed a broad range of cancer cells after short-term drug exposure, serving as fast-acting cytotoxic agents. Of note, in cisplatin-resistant A549 cancer cells, the silver complexes were not cross-resistant with the clinically used cisplatin agent. Detailed mechanistic studies revealed that complex 2 triggered caspase-independent cell necrosis associated with intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) depletion. By exploiting a facile nano-assembly process, silver–NHC complexes 1, 2 and 4 were successfully integrated into the hydrophobic cores of amphiphilic matrices (DSPE-PEG2K), enabling systemic injection. The silver complex-loaded nanotherapeutics (1-NPs, 2-NPs, and 4-NPs) showed high safety margins with reduced systemic drug toxicities relative to cisplatin in animals. Furthermore, in a xenograft model of human colorectal cancer, the administration of the nanotherapeutics resulted in a marked inhibition of tumor progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ruthenium complexes have attracted a surge of interest as anticancer drug candidates because of their low toxicity, diversity in mode-of-actions and non-cross drug resistance with conventional platinum-based agents. Despite remarkable advances, only a limited number of ruthenium complexes have been demonstrated to kill cancer cells and suppress metastasis simultaneously. Here, two organometallic tetranuclear Ru(II) arene complexes (Ru-1 and Ru-2) have been synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro activity against a panel of human cancer cell lines, including a cisplatin-resistant human lung cancer A549 cell line. A superior cytotoxic activity of the ruthenium complexes compared to cisplatin across distinct cell lines was observed. Further examination of the mechanism indicated that anticancer activity was accomplished by inducing apoptosis in cancer cells. In addition, we found that such compounds exhibited promising antimetastatic activity and reduced the invasiveness of cancer cells. Importantly, choosing Ru-1 as a target compound, a significantly enhanced safety profile relative to cisplatin in animals was validated, suggesting that these complexes can be used as promising candidates for cancer therapy and deserve further investigation. Image 1 • Tetranuclear Ru(II) arene complexes coordinating hydrazone groups were synthesized and characterized by spectral and analytical techniques. • The Ru-1 and Ru-2 complexes displayed higher cytotoxicity than cisplatin in human cancer cell lines. • The complexes showed antimetastatic activity, reducing the invasiveness of cancer cells. • Remarkable alleviation of systemic toxicity using the complex Ru-1 was validated, displaying an enhancement of drug tolerability relative to cisplatin in animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation is one of the most important indicators of climate change, as it can show regional change in the environment. Vegetation health is affected by various factors, including drought, which has cumulative and time-lag effects on vegetation response. However, the cumulative and time-lag effects of drought on different terrestrial vegetation in China are still unclear. To address this issue, this study examined the cumulative and time-lag effects of drought on vegetation from 2001 to 2020 using the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) in the Global SPEI database and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in MOD13A3. Based on Sen-Median trend analysis and the Mann–Kendall test, the change trend and significance of the NDVI from 2001 to 2020 were explored. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to analyze the correlation between the SPEI and NDVI at each cumulative scale and time-lag scale and to further analyze the cumulative and time-lag effects of drought on vegetation. The results show the following: (1) The NDVI value increased at a rate of 0.019/10 years, and the increased area of the NDVI accounted for 80.53% of mainland China, with a spatial trend of low values in the west and high values in the east. (2) The average SPEI cumulative time scale most relevant to the NDVI was 7.3 months, and the cumulative effect demonstrated a high correlation at the scale of 9–12 months and revealed different distributions in different areas. The cumulative effect was widely distributed at the 9-month scale, followed by the 12-month scale. The correlation coefficients of cumulative effects between the SPEI and NDVI for cropland, woodland and grassland peaked at 9 months. (3) The average SPEI time-lag scale for the NDVI was 6.9 months, and the time-lag effect had the highest correlation coefficient at the 7-month scale. The strongest time-lag effect for cropland and grassland was seen at 7 months, while the strongest time-lag effect for woodland was seen at 6 months. Woodland had a lower time-lag effect than grassland at different scales. The research results are significant for their use in aiding the scientific response to drought disasters and making decisions for climate change precautions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The reaction between the methyl radical and molecular oxygen is one of the most important combustion reactions—it plays a controlling role in methane ignition. Although the reaction kinetics of CH 3 + O 2 has been extensively studied (at least experimentally) in the literature, high-level theoretical studies are still desired to understand the chemistry of this "small but complicated" reaction system and provide rate constants over wide range of temperature and pressure. In the present study, the rate coefficients of three major reaction channels of CH 3 + O 2 , i.e., CH 3 OO stabilization (R1), CH 3 O + O channel (R2), and CH 2 O + OH channel (R3), were computed with temperature ranging from 300 to 2500 K and pressure from 0.01 to 100 atm by combining high-level quantum chemical calculations (CCSD(T)-F12/cc-pVQZ-F12//QCISD/6-311++G(2df,2p)) and RRKM/master equation simulations (with variable reaction coordinate transition state theory simulation for the barrierless channels). The computational results were compared with previously reported rate constants based on a thorough literature review. They show satisfactory agreement with those most recent measurements over the limited experimental temperature ranges—the discrepancies are within a factor of two for the three dominant reactions. The rate constants of R2 and R3 have very high sensitivity coefficients to the ignition delay time of methane. The impact of this reaction kinetics on methane ignition was evaluated by putting our currently computed rate coefficients into two recently reported kinetic models for methane combustion. There was a significant difference on the simulated ignition delay for an RCM experiment by replacing the rate constants of R2 and R3 with the newly computed results. It indicates the risk of estimating rate constants by simple extrapolation from experimental measurements over limited temperature ranges. The modified Arrhenius representations of the reaction channels of both CH 3 + O 2 and CH 3 OO dissociation were provided for utility in combustion modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For high-speed robotic cut-and-catch harvesting, efficient trellis grape recognition and picking point positioning are crucial factors. In this study, a new method for the rapid positioning of picking points based on synchronous inference for multi-grapes was proposed. Firstly, a three-dimensional region of interest for a finite number of grapes was constructed according to the "eye to hand" configuration. Then, a feature-enhanced recognition deep learning model called YOLO v4-SE combined with multi-channel inputs of RGB and depth images was put forward to identify occluded or overlapping grapes and synchronously infer picking points upwards of the prediction boxes of the multi-grapes imaged completely in the three-dimensional region of interest (ROI). Finally, the accuracy of each dimension of the picking points was corrected, and the global continuous picking sequence was planned in the three-dimensional ROI. The recognition experiment in the field showed that YOLO v4-SE has good detection performance in various samples with different interference. The positioning experiment, using a different number of grape bunches from the field, demonstrated that the average recognition success rate is 97% and the average positioning success rate is 93.5%; the average recognition time is 0.0864 s; and the average positioning time is 0.0842 s. The average positioning errors of the x, y, and z directions are 2.598, 2.012, and 1.378 mm, respectively. The average positioning error of the Euclidean distance between the true picking point and the predicted picking point is 7.69 mm. In field synchronous harvesting experiments with different fruiting densities, the average recognition success rate is 97%; the average positioning success rate is 93.606%; and the average picking success rate is 92.78%. The average picking speed is 6.18 s × bunch − 1 , which meets the harvesting requirements for high-speed cut-and-catch harvesting robots. This method is promising for overcoming time-consuming harvesting caused by the problematic positioning of the grape stem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is one of the most widespread musculoskeletal diseases worldwide, which remains an intractable clinical challenge. The aim of this study is to investigate the therapeutic potential of the small molecule gefitinib (an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor) in ameliorating IVD degeneration. Aberrant EGFR activation levels were detected in both human and rat degenerative IVDs, which prompted us to investigate the functional roles of EGFR by utilizing inducible cartilage-specific EGFR-deficient mice. We demonstrated that conditional EGFR deletion in mice increased nucleus pulposus (NP) extracellular matrix (ECM) production and autophagy marker activation while MMP13 expression decreased. These outcomes are comparable to the use of a controlled-release injectable thermosensitive hydrogel of gefitinib to block EGFR activity in a puncture-induced rat model. We also conducted a case series study involving patients with non-small cell lung cancer and IVD degeneration who received gefitinib treatment from 2010 to 2015. Gefitinib-treated patients displayed a relative slower disc degenerating progression, in contrast to control subjects. These findings thus provide evidence that suppression of EGFR by the FDA-approved drug gefitinib can protect IVD degeneration in rats, implying the potential application of gefitinib as a small molecule drug for treating IVD degeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

KRAS mutations serve a function in tumorigenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC) and guide the use of targeted drugs. However, the prognostic value of KRAS mutations and their subtypes remain controversial. The present study aimed to investigate the correlations between KRAS mutations and clinicopathological characteristics, and their prognostic significance in Chinese patients with metastatic CRC (mCRC). A total of 135 patients with mCRC were analyzed for KRAS mutations. Mutations in codon 12 and 13 were identified in 45 (33.3%) patients. Only 3 patients harbored a mutation of V600E. Compared with male patients, KRAS codon 12 mutations were more common in female patients (P<0.05). KRAS codon 13 mutations tended to arise in right‑sided compared with left‑sided colon cancer (P<0.05). Survival analysis was performed in 101 patients receiving primary tumor resection. Compared with KRAS codon 12 wild‑type, codon 12 mutations were markedly correlated with a poorer survival (log‑rank P=0.002). No prognostic significance was revealed in codon 13 mutations. In univariate analysis, mortality risk was significantly increased by subtypes of G12D and G12V [hazard ratio (HR) =2.313, 95% confidence interval (CI) =1.069‑5.004, P=0.03; HR=2.621, 95% CI=1.057‑6.497, P=0.04, respectively]. The results of the present study suggested that codon 12 mutations, in particular G12D and G12V, predicted a negative prognosis in Chinese patients with mCRC. These findings require further confirmation via prospective studies with larger samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the relationship between supply and demand of ecosystem services (ES) is important to achieve sustainable use of natural capital and keep coordination of supply and demand. This paper used spatial analysis of the Geographic Information Science (GIS) method to quantify ecosystem service supply (ESS) and ecosystem service demand (ESD) by constructing the ecosystem services provision index and land development index respectively. Then the spatial-temporal characteristics of ES's supply and demand situation in Hexi Corridor (HC) were analyzed. In addition, the ecosystem service flow (ESF) and the corresponding ecological compensation (EC) for the ecosystem services supply areas (ESSA) and ecosystem services demand areas (ESDA) were quantified. The results showed that the regions with medium and high ESS showed significant growth, and regions with high ESD increase significantly. Besides, the distribution pattern of the ecosystem services supply-demand ratio (ESSDR) was high in the northwest and low in the southeast, which was mainly dominated by ES surplus, and the ESSDR always has spatial autocorrelation and spatial heterogeneity, forming a relatively stable spatial pattern. The High-High cluster areas of ESSDR were mainly distributed in the better ecological area, while the Low-Low cluster was mainly distributed in the economic development area. The supply-demand coordination displayed a balanced trend, and the changing area of supply-demand was mainly concentrated in the population aggregation region in the south of HC. The EC amount paid by ESDA decreased from 2000 to 2020, indicating that the supply capacity of ES was increased. This paper can provide references for regional ecosystem management and restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple and facile approach to impart the antifouling properties of silicone hydrogels was developed in this report. Short peptides were first tethered to silicone hydrogels through terminal amino group-induced epoxy ring-opening click reaction. The modified silicone hydrogels have improved hydrophilicity and protein adsorption resistance because of the formation of zwitterionic structure of the grafted peptides. Furthermore, glycylglycine and diglycyl glycine-modified silicone hydrogel contact lenses were fabricated. They exhibited favorable antifouling property and no damage to rabbits’ eyes after continuous wearing. The short peptide modified silicone hydrogel contact lenses have potential application in ophthalmology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tanshinone IIA, a multi-pharmaceutical compound from traditional Chinese herb, has been reported to have anti-hepatocarcinomic (HCC) properties through cell death induction. Apart from the typical p53-dependent pathway, mechanisms of the anti-carcinogenic role of Tanshinone remain scarce. In an effort to explore the mechanism behind Tanshinone IIA, we detected the upstream of the p53 and the potential novel pathway. Tanshinone IIA dose-dependently initiated HepG2 cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at the G1 checkpoint. In the miR30 family, only the transcription of miR30b was downregulated by Tanshinone IIA, which subsequently upregulated both the genomic and protein levels of p53. Further, we screened that PTPN11 and Tp53 are the two critical genomes involved in the pharmacology of Tanshinone IIA. Building upon LASAGNA-search and kinetics binding assay, p53 was found to be a potential transcription factor for PTPN11. Concomitant with the expression of p53, Tanshinone IIA stimulated both PTPN11 and its encoded protein SHP2. Inhibition miR30b attenuated the Tanshinone IIA-induced cytotoxicity, level of p53 and PTPN11 in HepG2 cells. Finally, the apoptotic molecules such as Bax/Bcl2, cleavage caspase 3 and the cell cycle regulation factors including p21, cyclin D1, and CDK6 were changed by Tanshinone IIA. Several cytotoxic endpoints induced by Tanshinone IIA were also checked in Hep3B cells. This study confirmed that Tanshinone IIA may induce hepatoma cell death through the miR30b-p53- PTPN11/SHP2 pathway. With regard to the complicated tumorigenesis of HCC and the multi-targets of Tanshinone IIA, our results propose developing Tanshinone IIA for clinic therapy and the interference of HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this report, a simple and facile approach to enhance the antifouling property of poly(ether sulfone) (PES) ultrafiltration membrane was developed by grafting natural amino acids onto surface. First of all, poly(ether sulfone) composite membranes blended with poly(glycidyl methacrylate) were fabricated by phase inversion method followed by grafting of different types of natural amino acids onto the membrane surface through epoxy ring opening reaction. The analysis of attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR/FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) verified the substantial enrichment of amino acids onto the surface of PES membranes. The hydrophilicity of the PES membranes was improved after grafting amino acids. The mechanical property and morphologies of the PES membranes proved that their basic performances were not obviously affected by grafting reaction, and these parameters were all still in the typical range for ultrafiltration membranes. The antifouling property of the grafted PES membranes against bovine serum albumin (BSA) and lysozyme (Lyz) was investigated in detail. It was found that PES membranes incorporated with neutral amino acids exhibited higher fouling resistance to both BSA and Lyz than the parent PES membrane. It can be ascribed to the formation of zwitterionic structure on the surface consisting of protonated secondary amino cations and carboxyl anions. Meanwhile, PES membranes grafted with charged amino acids had better antifouling properties against protein with same electric charges and improved adsorption related to protein with opposite electric charges. Furthermore, the ultrafiltration performance of the zwitterionic PES membranes was evaluated. The results showed that the modified membranes possessed of enhanced pure water flux, relative flux recovery and mildly lower rejection. The Darcy’s Law analysis illustrated that the acidic amino acid grafted PES membranes had much lower permeation resistance due to hydrophilicty increasing and protein adsorption decreasing. Therefore, grafting natural amino acids onto PES ultrafiltration membrane provides an effective approach to combat biofouling in separation fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this report, protein repelling silicone hydrogels with improved hydrophilicity were prepared by photo-polymerization of silicone-containing monomer and glycidyl methacrylate followed by grafting zwitterionic amino acids. The grafted silicone hydrogels possessed excellent hydrophilic surfaces due to the enrichment of amino acids, which was confirmed by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, contact angle, and equilibrium water content measurements. Remarkable resistance to bovine serum albumin and lysozyme fouling was observed for the silicone hydrogels immobilized with neutrally charged amino acids because of the formation of zwitterionic surfaces with pairs of protonated secondary ammonium cations and deprotonated carboxyl anions. Meanwhile, the silicone hydrogels grafted with positively or negatively charged amino acids were able to repulse same charged protein with reduced deposition and attract oppositely charged protein with increased adsorption. Preliminary cytotoxicity test indicated that the zwitterionic silicone hydrogels were non-cytotoxic. Similarly, three types of natural amino acids, including serine, aspartic acid and histidine, modified silicone hydrogel contact lenses exhibited excellent hydrophilicity and non-damage to the rabbit’s eyes, but only serine modified zwitterionic contact lens showed superior protein fouling resistance compared with the current commercial hydrogel contact lens, which may have great potential application in ophthalmology. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Chronic inflammation in the intestine is a strong risk factor for colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC). Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is widely used as an anti-inflammatory drug in the treatment of immune-mediated inflammatory disorders and various tumors. However, little is known regarding the effects of HCQ on colitis-associated tumorigenesis. In this study, mice treated with HCQ showed a significant reduction in early-stage colitis following azoxymethane (AOM)/dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) administration, as well as a remarkable inhibition of colonic tumorigenesis and tumor growth at late stages of CAC. Mechanistically, the therapeutic effects of HCQ were attributed to inhibition of inflammatory responses and production of mutagenic reactive oxygen species (ROS) in immune cells and subsequent promotion of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in tumor cells. Furthermore, we found that HCQ inhibited the production of inflammatory cytokines and ROS in response to toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) activation in macrophages. Our data presented herein may help guide the clinical use of HCQ as a prevention and treatment strategy for CAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless localization technology has become an important research area of pervasive computing applications. This paper presents $$DE ^{2 }$$ (direction estimation and distance estimation), a wireless localization approach that is responsive to the scenario where only a single beacon is available to locate multiple position-unknown targets. Unlike the previous work which needs a priori knowledge of the scenario during the training phase by manual recording (taking significant human efforts), or uses a certain number of beacons during the localization phase to reach a certain accuracy (leading to high energy consumption and reducing network lifecycle), $$DE ^{2 }$$ leverages a single beacon without many prior human efforts to locate multiple targets. The intuition underlying $$DE ^{2 }$$ is that, direction and distance constraints between an unknown position and the single beacon are adequate to determine the unknown position. When a person rotates around an RF receiver (the single beacon), the human body acts as a signal-blocking obstacle. It causes the signal from a transmitter (position-unknown) to the single receiver to attenuate in a certain scope. The blocking effect caused by human body can be utilized to obtain the direction constraint between the unknown position and the single beacon. And we call the signal strength which is perceived by the receiver during the person's rotation as rotating received signal strength (RSS). Moreover, a corresponding distance constraint is also concluded in the rotating RSS according to the RF propagation model. $$DE ^{2 }$$ pushes the limit of minimum beacons needed for localization without much pre-configuration effort. To demonstrate the utility of $$DE ^{2 }$$ , we implement $$DE ^{2 }$$ in real-world single beacon wireless networks. The results show that these applications can significantly benefit from $$DE ^{2 }$$ . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought is a hydrological hazard phenomenon that spreads across the world and will become more intense and frequent with climate change in the future. How to scientifically and effectively monitor and evaluate drought events has become a significant issue. At present, various types of drought monitoring indices have been proposed. However, the criteria for drought that occurs in each month is different and the interaction between drought and the environmental factors of earth is also difficult to understand. To solve this problem, evapotranspiration (ET), leaf area index (LAI), soil moisture (SM), precipitation (P) and surface temperature(ST) data from five different scenarios (Hist-1950, SSP126, SSP245, SSP370 and SSP585) of coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase6 (CMIP6) were obtained to construct a standardized integrated drought index (SIDI) which was used to monitor drought at global level. Then the cumulative effects of drought on terrestrial water storage in different scenarios were explored. The results showed that the global land surface was a trend of wetting from 1950 to 2014, while the trend of dryness-wetness was different under four future scenarios. Besides, the global drought frequency will first increase and then decrease in the future, and drought frequency in three periods was ranked as follows: Historical period (6.03 months) < Pre-Century (6.15 months) > Post-Century (6.11 months). Moreover, it was found that the cumulative effects of drought on terrestrial water storage diminished gradually from 6.7 months during the historical period (1950–2014) to 5.36 months in the Pre-Century (2015–2057), and further reduced to 4.87 months in the Post-Century (2058–2100), indicating a continuous decline in the stability of global terrestrial water storage in response to drought. This study has a certain reference value for the comprehensive assessment and rational allocation of global terrestrial water storage • A new drought index (SIDI) with different drought thresholds for each month is constructed. • A new perspective of drought research with multiple scenarios and indices is proposed. • Exploring the impact of drought on global terrestrial water storage using multi-scenario CMIP6 data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological vulnerability is one of the core issues in the study of achieving sustainable development and is important for ecological conservation and environmental management, especially for ecologically vulnerable regions. Scientific assessment of ecological vulnerability can improve decision-making capacity and provide appropriate information for sustainable development. The Hexi Corridor is located in the inland northwest of China, and its ecological environment is very fragile. Under the influence of climate change and human activities, the Hexi Corridor is facing a crisis of ecological degradation. Therefore, this paper assessed the influence of various factors on ecological vulnerability, followed the principles of scientificity and data accessibility, and constructed a comprehensive assessment framework to reflect the spatio-temporal characteristics of ecological vulnerability in the Hexi Corridor from three aspects: natural factors, socio-economic factors and human interference factors so as to provide theoretical and practical guidance for regional ecological protection. The results showed that: (1) The ecological vulnerability of the Hexi Corridor was dominated by extreme vulnerability, mainly in the arid desert region, while mildly and lowly vulnerable areas were mainly distributed in the southern Qilian Mountains and the plain oasis region, which was closely related to its physical geography. The index values showed an overall decreasing trend, and the environmental situation was improving from 2000 to 2020. (2) The distribution of ecological vulnerability had obvious directional characteristics, and it gradually decreased from north to south. Moreover, it exhibited a significant positive spatial correlation, and its spatial aggregation pattern was basically consistent with the spatial distribution state. (3) Based on the spatio-temporal patterns of ecological vulnerability, the Hexi Corridor was divided into five zones: ecological core protection zone, integrated ecological monitoring zone, ecological optimization concern zone, ecological restoration management zone and ecological potential governance zone. Different environmental protection policies have been taken for different zones according to its basic conditions. Spatial principal component analysis (SPCA) method was used to analyze the ecological vulnerability factors based on the GIS technology. The partitions of ecological vulnerability for configuration and optimization has been classified and practical application. Geographic detector and national policies were considered for ecological vulnerability driver factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important and typical arid inland region in China, Shiyang River Basin plays an important role in maintaining the sustainable development of eco-environment, whose ecological land suitability restricts the development of the local human activities. Therefore, Shiyang River Basin was selected as the case study, the minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) model and GIS technique were integrated to create land suitability evaluation map. We calculated the MCR value of ecological source and living source, and divided the whole basin into five partitions according to the difference between ecological source and living source, and analyzed the patterns and characteristics of the ecological land suitability evaluation (ELSE) regions, respectively. The results showed that: 1) The suitable ecological land includes prohibited development region and restricted development region, which accounts for 15.45% and 23.35% of the total land area of the Shiyang River Basin, respectively. These two regions mainly distributed high altitude region in the southern Qilian Mountain and low altitude region where had high density of rivers. 2) The protection of ecological land requires not only conserving existing ecological land but also focusing on ecological buffer belts around ecological sources and improving ecological land service ability. 3) Ecological networks should be constructed through artificial planting trees around the boundary of oasis and ecological restoration region. Buffer greenbelts should also be established between optimized development region and ecological restoration region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is one of the most malignant cancers with poor prognosis worldwide. Emerging evidence indicates that competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) are involved in various diseases, however, the regulatory mechanisms of ceRNAs underlying HNSCC remain unclear. In this study, we retrieved differentially expressed long non-coding RNAs (DElncRNAs), messenger RNAs (DEmRNAs) and microRANs (DEmiRNAs) from The Cancer Genome Atlas database and constructed a ceRNA-based risk model in HNSCC by integrated bioinformatics approaches. Functional enrichment analyses showed that DEmRNAs might be involved in extracellular matrix related biological processes, and protein–protein interaction network further selected out prognostic genes, including MYL1 and ACTN2. Importantly, co-expressed RNAs identified by weighted co-expression gene network analysis constructed the ceRNA networks. Moreover, AC114730.3, AC136375.3, LAT and RYR3 were highly correlated to overall survival of HNSCC by Kaplan–Meier method and univariate Cox regression analysis, which were subsequently implemented multivariate Cox regression analysis to build the risk model. Our study provides a deeper understanding of ceRNAs on the regulatory mechanisms, which will facilitate the expansion of the roles on the ceRNAs in the tumorigenesis, development and treatment of HNSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Constructed the environmental sensitivity index (ESI) system. • Providing a simple and convenient method to calculate the ESI based on Euclidean distance. • Classified protection categories into four regions and proposed environmental management measures according to the sensitivity. Identifying environmentally sensitivity regions and levels is an important aspect of resource management, especially in large arid ecosystems that exhibit sensitivity to climate change. This paper selected northwest China with complex and diverse environmental problems as the study area, and constructed the environmental sensitivity index (ESI) system including human intervention, disaster risk, land environment, biological and climate indicators, which were composed of thirteen factors. Then the environmental sensitivity was analyzed through using geographic information system (GIS) technology and spatial distance index (SDI) method. The temporal and spatial evolution characteristics of environmental sensitivity in Northwest China in the past 16 years were discussed. The results showed that: (1) the environmental sensitivity in the study area was in the medium level and its spatial heterogeneity was significant. The high and extremely sensitivity were mainly concentrated in the western and central areas, while the normal and low sensitivity were mainly distributed in the southeast of northwest China. (2) The ESI value decreased from 0.477 in 1987 to 0.429 in 2016, which reflected that the environmental conditions in northwest China have improved in the past 17 years, but not obviously. The regional sensitivity was still unstable, and the fluctuation change area was 232,136.28 km2, accounts for7.71% of the total area. This showed that local government had made some progress in environmental protection, but it still has a long way to go because of the deterioration of the regional environment in northwest China. (3) The SDI method can simply and directly inflect the environmental sensitivity distribution and change patterns, which provided management partitions with well-founded and more viable for planning and implementing effective environmental management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conducting evaluations of socio-economic activities in a large area is a difficult and complex process that is affected by many factors. EI represents the actual environmental interference caused by socio-economic development, and it is a quantitative expression in this paper. Understanding EI is of great significance for promoting the scientific management and sustainable development of social economies. This study selected 11 indexes that included the following eight aspects: terrain, climate, hydrology, soil, vegetation, land, population and economy. The SDM and RM were used to calculate the EII, and the EI of mainland China from 1980 to 2015 was comprehensively evaluated from a spatiotemporal perspective. The results indicated that the NOI, NEI and LII categories of EI accounted for more than 70% of the total area, while regions with HII, STI and HEI presented a gradually increasing trend over 35 years. The distribution of EI had obvious scale effects at different administrative units. In general, eastern China and central China had the highest EI, which presented high-high clusters. Western China had the lowest EI, and the low-low clusters were generally distributed in unoccupied areas. In addition, the areas did not change significantly. The change of EI in mainland China was the most drastic from 2000 to 2010 but stable after 2010, especially in 2015. The evaluation results provide a reference for the formulation of related policies for the coordination between the natural environment and socio-economic development. Image 106 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to reveal the regulatory roles of microRNAs in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) through comprehensive ceRNA, miRNA-transcription factor (TF)-hub gene network and survival analysis.Materials and Methods: Expression analysis was performed using the 'edgeR' package based on The Cancer Genome Atlas database. The ceRNA network was screened by intersecting prediction results from miRcode, miRTarBase, miRDB and TargetScan. GSE30784, GSE59102 and GSE107591 from the Gene Expression Omnibus repository were chosen for cross-validation. Hub genes were identified using a protein-protein interaction network constructed by Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes. The Transcriptional Regulatory Relationships Unraveled by Sentence-based Text mining (TTRUST) was utilized to map the miRNA-TF-Hub gene network. Patient overall survival was analyzed using the 'survival' package in R. Structural and functional analysis of miR-204/211 was based on miRbase and RNAstructure.Results: A ceRNA network of 178 lncRNAs, 19 miRNAs and 55 mRNAs was generated, and a TF regulatory network with 11 miRNAs, 11 TFs and 18 hub genes was constructed from the 52 hub genes identified through the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Survival analysis demonstrated that the dysregulated expression of 11 lncRNAs and 14 mRNAs was highly related to overall survival. Furthermore, miR-204 and miR-211 were significantly involved in the network with identical mature structures, indicating them as key miRNAs in HNSCC.Conclusion: This study reveals the comprehensive molecular regulatory networks centralized by miRNAs in HNSCC and uncovers the crucial role of miR-204 and miR-211, which may become potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Abstract Peritoneal metastasis from colorectal cancer (CRC) is related to poor prognosis. Intraperitoneal chemotherapy is an efficient method to treat peritoneal metastasis (PM); however, the outcomes remain unsatisfactory. The present study aimed to investigate the antitumor activity of lobaplatin and its role in intraperitoneal chemotherapy. The findings showed that the proliferation of CRC was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner when DLD1 and HCT116 cells were treated with various concentrations of lobaplatin (0, 6.3, 12.5, 25, 50, and 100 μg/mL, respectively). Flow cytometry and Western blot analysis confirmed that lobaplatin affected CRC cells by inducing apoptosis and modulating the caspase family. In the animal study, nude mice were injected with DLD1 cells and divided into three groups. Lobaplatin was injected intraperitoneally to simulate intraperitoneal chemotherapy. Group A was the control group treated with PBS. Group B was injected with DLD1 and treated with lobaplatin simultaneously, while group C was treated with lobaplatin 1 week after cell injection. The results showed that group A harbored maximal tumors on the peritoneal surface, while group B had the least number (9.2 ± 1.3 and 0.4 ± 0.5, respectively P < 0.01). These findings indicated that lobaplatin suppressed the tumor growth as an intraperitoneal chemotherapy agent and achieved a satisfactory therapeutic effect at an early stage. Further blood test and tissue staining did not reveal any liver and kidney toxicity that was induced by lobaplatin. In conclusion, lobaplatin could be an effective and safe agent for CRC treatment, thereby commissioning a novel strategy in intraperitoneal chemotherapy for patients with peritoneal metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conical intersection or curve-crossing is well known to be an efficient dynamic funnel for nonadiabatic transition between two different potential energy surfaces in chemical dynamics. Tremendous efforts have been made in the direct experimental probing of conical intersection. However, the direct following-up of the dynamic process initiated from the Franck-Condon (FC) region toward a curve-crossing point is still challenging. With the aid of complete active space self-consistent field calculations, the resonance Raman spectroscopy has been applied to face challenges. Herein, the nonadiabatic decay dynamics of phthalide initiated from the light-absorbing S3(ππ*) state were studied. The UV and vibrational spectra were assigned with the aid of the density functional theory calculations and normal-mode analysis. The minima of the six lowest electronic excited states (S1, S2, S3, T1, T2, and T3) and the corresponding minimum-energy intersections were fully optimized at the complete active space self-consistent field level. The B-band resonance Raman spectra in acetonitrile were simulated by using the time-dependent wave-packet theory in a simple model to obtain the dimensionless normal-mode displacements, and the results were compared with the relative changes of the geometric structural parameters between the curve-crossing points and S0 so as to help determine the decay channels initiated from the FC region. Two nonadiabatic decay channels were discovered, and that one of these had not been previously observed. The results provided general insights into the ultrafast decay dynamics initiated from the FC region of the light-absorbing excited state to the nearby conical intersection or curve-crossing points for organic molecules in solution. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, remote sensing drought monitoring indices have been gradually developed and have been widely used for global or regional drought monitoring due to their strong drought-monitoring capabilities and easy implementation advantages. However, some defects of remote sensing drought indices stand to be improved due to certain errors in the inversion of surface characteristics by remote sensing datasets. The temperature-vegetation-precipitation drought index (TVPDI) was taken as the research object, and the leaf area index (LAI), the difference between the land surface temperature (LST) and monthly average temperature, and Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) precipitation data were selected instead of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), LST and tropical rainfall measuring mission (TRMM) data to improve TVPDI. The improved remote sensing drought index was named the improved temperature-vegetation-precipitation drought index (iTVPDI). The drought-monitoring accuracy of iTVPDI was verified by the gross primary productivity (GPP), soil moisture, and crop yield per unit. The drought-monitoring ability of iTVPDI was verified with traditional drought indices, including the standardized precipitation index (SPI), standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI), Palmer drought severity index (PDSI), temperature-vegetation drought index (TVDI), drought severity index (DSI) and crop water stress index (CWSI). The drought-monitoring accuracy of iTVPDI was verified by selecting sample areas. iTVPDI was applied to monitor drought in mainland China over the 2001–2020 period and obtained four main results. First, the correlation analyses of iTVPDI and TVPDI with GPP, crop yield per unit area, and soil moisture showed that iTVPDI had a stronger monitoring ability in Northeast, North, and Southwest China; the R2 value obtained with soil moisture was 0.62 (p < 0.05), and this value was higher than that of TVPDI. Then, the correlation analyses of iTVPDI and TVPDI with SPI, SPEI, PDSI, CWSI, DSI and TVDI showed that the correlation coefficients of iTVPDI and TVPDI with these six indicators were basically consistent, which indicated that the drought-monitoring capability of iTVPDI was consistent with that of TVPDI. In local areas such as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China, the monitoring ability of iTVPDI was stronger than that of TVPDI. Third, through the sample area analysis, iTVPDI was found to moderate the NDVI-characterized vegetation factors in TVPDI in low-vegetation-cover areas affected by soil disturbances and in high-vegetation-cover areas affected by oversaturation. Finally, the results obtained from the application of iTVPDI in mainland China showed that during the warm-dry to warm-wet climate transition between 2001 and 2021, in 2010 and 2018, and in other special drought years, iTVPDI had the best response. • A new drought index calculated by satellite data was proposed based on TVPDI. • The ability of the iTVPDI was validated. The results indicated that the iTVPDI is more efficient than TVPDI. • According to the statistics, the overall drought condition in China from 2001 to 2020 changed from arid to wet. • The iTVPDI monitoring results showed drought occurred between December and March, while June to September was the wet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastric cancer (GC) and colorectal cancer (CRC) are frequent and aggressive malignancies worldwide. Despite the emergence of various therapeutic regimens, the prognosis of gastric and colorectal cancer is relatively poor. Immunotherapy targeting PD-1 is one of the most prevalent approaches, but it has a low response rate in most patients, particularly those with microsatellite stability (MSS). Recently, some targeted drugs have been found to remarkably enhance the anti-tumor immunity of cancer models, mainly through increasing the level of CD8+ T cells, M1-type macrophages, expression of PD-L1, and decreasing the level of regulatory T cells and M2 macrophages. The above finding implies that the combination of anti-PD-1 and targeted therapies may be a potential treatment for gastric and colorectal cancer patients. Although many encouraging preclinical results have been shown, the clinical outcomes were not approving enough. To further enhance the therapeutic efficacy and improve the prognosis in GC and CRC patients, deeper and larger-scale studies should be done to determine the complicated interactions between the two therapies and the concrete use of combination regimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Avastin® has been clinically proved to be effective in the treatment of intraocular neovascularization diseases. However, the short half-life of Avastin® need frequent administration to maintain its therapeutic efficiency. In this paper, we attempted to develop an in situ PEG hydrogels with great biocompatibility for sustained release of Avastin® to inhibit the corneal neovascularization. PEG hydrogels was formed via thiol-maleimide reaction using 4-arm PEG-Mal and 4-arm PEG-SH. The transparent hydrogel was rapidly formed under physiological conditions. By varying the concentration of 4-arm PEG-SH, PEG hydrogel with different gelling time, pore size, swelling ratio and mechanical property could be obtained. In vitro cytotoxicity indicated that the developed PEG hydrogel had no apparent cytotoxicity on L-929 cells after 7 days of incubation. In vitro release study showed the encapsulated Avastin® was sustained release from PEG hydrogels within a period of 14 days study. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis further confirmed that the released Avastin® did not undergo apparent hydrolysis within 14 days. As a conclusion, we could conclude that the developed PEG hydrogels as an injectable hydrogels might be suitable for extended Avastin® release to treat the corneal neovascularization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A LEN CO 2 emission estimation model was constructed based on land use data, enhanced vegetation index and night light data. • The distributions of urban, industrial and rural CO 2 emissions in China were estimated respectively. • The spatial and temporal variations were analyzed. • The CO 2 emissions estimated by using three different models were compared. It is difficult to accurately estimate the spatial distribution of carbon dioxide (CO 2) at the grid scale because of the lack of city-level statistical data. In this paper, CO 2 emission regions were devided into urban area, industrial area and rural area in order to accurately calculate CO 2 emissions. In addition, a more accurate calculation model for energy-related CO 2 emissions was proposed through integrating nighttime light datasets and land use data. The maps of estimated CO 2 emissions in different regions were compared and examined through using spatial dependence and grid overlay methods to understand the spatial distribution characteristics and spatiotemporal dynamics of CO 2 emissions in China. The results showed that the model proposed in this study was appropriate and reliable for CO 2 emissions not only in urban and rural areas but also in industrial areas. CO 2 emissions in China were mainly concentrated in the coastal areas and the northern area, and the amount of carbon emissions increased rapidly from 2000 to 2018 in the Middle Yellow River. These results could improve the understanding of regional discrepancies of spatiotemporal CO 2 emission dynamics at gride scale, and provide a scientific reference for the formulation of energy conservation and emission reduction policies by the local government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Timely and accurate assessments of the spatiotemporal variations and impact factors of CO 2 emissions are crucial for developing effective and rational CO 2 reduction policies. However, studies are still lacking that consider spatiotemporal variations in CO 2 emissions at the grid scale and their impact factors in cities with different types of such emissions. This study proposes an improved estimation model to map the CO 2 emissions of mainland China in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2018 based on nighttime light data, land use data, and population data. The resulting maps of estimated CO 2 emissions in different regions are examined and compared with Landsat data and with the results of linear regression, quadratic polynomial carbon emission models, carbon emission models based on land use and carbon emission models based on population. This comparison shows that the model proposed in this study is more accurate than ordinary models, such as the linear regression and quadratic polynomial models. Using the results of this model, 356 mainland cities in China are divided into service-oriented, industrial, agricultural and comprehensive cities, and the impact factors of each city are analyzed. The results show that China's CO 2 emissions are still concentrated in its smaller regions, but the intensity of this concentration is gradually decreasing. The spatial distribution characteristics of the carbon emissions of cities have an obvious circle-layer effect; however, the CO 2 emissions of large cities present a "W"-shaped distribution, while the CO 2 emissions of small cities present a power function curve. Although GDP is the main factor affecting the CO 2 emissions in various cities, the factors affecting different types of cities based on their CO 2 emissions vary greatly. These results could improve the current understanding of the patterns of variation and influencing factors of CO 2 emissions in different cities and provide a scientific basis for formulating CO 2 emission reduction policies in accordance with local conditions. • DMSP-OLS, NPP-VIIRS, Land use and population data were integrated into the model to improve the estimation accuracy. • The spatial distribution of CO 2 emission in different periods was simulated based on pixel scale. • Different types of cities were classified according to the characteristics and quantity of CO 2 emission. • The main impact factors and their impact degree of CO 2 emission were compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Timely and accurate monitoring of the spatiotemporal changes in drought is very important for the reduction in the social losses caused by drought. The Optimized Meteorological Drought Index (OMDI), originally established in southwestern China, showed great potential for drought monitoring over large regions on a large scale. However, the applicability of the index requires further evaluation, especially when used throughout China, which has a different agricultural divisions, variable climatic conditions, complex terrain and diverse land cover. In addition, the OMDI model relies on training data to construct local parameters for the model. On a large scale, it is of great significance to use multisource remote sensing data sets to construct OMDI model parameters. In this paper, the constrained optimization method was used to establish weights for the MODIS-derived Vegetation Conditional Index (VCI), TRMM-derived Precipitation Condition Index (PCI), and GLDAS-derived Soil Moisture Condition Index (SMCI) and calculate the OMDI based on the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI), Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and weather stations. The accuracy of the OMDI model was evaluated by using the correlation coefficient. Moreover, the spatiotemporal changes in drought were also analyzed through trend analysis, Mann-Kendall (MK) statistics and the Hurst index on the monthly and annual scales. The results showed that (1) the highest positive correlation between the OMDI and the SPI was SPI-1, which was higher than that for any other month interval, such as 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 12 months of the SPI. The results indicated that the OMDI was suitable to monitor meteorological drought. (2) In the nine agricultural subareas in China, the degree of drought in the Yangtze River (DYR) area had the most severe evolution and change frequency. This region was very sensitive to drought in the past two decades. (3) The area with OMDI variation coefficient less than 0.1 accounted for 94%, indicating that the degree of drought fluctuates little; The linear tendency rate is 0.0004, and the area greater than 0 reaches 66.44%, indicating that the drought is developing in a lightning trend. (4) The Hurst index value is mostly higher than 0.5 (the area ratio is 56.31%), and the area of "Positive-Consistent" and "Negative- Opposite" accounted for 54.02%, indicating that more than half of China's area drought changes will show a trend of mitigation in the future. [Display omitted] • OMDI model was improved based on multi-source remote sensing data sets. •OMDI model was improved based on constrained optimization theory. •Drought dynamics was monitored on large scale based on remote sensing technology. •Drought conditions in China were valuated both on month scale and annual scale. •Change trend in the future was analyzed using Linear trend and OMDI Hurst index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common and lethal human cancers, and the clinical outcomes remain unsatisfactory because of the lack of effective and safe therapeutic regimens. Here, we describe a practical and potent delivery approach for the human topoisomerase I inhibitor 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN38) against CRC. Injectable SN38-loaded nanoparticles are obtained through covalent ligation of the SN38 agent with oligo-ε-caprolactone (oligoCL) to form oligoCL-SN38 conjugates via an esterase-activatable linkage followed by encapsulation of these prodrugs in exogenous polymer matrices. Prodrug nanoparticles with adaptive features are sufficiently stable during blood circulation, while active drugs can be released in response to intracellular esterase. The administration of nanoparticle drugs results in durable tumor recession, and the efficacy is superior to that of the current standard-of-care therapy, CPT-11, in multiple mouse models of CRC, one of which is a chemically induced orthotopic CRC. Elucidation of the mechanism underlying these differing efficacies shows that nanoparticle delivery produces a substantial increase in the intratumoral concentration of the therapeutic agent relative to CPT-11, which contributes to improved antitumor efficacy. Finally, these nanoparticle drugs are potentially less toxic in animals than CPT-11, as evidenced by the low incidence of bloody diarrhea and attenuated colonic damage. Overall, these results demonstrate that precisely engineered therapeutic nanoparticles are capable of enhancing efficacy, addressing the risk of tumor recurrence, and increasing drug tolerance, thus deserving further investigation. Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil Moisture (SM) is a direct indicator of dryness of the land surface, and the amount of precipitation (P), vegetation status, and Land Surface Temperature (LST) are directly related to SM; thus, these factors indirectly characterize the dryness of the land surface. However, there are limitations and shortcomings of using a single factor to assess dryness because of the interactions among factors. A method that can combine the advantages of the three factors is needed to better monitor dryness. In this study, a new Remote Sensing (RS) dryness index, called the Temperature Vegetation Precipitation Dryness Index (TVPDI), was defined and developed using the Euclidean distance method and three-dimensional (3D) P-Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)-LST.The reasonableness of this index was tested and verified using SM data, three variables (P, NDVI, and LST), other recognized dryness indices, crop yield per unit area and Net Primary Productivity (NPP). In addition, the reliability of the TVPDI results was analyzed at different spatial scales and using different data sources. The results demonstrated that the TVPDI was highly correlated with SM (R > 0.64, p <.01) and exhibited better performance than the P, NDVI, and LST results. The time series of the TVPDI and other dryness indices exhibited spatially good consistency. The TVPDI was temporally well-matched to the crop yield per unit area and NPP in most regions of China, and performed better than other dryness indices. Furthermore, in the four sample regions, the TVPDI MODIS results closely matched the TVPDI Landsat and Landsat image results, indicating that the TVPDI is a reliable and robust index for dryness monitoring to some extent. Moreover, the application of the TVPDI for dryness-wetness monitoring in China indicated significant spatiotemporal differences in the dryness-wetness status at both monthly and annual scales. The distribution of dryness in China exhibited obvious differences in different agricultural regions. In conclusion, the TVPDI is an RS dryness index that can be applied to dryness assessments. • Proposed a dryness index (TVPDI) according to 3D space and Euclidean Distance method. • TVPDI is compared with four kinds of dryness index to test the applicability. • TVPDI MODIS is compared with TVPDI Landsat in sample regions to test the stability. • TVPDI is applied to analyze the spatial-temporal pattern of dryness-wetness status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]