Search

Purpose: Recent studies have found that children with convergence insufficiency experience higher frequencies of performance-related symptoms (e.g., losing concentration), but data on performance-related symptoms among adults with accommodative dysfunctions (ADs) and/or binocular dysfunctions (BDs) are lacking, which might cause misdiagnosis, diagnostic confusion, or exacerbation of attention deficits. We aimed to describe frequencies and symptom patterns in adults with ADs and/or BDs who were treated at optometric clinics and explore any correlations between visual symptoms and clinical findings. Methods: This cross-sectional study divided 235 participants (age: 23.7 ± 2.9 years) into three groups: ADs, BDs, and normal binocular vision (NBV) groups. Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Survey (CISS), refractive examinations, and binocular tests were administered to all participants. After 1-to-1 propensity score matching, outcomes were assessed using Mann‒Whitney U test and Pearson's correlation analysis among three groups. Results: In this sample, the number (frequency) of individuals with ADs and/or BDs was 117 (49.8%). ADs and BDs groups experienced significantly more performance-related symptoms (feeling sleepy, losing concentration, trouble remembering, reading slowly, losing place, and having to re-read; all P < 0.05) than the NBV group. Significant correlations were observed between performance-related symptoms and clinical findings, including accommodative amplitude (r = − 0.294), accommodative facility (r = − 0.452), near phoria (r = − 0.261), near point of convergence (r = 0.482), and positive fusional vergence (r = − 0.331) (all P < 0.001). Conclusion: ADs and/or BDs are commonly present in adults treated at optometric clinics, and adults diagnosed with ADs and/or BDs exhibit more performance-related symptoms than participants with NBV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that results from an overwhelming and disproportionate host response to an infection. Currently, the quality and extent of the immune response are evaluated based on clinical symptoms and the concentration of inflammatory biomarkers released or expressed by the immune cells. However, the host response toward sepsis is heterogeneous, and the roles of the individual immune cell types have not been fully conceptualized. During sepsis, the spleen plays a vital role in pathogen clearance, such as bacteria by an antibody response, macrophage bactericidal capacity, and bacterial endotoxin detoxification. This study uses Raman spectroscopy to understand the splenic T-lymphocyte compartment profile changes during bona fide bacterial sepsis versus hyperinflammatory endotoxemia. The Raman spectral analysis showed marked changes in splenocytes of mice subjected to septic peritonitis principally in the DNA region, with minor changes in the amino acids and lipoprotein areas, indicating significant transcriptomic activity during sepsis. Furthermore, splenocytes from mice exposed to endotoxic shock by injection of a high dose of lipopolysaccharide showed significant changes in the protein and lipid profiles, albeit with interindividual variations in inflammation severity. In summary, this study provided experimental evidence for the applicability and informative value of Raman spectroscopy for profiling the immune response in a complex, systemic infection scenario. Importantly, changes within the acute phase of inflammation onset (24 h) were reliably detected, lending support to the concept of early treatment and severity control by extracorporeal Raman profiling of immunocyte signatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioactive peptides from different food protein have been reported to have a lot of biological activities, such as anti-inflammation and anti-oxidation, making them beneficial for chronic disease. Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the major diseases affecting human health worldwide. The main treatment methods of OA are physiotherapy, medication and surgery. Many drug, such as adrenocortical hormone, have serious side effects on the patients. Therefore, it is necessary to search for treatment with less side effects. Recently, biologically active peptides from natural foods have been extensively reported to show beneficial effects on alleviating symptom of osteoarthritis, which make it potential for industrial application in the functional foods. In this review, we focus on biological characteristics of food-derived peptides, especially their therapeutic effect in osteoarthritis, and the underlying mechanism by which these peptides exert the biologically function in osteoarthritis. Peptides from bovine, chicken, deer are the predominant species for improvement of osteoarthritis in in vitro , in vivo and clinical studies. Marine food is another important protein source for production of bioactive peptide that showed beneficial effect in the treatment of osteoarthritis. A few peptides from plant protein such as soybean protein also showed positive effect on chondrocytes. However, many bioactive peptides that showed the beneficial effect on osteoarthritis were in the form of mixture. Finding out the exact peptide that exerts the positive effect in the osteoarthritis is necessary for the industrial application in the future. [Display omitted] • Food-derived peptides significantly alleviated symptom of osteoarthritis. • MAPK and Wnt signaling pathway were involved in the improvement of osteoarthritis mediated by food-derived peptides. • Peptides with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity had the great potential in the intervention of osteoarthritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiation-induced thrombocytopenia is a common and life-threatening side effect of ionizing radiation (IR) therapy. However, the underlying pathological mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, irradiation was demonstrated to significantly reduce platelet levels, inhibit megakaryocyte differentiation, and promote the apoptosis of bone marrow (BM) cells. A metabolomics approach and a UHPLC-QTOF MS system were subsequently employed for the comprehensive analysis of serum metabolic profiles of normal and irradiated mice. A total of 66 metabolites were significantly altered, of which 56 were up-regulated and 10 were down-regulated in irradiated mice compared to normal mice on day 11 after irradiation. Pathway analysis revealed that disorders in glycerophospholipid metabolism, nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, inositol phosphate metabolism, and tryptophan metabolism were involved in radiation-induced thrombocytopenia. In addition, three important differential metabolites, namely L-tryptophan, LysoPC (17:0), and D-sphinganine, which were up-regulated in irradiated mice, significantly induced the apoptosis of K562 cells. L-tryptophan inhibited megakaryocyte differentiation of K562 cells. Finally, serum metabolomics was performed on day 30 (i.e., when the platelet levels in irradiated mice recovered to normal levels). The contents of L-tryptophan, LysoPC (17:0), and D-sphinganine in normal and irradiated mice did not significantly differ on day 30 after irradiation. In conclusion, radiation can cause metabolic disorders, which are highly correlated with the apoptosis of hematopoietic cells and inhibition of megakaryocyte differentiation, ultimately resulting in thrombocytopenia. Further, the metabolites, L-tryptophan, LysoPC (17:0), and D-sphinganine can serve as biomarkers for radiation-induced thrombocytopenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Protozoan parasite secretions can be triggered by various modified media and diverse physicochemical stressors. Equally, host-parasite interactions are known to co-opt the exchange and secretion of soluble biochemical components. Analysis of Eimeria falciformis sporozoite secretions in response to interaction with mouse intestinal epithelial cells (MIECs) may reveal parasite secretory motifs, protein composition and inflammatory activities of E. falciformis extracellular vesicles (EVs). Methods: Eimeria falciformis sporozoites were allowed to interact with inactivated MIECs. Parasite secretions were separated into EV and vesicle-free (VF) fractions by discontinuous centrifugation and ultracentrifugation. Secreted EVs were purified in an iodixanol density gradient medium and the protein composition of both EV and VF fractions were analyzed by liquid chromatoraphy-tandem mass spectroscopy. The inflammatory activities of E. falciformis sporozoite EV on MIECs were then investigated. Results: During the interaction of E. falciformis sporozoites with inactivated MIECs, the parasite secreted VF and vesicle-bound molecules. Eimeria falciformis vesicles are typical pathogenic protozoan EVs with a mean diameter of 264 ± 2 nm, and enclosed heat shock protein (Hsp) 70 as classical EV marker. Refractile body-associated aspartyl proteinase (or eimepsin), GAP45 and aminopeptidase were the main components of E. falciformis sporozoite EVs, while VF proteins include Hsp90, actin, Vps54 and kinases, among others. Proteomic data revealed that E. falciformis EV and VF proteins are aggregates of bioactive, antigenic and immunogenic molecules which act in concert for E. falciformis sporozoite motility, pathogenesis and survival. Moreover, in MIECs, E. falciformis EVs induced upregulation of gene expression and secretion of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-17, IL-18, MCP1 as well as pyroptosis-dependent caspase 11 and NLRP6 inflammasomes with the concomitant secretion of lactate dehydrogenase. Conclusions: Eimeria falciformis sporozoite interaction with MIECs triggered the secretion of immunogenic and antigenic proteins. In addition, E. falciformis sporozoite EVs constitute parasite-associated molecular pattern that induced inflammatory response and cell death. This study offers additional insight in the secretion and protein composition of E. falciformis secretomes as well as the proinflammatory functions of E. falciformis sporozoite EVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machine Learning as a Service (MLaaS) has been widely used, such as logistic regression models trained in the cloud to provide people with classification predictions. However, these services allow the cloud to collect data from a large number of users, which could raise privacy concerns. With sharing of local models rather than user data, Federated Learning (FL) alleviates data privacy. But, in FL setting the difference between the predictive value provided by the optimal model and the shared global model (called maturing model) that approximates it is not significant, which still raises a security risk. In this paper, we design a flexible and privacy-preserving FL system to tackle these issues. This system makes the training process divide into two stages by analyzing whether the metrics of the iterative global gradient reach a set threshold or not. The two stages are implemented with Re-Encryption and CKKS homomorphism, which not only enables a secure aggregation in the cloud, but also maintains the security of the maturing model. Through detailed analysis, we prove the security of our protocol. Moreover, quantitative comparisons in the final experiments demonstrates that our scheme can achieve trade-off between accuracy, training time cost and communication overhead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The lowest-energy structures of the Be 2 Mg n – (n = 2–11) clusters are determined. • The evolution of the structure and stability has be elucidated. • Filled cage Be 2 Mg 18 – cluster with two central Be atoms has outstanding stability. • The electronic and vibrational properties of Be 2 Mg n – are discussed. Bimetallic clusters have long been attracting great attention because of their unique structures and interesting physicochemical properties. In this paper, the global minimum structures of bimetallic Be 2 Mg n – (n = 10–20) clusters are screened out by utilizing the CALYPSO code with subsequent DFT calculations. For each size, the lowest-energy structure can be determined by comparing the energy of the global minimum isomers. The results show that the Be 2 Mg n – clusters are one-center filled cage structures at n = 10–17, two-center filled cage configurations at n = 18–19, and three-center filled cage geometry at n = 20. In all Be 2 Mg n – clusters, a charge transfer from Mg to Be occurs. The presence of sp hybridization is confirmed by both NEC and DOS of Be 2 Mg n –. Analysis of stability revealed that a filled cage Be 2 Mg 18 – cluster with two central Be atoms has outstanding stability, which benefits from its quasi-closed-shell electron structures and strong Be-Be and Be-Mg bonds. Simulated PES and IR spectra have been provided for structural identification of the Be 2 Mg n – clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reuse of arsenic (As)-contaminated paddy fields is a global challenge because long-term flooding would result in As release due to the reductive dissolution of iron minerals. Biochar amendment is a common and effective remediation technique for As-contaminated paddy soil. However, the literature is still lacking in systematic research on the function of biochar in controlling the complexation of released dissolved organic matter (DOM) and iron oxides and its synergistic impact on the availability of As in flooded paddy soil. In the present study, bamboo biochar was prepared at different pyrolysis temperatures (300, 450 and 600 °C), as BB300, BB450 and BB600. Four paddy soil treatments including BB300, BB450, BB600 applications (1% ratio, m/m, respectively) and control (CK, no biochar application) were set and incubated for 60 d in flooding condition. The results showed that As availability represented by adsorbed As species (A-As) was mitigated by BB450 amendment compared with CK. The amendment of BB450 in paddy soil facilitated the complexation of HCl extractable Fe(III)/(II) and DOM and formation of amorphous iron oxides (e.g. complexed Fe species). Moreover, the abundance of Geobacteraceae and Xanthomonadaceae , as common electroactive bacteria, was promoted in the BB450 treated paddy soil in comparison to CK, which assisted to form amorphous iron oxides. The formed amorphous iron oxides then facilitated the formation of ternary complex (As–Fe-DOM) with highly stability, which could be considered as a mechanism for As immobilization after biochar was applied to the flooding paddy soil. Thus, the synergistic effect between amorphous iron oxides and electroactive stains could make main contribution to the passivation of released As in paddy soil under long-term flooding condition. This study provided a new insight for As immobilization via regulating iron-organic ligand complexation amendment with biochar in flooding paddy soil. [Display omitted] • Bamboo biochar (BB) was prepared under different pyrolysis temperatures. • BB at 450 °C altered electroactive bacteria activity (e.g. Geobacteraceae , Xanthomonadaceae). • Presence of BB changed the bacterial community composition and α diversity. • Co-deposition of Fe, As in the presence of DOM contributed to As passivation in paddy soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incorporating Ecosystem Service Value (ESV) into land use planning provides a fresh perspective for informed land management decisions. ESV, influenced by socio-economic and natural factors, has complex driving mechanisms, particularly in China's southwestern karst regions. Studying mediating variables helps elucidate these mechanisms. Further research into ecosystem services interactions and effective land use policies in karst areas is needed. This study evaluates the ESV of Guizhou Province, located in southern China's karst region, using the benefit transfer approach. Combining the Guizhou Provincial Land Use Planning Outline (2006–2020) with the multi-objective programming (MOP) model optimized by genetic algorithm and the patch-generating land use simulation (PLUS) model, four future development scenarios were designed. The response of ESV to land use and land cover (LULC) changes at the county scale under four different development scenarios from 2000 to 2020 and in the future was analyzed. A partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) was used to decouple the driving mechanism affecting ESV. The results show that over the past two decades, with the implementation of various ecological restoration projects, the total ESV has increased. The ESV for natural development scenarios, ecological conservation scenarios, economic development scenarios, and sustainable development scenarios are CNY 238.278 billion, CNY 400.514 billion, CNY 283.201 billion, and CNY 323.615 billion, respectively. The direct impacts of karst surface characteristic factors (KSCF), meteorological factors (MF), socio-economic factors (SEF) and transportation location factors (TLF) on ESV are positive (0.098), negative (−0.098), positive (0.336), and positive (0.109) respectively. The total effect of KSCF on ESV through influencing socio-economic factors and LULC is (−0.738), with SEF playing a complete mediating role. MF indirectly affect ESV by influencing LULC, with LULC playing a complete mediating role in this process. The PLS-SEM model shows that under the dominant position of LULC, the interaction between natural environmental factors and socio-economic factors on ESV is very complex. This study offers valuable insights that can guide managers in this region, as well as in other karst regions globally, in the development of sustainable land use policies. • The MOP model, optimized with NSGA-II, was coupled with the PLUS model. • In future LULC simulations, both quantity and spatial patterns were optimized. • Using the PLS-SEM model, we decoupled the driving mechanisms of ESV. • KSCF are key influencing factors, with LULC playing a crucial mediating role. • Sustainability should be considered in future land use plans for karst areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to report our initial experience in airway management in young children with severe laryngeal obstruction. Hi-flow nasal cannula oxygen (HFNO) with spontaneous respiration was used as a new airway management strategy in young children undergoing suspension laryngoscopic surgery. Children aged between 1 day and 24 months scheduled for suspension laryngoscopy were retrospectively studied. The data collected included the patients' age, gender, American Society of Anaesthesiologists physical status classification, comorbidities, preoperative physiological status, methods of induction and maintenance of anesthesia, course of the disease and surgical options, lowest oxygen saturation recorded, transcutaneous CO2, duration of operation, and patients' need for rescue methods. A total of 38 patients successfully underwent suspension laryngoscopy under HFNO with spontaneous respiration. 19 patients were less than 1 year old (7 neonates), while the other half were less than or equal to 2 years old. The median [IQR (range)] lowest oxygen saturation recorded during the operation was 98 [93–99 (91–99)] %. The median [IQR (range)] duration of HFNO with spontaneous respiration was 65 [45–100 (30–200)] minutes. The median [IQR (range)] PCO2/PtcCO2 at the end of the spontaneous ventilation period was 54 [48–63 (39–70)] mmHg, which was the same as the preoperative PCO2 despite a long operation time. HFNO with spontaneous respiration emerged as a new airway management strategy in young children with severe laryngeal obstruction that was beneficial in maintaining oxygenation and was superior to transnasal humidified rapid insufflation ventilatory exchange (THRIVE) in terms of the rising rate of PCO2 in these patients, thereby prolonging the safety time of the operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understory vegetation plays a crucial role in mediating the natural development of forest ecosystems. The removal of understory vegetation, as a common forest management practice, may have a significant impact on soil properties. However, a global perspective on how understory removal might affect soil biogeochemical properties is still lacking. To fill this knowledge gap, we performed a meta-analysis with 2059 observations collected from 71 peer reviewed publications to evaluate the effects of understory vegetation removal on soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and microbial biomass. We found that (1) removal of the understory significantly increased soil nitrates (NO 3 −) concentration by 6.5 %, but decreased the stocks of C and N, the concentrations of N, available K (AK) and microbial biomass C (MBC), and fine root biomass by 19.4, 15.1, 7.9, 19.9, 13.5 and 32.2%, respectively; (2) mycorrhizal association significantly mediated understory removal effects on soil organic C (SOC) and dissolved organic C (DOC) concentrations, and soil pH, while canopy type had a significant impact on the effects of understory removal on soil K, AK, NO 3 −, MBC concentrations, C:N ratio, and soil pH; (3) soil depth had a negative impact on the effects of understory removal on SOC, AK, ammonium nitrogen (NH 4 +) concentrations, and soil moisture; and (4) mycorrhizal association, soil depth, slope, forest stand age, elevation, and MAT were the most important moderator variables. Our results suggest that the removal of understory vegetation generally have negative effects on soil biogeochemical properties, and that managing understory vegetation is important for promoting the healthy development of forest ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until now, the pseudonym ID and one-time hash chain as the key technologies solve anonymous and forward secrecy properties, respectively, in lightweight authentication protocols for wireless sensor networks (WSNs) environment. However, both techniques have to face the limitation of asynchronization attack, which will cause the pseudonym ID and one-time hash chain value between participants to be loss of synchronization when the transmitted message is blocked. Most recently, a serial of lightweight anonymous authentication scheme with forward secrecy (LAASFS) have been built to resolve this problem. Unfortunately, they failed to handle this question satisfactorily. Besides, most of them are still vulnerable to smart card loss attack (SCLA). In this article, to address these issues and make more effective, we combine pseudonym ID, one-time hash chain and tag techniques to construct an LAASFS for WSNs environment. The proposed LAASFS can be adaptive resilience of asynchronization attacks. In addition, it is also able to resist a variety of known attacks like SCLA and wrong password login attack. Formal analyses are taken by BAN logic and ProVerif tool to demonstrate the security of properties of our LAASFS. Compared with several previous related schemes, the proposed LAASFS possesses obvious advantages in computation and communication costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluorescence‐based techniques have found potential biomedical applications owing to their high sensitivity, rapid response, and in situ characteristics. Traditional fluorescent probes suffer from aggregation‐caused quenching effects, which limit their usage at high concentrations or in nanoparticles. Aggregation‐induced emission (AIE), on the other hand, is a phenomenon wherein luminogens are non‐emissive in dilute solutions but highly emissive in the aggregate and solid states. AIE bioconjugates formed by covalent linkage of AIE luminogens to biomolecules are especially promising candidates for biomedical applications because they show excellent biocompatibility, good water solubility, high specificity to the target of interest, wide functionality, and smart responsiveness. This review summarizes the methodologies in synthesizing AIE bioconjugates and their intricate applications in biosensing, bioimaging, image‐guided therapy, and "Lab‐in‐cell" over the past 20 years. Perspectives are also shared to inspire enthusiasm and motivate researchers to further develop this emerging field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Occurrence of uranium isotopes in groundwater provides a tracer technology for quality, sources, and recharge conditions. Groundwater samples collected from different aquifer types (sand dune, Quaternary clastics, ophiolite, carbonates and sabkha) in the UAE were analyzed for 238U and 235U. In addition to uranium isotopes, monitoring indicators also cover groundwater pH, temperature and TDS. The concentration of uranium isotopes (238U + 235U) range from 4 to 69,745 ng/L. The distribution of the isotopes in the groundwater of the UAE can be linked to aquifer lithological variability, distance from recharge front and seawater intrusion. In general, about 3% of the groundwater analyzed have uranium concentration above the WHO permissible limit for drinking water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer cell motility and its heterogeneity play an important role in metastasis, which is responsible for death of 90% of cancer patients. Here, in combination with a microfluidic technique, single-cell tracking, and systematic motility analysis, we present a rapid and quantitative approach to judge the motility heterogeneity of breast cancer cells MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 in a well-defined three-dimensional (3D) microenvironment with controllable conditions. Following this approach, identification of highly mobile active cells in a medium with epithelial growth factor will provide a practical tool for cell invasion and metastasis investigation of multiple cancer cell types, including primary cells. Further, this approach could potentially become a speedy (∼hours) and efficient tool for basic and clinical diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blockchain-based authentication mode, a fundamental solution to prevent unauthorized access behavior, gradually becomes a focus in future distributed mobile cloud computing (MCC) services. However, due to the transparent and immutable characteristics of blockchain, users' access behaviors are facing huge security and privacy threats. Storing the encrypted data on chain is an effective way to address these issues, but access permission confirmation and update in the form of ciphertext is the main bottleneck. To this end, this paper proposes a blockchain-based unified authentication and hierarchical access control scheme for the MCC environment, which provides both privacy protection and auditability. In the proposed scheme, users can access multiple MCC services with different access permissions using a single credential. To protect the privacy of both users and service providers, while still supporting auditability, the data on the public ledger is blinded using Pedersen commitments. Besides, the proposed scheme provides flexible dynamic updating in encrypted form. Theoretical analysis indicates that the proposed scheme can meet various security and privacy requirements in the MCC environment. Compared with related schemes, it has better communication efficiency. Therefore, the proposed scheme is more suitable for the actual MCC environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • FTIR microspectroscopy could be used for postmortem diagnosis of DKA. • DKA differed from control group mainly in the structure and content of proteins. • A PLS-DA classifier was built to identify DKA. Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a fatal complication that occurs in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) when there is a severe insulin deficiency. In forensic autopsies, deaths related to DKA usually lack morphological evidence. Therefore, accurate postmortem identification of DKA remains a major challenge in forensic practice. The main aim of this study was to identify DKA in renal tubules by the combination of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy and chemometrics. The results of principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the biochemical differences between the renal tubules from the DKA and control groups were mainly due to differences in the structure and content of proteins. Subsequently, partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was used to develop a binary classification model, with diagnostic accuracies of 97.73% and 90.77% for the training set and test set, respectively. The results of PCA and PLS-DA showed that differences in protein structure and content were key to distinguishing DKA from controls. This study demonstrates that the combination of FTIR microspectroscopy and chemometrics can be used to accurately perform postmortem diagnosis of DKA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • FA could stabilize nZVI against aggregation. • MR-1 dissolved the passivation layers on the surface of nZVI-FA and enhanced its reactivity. • nZVI-FA/MR-1 system exhibited a superior Cr(VI) removal performance. • Bio-Fe(II) and EPSs play a crucial role in the removal of Cr(VI). • Reduction, adsorption and complexation are the main mechanisms for Cr(VI) removal. In present work, nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) was successfully stabilized using fulvic acid (nZVI-FA). Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 (MR-1) was used to enhance the reactivity of the nZVI-FA. The results demonstrated that nZVI-FA combined with the MR-1 (nZVI-FA/MR-1) system could effectively solve the aggregation and surface passivation of nZVI, thereby significantly enhancing the reactivity of nZVI for Cr(VI) removal. The Cr(VI) removal efficiency of the nZVI-FA/MR-1 system (100 %) within 24 h was apparently higher than that of the ZVI-FA system (64.43 %). The enhancement of Cr(VI) removal is because fulvic acid (FA) FA can stabilize nZVI against aggregation; MR-1 could rapidly reduce the Fe(III) (hydr)oxides (FeHOs) passivation layers on the surface of nZVI-FA to biogenic Fe(II) [bio-Fe(II)], which in turn reduced Cr(VI). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis revealed that the Fe(II)/Fe(III) ratio (1.20) and Cr(III)/Cr(VI) ratio (2.53) of the precipitates in the nZVI-FA/MR-1 system were much higher than that those in the nZVI-FA system (0.55 and 1.40, respectively). Three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix (3D-EEM) spectral analysis confirmed that tyrosine, tryptophan, and protein-like substances in extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) from MR-1 are vital for the removal of Cr(VI). The mechanism analysis demonstrated that most Cr(VI) was reduced to Cr(III); Cr(III) existed as Cr 2 O 3 , FeCr 2 O 4 and Cr x Fe 1-x (OH) 3 precipitates, and some of the Cr(VI) was removed from the solution by adsorption and complexation. This study offers a low-cost, efficient, and environmentally friendly strategy to enhance the reactivity of nZVI for Cr(VI) removal, which has broad prospective applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the resource limitations of low-cost wireless sensors, there is a growing inclination to utilize cryptographic primitives that are optimized for efficiency, such as symmetric key encryption/decryption and hash functions, when designing authentication schemes. However, designing a lightweight authentication scheme that can meet various security requirements poses a significant challenge. In recent years, numerous lightweight authentication schemes have been proposed in order to address these security needs. Nevertheless, recent research has revealed that many of these schemes exhibit security vulnerabilities and design deficiencies, including challenges related to asynchronization and impractical gateway-node search operations. Due to the inadequate security of existing schemes, this study introduces a novel privacy-preserving authentication scheme that aims to provide adaptive resilience against desynchronization attacks in wireless body area networks (WBANs). The proposed scheme utilizes lightweight cryptographic modules to optimize efficiency. To ensure user anonymity, the Chinese Remainder Theorem technique is employed, whereas forward secrecy and resistance to desynchronization attacks are achieved through the use of one-way hash chains and serial numbers, respectively. Through extensive analysis and comparisons, the proposed scheme is demonstrated to strike a fine balance between security and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The allowance mechanism is one of the core and sensitive aspects in the design of a carbon emissions trading scheme and affects the compliance cost for each entity covered under the scheme. By examining China’s allowance mechanism from two aspects-allowance allocation and allowance distribution, this paper compares China’s carbon trading pilots with the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and California Cap-and-Trade Program. The comparison identifies the unique features in allowance mechanism and particular issues that affect the efficiency of the pilots. The paper also recommends courses of action to strengthen China’s existing pilots and to build valuable experiences for the establishment of the national cap-and-trade system in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A chiral porous organic cage based CSP was prepared by thiol-ene click reaction. • Good enantioselectivity of the CSP in both normal-phase and reversed-phase HPLC. • Various racemates have been well enantioseparated on the prepared CSP. • Enantiomers separation scope and applicability of POCs-based HPLC columns have been broadened. • Promising candidate of chiral porous organic cages for HPLC enantioseparation. Porous organic cages (POCs) are a new kind of porous molecular materials, which have gained widespread interest in many fields due to their intriguing properties, including excellent molecular solubility, inherent molecular cavity and rich host-guest chemistry. To date, many chiral POCs have been explored as chiral stationary phases (CSPs) for gas chromatographic (GC) separation of enantiomers. However, the applications of chiral POCs for high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) enantiomeric separation is extremely rare. In this study, we report the construction of thiol-ene click reaction for the preparation of CSP for HPLC by using a [4+8]-type chiral POC NC4-R as chiral selector. The fabricated CSP showed good chiral resolution performance not only in normal-phase HPLC (NP-HPLC) but also in reversed-phase HPLC (RP-HPLC). Seventeen and ten racemates were well resolved in the two separation modes, respectively, including ketones, esters, alcohols, phenols, amines, ethers, organic acids, and amino acids. Moreover, the fabricated column also shows good chiral recognition complementarity to two popular chiral HPLC columns (Chiralpak AD-H and Chiralcel OD-H columns) and previously reported chiral POC NC1-R-based HPLC column, which can resolve some racemates that unable to be resolved by the two commercially available chiral HPLC columns and NC1-R-based column. The relative standard deviation (RSD) values (n = 4) of retention time and resolution (Rs) of analytes separated on the column were less than 0.3 % and 0.5 % after it was subjected to different injections, showing the good reproducibility and stability of the NC4-R-based column. This work demonstrated high potentials of chiral POCs for HPLC enantioseparation and the applicability of chiral POC-based HPLC columns can be broadened by developing more chiral POCs with diverse structures as chiral selector for HPLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel chiral polyimine macrocycle-based CSP was prepared by click reaction. • The column shows good enantioselectivity in both normal-phase and reversed-phase HPLC. • Various racemates have been resolved on the fabricated column. • Great potential of chiral polyimine macrocycles for HPLC enantioseparation. Polyimine macrocycles are a new class of organic macrocycles with cyclic structures, well-defined molecular cavities, and multiple cooperative binding sites, which have recently aroused considerable research interest in molecular recognition and separation. Herein, we report the bonding of a [3+3] chiral polyimine macrocycle (H 3 L, C 78 H 78 N 6 O 3) on thiol-functionalized silica gel using thiol-ene click chemistry to prepare a chiral stationary phase (CSP) for high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The fabricated column exhibited excellent chiral separation capability under both normal-phase and reversed-phase conditions. Fourteen and 10 racemates were well resolved on the column in normal-phase mode (using n -hexane/isopropanol as the mobile phase) and reversed-phase mode (using methanol/water as the mobile phase), respectively, including alcohols, esters, ethers, ketones, aldehydes, epoxides and organic acids. Moreover, the column also shows good selectivity toward positional isomers. Six positional isomers (dinitrobenzene, chloroaniline, bromoaniline, iodoaniline, nitrobrobenzene and nitrochlorobenzene) were well separated on the column. In addition, the effects of the injection mass and mobile phase composition on the separation were investigated. The column shows good reproducibility and stability after multiple injections with the relative standard deviation (RSD) (n = 5) of the retention time and resolution being < 0.96 % and 0.65 %, respectively. This study indicates that this type of chiral polyimine macrocycles is a promising chiral selector for HPLC enantioseparation and will push forward the applications of more novel chiral macrocycles for chiral chromatographic separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In recent times, dietary restriction (DR) has received considerable attention for its promising effects on metabolism and longevity. Previous studies on DR have mainly focused on the health benefits produced by different restriction patterns, whereas comprehensive reviews of the role of gut microbiota during DR are limited. In this review, we discuss the effects of caloric restriction, fasting, protein restriction, and amino acid restriction from a microbiome perspective. Furthermore, the underlying mechanisms by which DR affects metabolic health by regulating intestinal homeostasis are summarized. Specifically, we reviewed the impacts of different DRs on specific gut microbiota. Additionally, we put forward the limitations of the current research and suggest the development of personalized microbes-directed DR for different populations and corresponding next-generation sequencing technologies for accurate microbiological analysis. DR effectively modulates the composition of the gut microbiota and microbial metabolites. In particular, DR markedly affects the rhythmic oscillation of microbes which may be related to the circadian clock system. Moreover, increasing evidence supports that DR profoundly improves metabolic syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, and cognitive impairment. To summarize, DR may be an effective and executable dietary manipulation strategy for maintaining metabolic health, however, further investigation is needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on Snell's law and the constant phase in the front of optical field, a design method of the slow axis collimation lens with variable curvature radius is proposed for semiconductor laser bars. Variable radius of the collimator is designed by the transmission angle, and it is demonstrated that the collimator has good beam collimation ability by material with low refractive index. Resorting to the design thought of finite element method, the surface of the collimator has been divided, and it is feasible to be fabricated. This method is applied as an example in collimation of a 976 nm semiconductor laser bar. 6 mrad divergence angle of collimated beam at slow axis is realized by the designed collimation lens with refraction index of 1.51. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gynura divaricata (L.) DC. (GD), a herbal medicine, has been used for the prevention and treatment of hyperglycemia in China. However, hypoglycemic ingredients within GD have not yet been well studied. The aim of this study was to explore undiscovered compounds with dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) inhibitory activity within GD. A four-step strategy was developed to explore undiscovered DPP-IV inhibitors within GD. First, the components were preliminarily characterized using UHPLC-HRMS combined with a library search. Second, preliminarily characterized compounds were searched for potential bioactivity. Third, a mixture of these preliminarily characterized compounds was isolated and thoroughly characterized based on fragmentation patterns associated with molecular networking. Fourth, the activities of these compounds were verified using DPP-IV inhibitory assay and molecular docking. Diprotin A, a tripeptide inhibitor against DPP-IV, was identified. Thereafter, a mixture of twenty-five diprotin A analogs was isolated and characterized, which exhibited IC 50 of 0.40 mg/mL for DPP-IV. Molecular docking results also confirmed the interactions between the tripeptide analogs and DPP-IV mainly via H-bonds and hydrophobic interactions. This is the first report of DPP-IV inhibitors within GD. These findings demonstrate that the extract of GD might be beneficial for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus, and is expected to promote further development and utilization of GD in herbal medicine. [Display omitted] • A four-step strategy was developed for chemical characterization and activity evaluation. • The DPP-IV inhibitors within Gynura divaricata (L.) DC. (GD) were characterized and evaluated for the first time. • The findings are validated that GD is a potential herbal medicine for blood sugar regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To explore the advantages, feasibility and limitations of hepatic arterial infusion under temporary hepatic circulation occlusion. Methods Twelve rabbits were randomly divided into two groups; hepatic artery infusion group (HAI group) and hepatic artery infusion under temporary hepatic circulation occlusion group (HAI-THCO). Microcatheters were separately inserted into the proper hepatic artery and right hepatic vein. For the HAI group, 5-Fu (10 mg/ml and 100 mg/kg) was infused into the common hepatic artery with a high pressure injector for 10 minutes. For the HAI-THCO group, the common hepatic artery and hepatic portal vein were temporarily occluded for 15 minutes using artery clamp when S-Fu was being infused. For the two groups, at 2, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 min after the start of infusion, blood samples of die hepatic flow were collected from the right hepatic vein and of the systemic blood flow from the inferior vena cava, 1 ml at each lime point. The blood drug concentration of these blood samples was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results Except that at 20 and 30 min after infusion, in the HAI group, the blood drug concentration of hepatic circulation was significantly higher than that of systemic circulation (P <0.05). But in the HAI-THCO group, the blood drug concentration of hepatic circulation was significantly higher than that of systemic circulation at all the time points (P < 0. 05). The hepatic circulation blood drug level of the HAI-THCO group was always significantly higher than that of the HAI group (P < 0. 05), but the systemic circulation blood drug concentration of the HAI-THCO group was always lower ( P < 0. 05 ). The hepatic circulation maximum concentration (Cmax) of blood drug concentration of the HAI-THCO and HAI groups was (23.057 ±3.270) μg/ml and (4. 408 ± 1. 092 ) μg/ml, respectively, and the Cmax of HAI-THCO group was significantly higher (P< 0.001 ) , being 5.23 times of that of HAI group. The systemic circulation Cmax of the two groups was (1.456 ±0.217) μg/ml and (2.335 ±0.669) μg/ml, respectively, and the Cmax of HAI group was 1.60 times higher than that of the HAI-THCO group (P = 0. 022). The hepatic circulation AUC of HAI-THCO and HAI groups was (368.927 ±52. 416) μg · min · ml-1 and (65.630 ± 14.928) μg · min · ml-1, respectively. The AUC of HAI-THCO group was 5.62 times higher than that of the HAI group (P <0. 001). The systemic circulation AUC of the two groups was (27. 193 ±3. 948) μg · min · ml-1 and (45. 301 ± 12.275) μg · min · ml-1 , respectively. The AUC of HAI group was 1. 67 times higher than that of the HAI-THCO group (P = 0. 014). Conclusions HAI-THCO is a simple and effective regional hepatic infusion chemotherapy technique. It can be performed through occluding the common hepatic artery and the hepatic portal vein by balloon catheter. HAI-THCO can not only increase the blood drug concentration in the hepatic circulation, but also decrease the blood drug concentration in the systemic circulation, therefore, distinctly lowering the systemic toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Micrococcal nuclease (MNase) is the extracellular nuclease of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). It preferentially digests single-stranded nucleic acids. The existence of MNase can be the standard to identify S. aureus and the content of MNase can be used to evaluate the pathogenicity of S. aureus. Herein, an ultra-high sensitive and selective fluorescent sensing platform for MNase is developed based on MNase-induced DNA strand scission and the difference in affinity of graphene oxide (GO) for single-stranded DNA containing different numbers of bases in length. In the absence of MNase, the adsorption of the dye-labeled ssDNA on GO makes the dyes close proximity to GO surface resulting in high efficiency quenching of fluorescence of the dyes. Conversely, and very importantly, in the presence of MNase, it cleaves the dye-labeled ssDNA into small fragments. The introduction of GO into the sensing solution results in weak quenching of the fluorescence of the dyes due to the weak affinity of the short dye-labeled oligonuleotide fragment to GO, and the fluorescence intensity gradually increases with increasing concentration of MNase. MNase can be detected in a range of 8×10−5 to 1.6×10−3 unit/mL with a detection limit of 2.7×10−5 unit/mL and good selectivity. The detection limit is of two orders of magnitude lower than those reported fluorescence MNase assays. Moreover, when the GO-based biosensor is used in S. aureus sample assays, preeminent fluorescence signals are obtained, thus the platform of the GO-based biosensor can be used to detect MNase in real-world samples. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The interface between electroless plating Ni–W–P deposit and aluminium alloy (Al) matrix at different temperature heated for 1h was studied using transmission electron microscope. The results show that the interface between as-deposited Ni–W–P deposit and Al matrix is clear. There are no crack and cavity. The bonding of Ni–W–P deposit and Al matrix is in good condition. The Ni–W–P plating is nanocrystalline phase (5–6nm) in diameter. After being heated at 200°C for 1h, the interface of Ni–W–P deposit and Al matrix is clear, without the appearance of the diffusion layer. There exist a diffusion layer and educts of intermetallic compounds of nickle and aluminium such as Al3Ni, Al3Ni2, NiAl, Ni5Al3 and so on between Ni–W–P deposit and Al matrix after being heated at 400°C for 1h. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

AbstractLimosillactobacillus reuteri (L. reuteri), a type of Lactobacillus spp., stands out as the most extensively researched probiotic. Its remarkable intestinal adhesion has led to widespread applications in both the food and medical sectors. Notably, recent research highlights the probiotic efficacy of L. reuteri sourced from breast milk, particularly in influencing social behavior and mitigating atopic dermatitis. In this review, our emphasis is on surveying recent literature regarding the promotion of host’s health by L. reuteri. We aim to provide a concise summary of the latest regulatory effects and potential mechanisms attributed to L. reuteri in the realms of metabolism, brain- and immune-related functions. The mechanism through which L. reuteri promotes host health by modulating the intestinal microenvironment primarily involves promoting intestinal epithelial renewal, bolstering intestinal barrier function, regulating gut microbiota and its metabolites, and suppressing inflammation and immune responses. Additionally, this review delves into new technologies, identifies shortcomings, and addresses challenges in current L. reuteri research. Finally, the application prospects of L. reuteri are provided. Therefore, a better understanding of the role and mechanisms of L. reuteri will contribute significantly to the development of new probiotic functional foods and enable precise, targeted interventions for various diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulmonary fat embolism (PFE) as a cause of death often occurs in trauma cases such as fractures and soft tissue contusions. Traditional PFE diagnosis relies on subjective methods and special stains like oil red O. This study utilizes computational pathology, combining digital pathology and deep learning algorithms, to precisely quantify fat emboli in whole slide images using conventional hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining. The results demonstrate deep learning's ability to identify fat droplet morphology in lung microvessels, achieving an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of 0.98. The AI-quantified fat globules generally matched the Falzi scoring system with oil red O staining. The relative quantity of fat emboli against lung area was calculated by the algorithm, determining a diagnostic threshold of 8.275% for fatal PFE. A diagnostic strategy based on this threshold achieved a high AUC of 0.984, similar to manual identification with special stains but surpassing H&E staining. This demonstrates computational pathology's potential as an affordable, rapid, and precise method for fatal PFE diagnosis in forensic practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest microclimates can contrast substantially from the macroclimate outside forests. These microclimates regulate understory biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Studies have quantified the global patterns and driving factors of forest understory temperature offsets, but data from China were almost missing, making the global assessment incomplete. To fill this knowledge gap, we quantitatively synthesized 494 paired observations from China extracted from 91 publications to quantify mean (Tmean), maximum (Tmax) and minimum temperature offsets (Tmin). Results showed that (1) forest canopies significantly buffered understory Tmean and Tmax against macroclimatic temperature, with average offsets of 1.0 and 1.5°C, respectively, while understory Tmin offsets were not significantly different from zero; (2) forest type (broadleaved, mixed, vs. coniferous) and forest location (rural vs. urban) did not affect Tmean, Tmax or Tmin offsets, but climate zone and season showed significant impacts; and (3) macroclimatic temperature, wind speed, tree height and canopy density also impacted temperature offsets, although their effects varied among Tmean, Tmax and Tmin. Our results complement the global assessment of forest buffering capacity, and reiterate the necessity for incorporating microclimatic variability into future bioclimatic modelling of species demography and distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The objective of this study was to evaluate whether adjusting the oxygen concentration guided by the Oxygen Reserve Index (ORI) during pediatric laryngeal surgery with High Flow Nasal Cannula Oxygen (HFNO) could achieve postoperative PaO2 close to physiological levels while ensuring adequate oxygenation in surgery.Sixty pediatric patients undergoing laryngeal surgery or examination were randomly assigned to two groups. The ORI group received oxygen concentration adjustments every 5 min to maintain a target ORI value of 0.21, whereas the control group did not undergo any adjustments. Postoperative PaO2, time weighted average fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2), and mean Peripheral Oxygen Saturation (SpO2) were compared between groups. Finally, some analyses were conducted to examine the relationship of ORI with PaO2.In general, the postoperative PaO2 was 164.9 ± 48.8 mmHg in ORI group and 323.0 ± 87.7 mmHg in control group (P < 0.01). The time weighted average FiO2 in the ORI group was 85.9 [81.8–92.7] %. There was no significant difference in mean SpO2 between the two groups (ORI vs. control: 98.4 [97.7–99.2] vs. 98.8 [97.7–99.5]; P = 0.36). According to the analyses, the optimal cut value for ORI was determined to be 0.195 when PaO2 was 150 mmHg.In pediatric laryngeal surgery with HFNO, reducing oxygen concentration guided by ORI helped achieve postoperative PaO2 levels closer to physiological norms without compromising intra-operative oxygenation.Methods: The objective of this study was to evaluate whether adjusting the oxygen concentration guided by the Oxygen Reserve Index (ORI) during pediatric laryngeal surgery with High Flow Nasal Cannula Oxygen (HFNO) could achieve postoperative PaO2 close to physiological levels while ensuring adequate oxygenation in surgery.Sixty pediatric patients undergoing laryngeal surgery or examination were randomly assigned to two groups. The ORI group received oxygen concentration adjustments every 5 min to maintain a target ORI value of 0.21, whereas the control group did not undergo any adjustments. Postoperative PaO2, time weighted average fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2), and mean Peripheral Oxygen Saturation (SpO2) were compared between groups. Finally, some analyses were conducted to examine the relationship of ORI with PaO2.In general, the postoperative PaO2 was 164.9 ± 48.8 mmHg in ORI group and 323.0 ± 87.7 mmHg in control group (P < 0.01). The time weighted average FiO2 in the ORI group was 85.9 [81.8–92.7] %. There was no significant difference in mean SpO2 between the two groups (ORI vs. control: 98.4 [97.7–99.2] vs. 98.8 [97.7–99.5]; P = 0.36). According to the analyses, the optimal cut value for ORI was determined to be 0.195 when PaO2 was 150 mmHg.In pediatric laryngeal surgery with HFNO, reducing oxygen concentration guided by ORI helped achieve postoperative PaO2 levels closer to physiological norms without compromising intra-operative oxygenation.Results: The objective of this study was to evaluate whether adjusting the oxygen concentration guided by the Oxygen Reserve Index (ORI) during pediatric laryngeal surgery with High Flow Nasal Cannula Oxygen (HFNO) could achieve postoperative PaO2 close to physiological levels while ensuring adequate oxygenation in surgery.Sixty pediatric patients undergoing laryngeal surgery or examination were randomly assigned to two groups. The ORI group received oxygen concentration adjustments every 5 min to maintain a target ORI value of 0.21, whereas the control group did not undergo any adjustments. Postoperative PaO2, time weighted average fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2), and mean Peripheral Oxygen Saturation (SpO2) were compared between groups. Finally, some analyses were conducted to examine the relationship of ORI with PaO2.In general, the postoperative PaO2 was 164.9 ± 48.8 mmHg in ORI group and 323.0 ± 87.7 mmHg in control group (P < 0.01). The time weighted average FiO2 in the ORI group was 85.9 [81.8–92.7] %. There was no significant difference in mean SpO2 between the two groups (ORI vs. control: 98.4 [97.7–99.2] vs. 98.8 [97.7–99.5]; P = 0.36). According to the analyses, the optimal cut value for ORI was determined to be 0.195 when PaO2 was 150 mmHg.In pediatric laryngeal surgery with HFNO, reducing oxygen concentration guided by ORI helped achieve postoperative PaO2 levels closer to physiological norms without compromising intra-operative oxygenation.Conclusions: The objective of this study was to evaluate whether adjusting the oxygen concentration guided by the Oxygen Reserve Index (ORI) during pediatric laryngeal surgery with High Flow Nasal Cannula Oxygen (HFNO) could achieve postoperative PaO2 close to physiological levels while ensuring adequate oxygenation in surgery.Sixty pediatric patients undergoing laryngeal surgery or examination were randomly assigned to two groups. The ORI group received oxygen concentration adjustments every 5 min to maintain a target ORI value of 0.21, whereas the control group did not undergo any adjustments. Postoperative PaO2, time weighted average fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2), and mean Peripheral Oxygen Saturation (SpO2) were compared between groups. Finally, some analyses were conducted to examine the relationship of ORI with PaO2.In general, the postoperative PaO2 was 164.9 ± 48.8 mmHg in ORI group and 323.0 ± 87.7 mmHg in control group (P < 0.01). The time weighted average FiO2 in the ORI group was 85.9 [81.8–92.7] %. There was no significant difference in mean SpO2 between the two groups (ORI vs. control: 98.4 [97.7–99.2] vs. 98.8 [97.7–99.5]; P = 0.36). According to the analyses, the optimal cut value for ORI was determined to be 0.195 when PaO2 was 150 mmHg.In pediatric laryngeal surgery with HFNO, reducing oxygen concentration guided by ORI helped achieve postoperative PaO2 levels closer to physiological norms without compromising intra-operative oxygenation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Whey proteins accelerate lactoferrin aggregation through disulphide interchange. • Lactoferrin and β-lactoglobulin influence each other's response to heat treatment. • Bacteriostatic activity of lactoferrin declines after milk protein aggregation. • Lactoferrin/whey aggregates formed at 75 °C resist infant in vitro digestion. To establish the effect of the presence of milk serum proteins on heat-induced changes to lactoferrin, lactoferrin alone, and lactoferrin mixed with either milk serum or β-lactoglobulin was heated at 65 °C, 70 °C and 75 °C for 30 min. After heating, the effect of milk serum proteins on aggregation of lactoferrin was characterized, after which the effect of such aggregation on digestion and bacteriostatic capacity of lactoferrin were determined. The presence of milk serum proteins accelerated the aggregation of lactoferrin during heating through thiol/disulphide interchange. Lactoferrin also formed disulphide-linked aggregates when it was heated with β-lactoglobulin. Protein aggregates formed at 75 °C were much more resistant to infant digestion, causing decreased peptide release from lactoferrin. Heating lactoferrin and milk serum proteins together accelerated the loss of bacteriostatic activity upon heating. In conclusion, heat-induced aggregation of lactoferrin with milk serum proteins affected both its digestion and its bacteriostatic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The profiling of natural products is important in modern biological sciences and new drug development. However, the separation and characterization of complex herbal extracts are significantly challenging for researchers in the biochemical field. Herein, an offline two‐dimensional mixed‐mode liquid chromatography × reversed‐phase liquid chromatography system is developed. Our system exhibits high orthogonality and is composed of a newly prepared stationary phase in the first dimension and a traditional C18 phase in the second dimension, and is operated in combination with a high‐resolution mass spectrometry and molecular network. Sanguisorba officinalis L. is studied using the proposed method owing to its bioactivity. With the aid of orthogonal separation, the ionization of the individual components is improved. The number of detected compounds and separated peaks are significantly increased when one‐dimensional liquid chromatography is upgraded to two‐dimensional liquid chromatography. In addition, 270 compounds (127 of which are tentatively characterized as new compounds, and further confirmation is needed) are successfully characterized based on their fragmentation patterns under the guidance of molecular network, while only 95 compounds are characterized using one‐dimensional liquid chromatography and high‐resolution mass spectrometry. The results indicate that the developed offline two‐dimensional mixed‐mode liquid chromatography × reversed‐phase liquid chromatography, tandem high‐resolution mass spectrometry, and molecular network method are effective for profiling complex samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Milk serum contains many immune-active proteins that are sensitive to heat treatment. This study compared the effects of thermal (63 °C, 30 min; 72 °C, 15 s; 85 °C, 5 min) and non-thermal (ultraviolet-C, UV-C; thermo-ultrasonication, TUS) treatments on bovine milk serum proteins by using label-free LC-MS/MS-based proteomics. UV-C (4500 J/L) and TUS (60 W, 6 min) treatments achieved a 5log microbial reduction as determined by plate counting. Proteomics showed that e.g., complement proteins, xanthine dehydrogenase/oxidase, and fatty acid-binding protein decreased significantly (p˂0.05, |fold change|˃1) after thermal treatments, and almost no lactoferrin, immunoglobulin, and lactoperoxidase was retained after heating at 85 °C for 5 min, whereas these proteins were mostly retained after non-thermal treatments. Most of these heat-sensitive proteins were located in membrane and extracellular regions and were involved in cellular and metabolic processes, response to stimulus, binding, immune process and catalytic functions. Finally, part of the proteomics results were verified by ELISA. This study thus provided insights for the development of optimized thermal and novel non-thermal treatments for dairy processing. As alternatives to thermal processing technique, UV-C and ultrasonication showed a great potential in the processing of milk. This study not only showed that UV-C and ultrasonication were able to largely reduce the microbial load of raw milk, but also better retained the immune-related milk serum proteins than thermal processing, especially for the UV-C treatment. ELISA assays also demonstrated that the LC-MS/MS based proteomics technology used in this study was a robust method for quantifying damage to the milk serum proteome upon processing. Taken together, this study provided insights for development of optimized thermal and novel non-thermal techniques for dairy processing. • UV-C retained all the native milk serum protein in contrast to the other treatments. • Thermo-ultrasonication led to a 15% loss in native proteins compared to raw milk. • Low vs high pasteurization resulted in the loss of 10% and 50% of native proteins. • ELISA confirmed the LC-MS/MS data on the lactoferrin and IgG content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) results in reduced fertility. Kuntai capsule, a Chinese patent medicine, which can nourish the heart and kidneys, has shown promising efficacy in its treatment. However, there is no enough clinical evidence to confirm the efficacy and safety of Kuntai capsule. This review aims to evaluate Kuntai capsule's potential benefits and detriments for diminished ovarian reserve. Databases namely China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WANFANG Database, Chinese Science and Technology Journal Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase were searched from their inception to July 2023. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing Kuntai capsule to hormone therapy (HT) and Kuntai capsule in combination with HT to HT alone for DOR treatment. The risk of bias was evaluated using RoB 1.0. A Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 software. The primary outcomes were antral follicle count (AFC) and serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), secondary outcomes were follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and adverse reactions. A Meta-analysis of 12 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), encompassing a total of 905 DOR patients was conducted. The results indicated that the combination of Kuntai capsule with HT exhibited superior efficacy in enhancing AFC (MD = 1.34, 95% CI [0.96,1.72]) and AMH levels (MD = 1.09 (ng/mL) 95% CI[0.80,1.38]), Kuntai capsule demonstrated improvements in AFC (MD = 0.65, 95% CI [0.48,0.83]) in DOR patients compared to HT alone. Based on the available results, the combination of Kuntai capsule with HT appears to improve the AFC, AMH and FSH levels of DOR patients. Kuntai capsule alone appears to improve the AFC and FSH levels of DOR patients. However, included trials had methodological quality issues, further standardized research is required. [Display omitted] • Kuntai Capsule is more effective and safer for Diminished Ovarian Reserve treatment. • Kuntai capsule can improve antral follicle count and anti-Müllerian hormone levels. • A meta-analysis focused on 12 trials with 905 Diminished Ovarian Reserve patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Nanosilver has been widely used in medical biology; however, the distribution and interaction of nanosilver with cells is still unclear. There have been some reports demonstrating that nanoparticles can cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The present study investigated the accumulation of silver nanoparticles in the brain, and the effects of silver nanoparticles on BBB. Nanosilver and microsilver (62.8mg/kg) particles were subcutaneously injected into rats. The rats were sacrificed at predetermined time points and the brains were obtained for ultrastructural observation and silver level detection. The results showed that silver nanoparticles could traverse the BBB and move into the brain in the form of particle. The silver nanoparticles can induce neuronal degeneration and necrosis by accumulating in the brain over a long period of time. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

With the rapid development of optical tools, biosensing and imaging have deepened to analyze the molecule-level substrates in living systems. As a molecular-ruler, Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based analytical methods could sensitively response to the tiny fluctuation of biomolecules and events with ultrahigh spatiotemporal resolution in living cells, tissues and animals. Luminogens with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics and their derived nanostructures display unique photophysical properties, including tunable emission wavelength, robust brightness, broad absorption, large Stokes shift, excellent photostability, flexible molecular design and versatile nanostructural fabrication, etc., and have been widely applied in building FRET probes for bioanalytes sensing, imaging and drug delivery monitoring with high sensitivity and specificity. In addition, AIE-based energy transfer systems exhibit unique advantages in photodynamic therapy, holding great potential in analytical research and biomedical applications. • IE materials with large Stokes shift and strong photobleaching resistance show great potential in FRET construction. • Flexible and diversified structures enable AIE FRET systems to be widely applied in bioimaging and process tracking. • The strategies included non-conjugate/through-bond linked, nanoencapsulation, host-guest, chemiluminescence, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The bacteriostatic activity of milk serum negatively correlated with intensity of heat treatment. • More intense heat treatment was related to decreased retention of native antibacterial proteins. • Heating for 30 min above or below 75 °C differently affects both bacteriostatic capacity and native antibacterial proteins. • Growth rates of multiple bacteria were negatively correlated with retention of lactoferrin and lactoperoxidase. Bovine milk shows bacteriostatic activity mainly due to the presence of antibacterial proteins, like lactoferrin, lactoperoxidase and immunoglobulins. Heat treatment is applied to kill bacteria and thereby extend shelf life of dairy products. Such heat treatment may, however, impair the activity of native antibacterial proteins in milk. The aim of this study was to investigate bacteriostatic capacity and retention of antibacterial proteins in unheated and heated bovine milk. Skim milk samples were heated at 65 °C, 70 °C, 75 °C, 80 °C and 85 °C, for 30 min. Whey was isolated from the heat-treated skim milk and the bacteriostatic capacity of this whey was tested against Streptococcus thermophilus, Escherichia coli, Lactococcus lactis and Pseudomonas fluorescens. The proteomic profile of native whey was determined using LC-MS/MS-based proteomics. Results showed that the bacteriostatic activity of whey negatively correlated with intensity of heat treatment, which was also reflected in the reduced level of native antibacterial proteins. There is a significant difference between milk samples treated for 30 min at <75 °C and milk samples treated at ≥75 °C in both bacteriostatic capacity and native antibacterial proteins. Growth rates of Streptococcus thermophilus , Lactococcus lactis and Pseudomonas fluorescens were negatively correlated with retention of lactoferrin and lactoperoxidase. In conclusion, our study shows that the bacteriostatic capacity of whey decreases with increasing heating intensity, which is strongly correlated with the denaturation of antibacterial proteins. Bacteriostatic activity can be a biomarker for loss of function of antibacterial proteins, and can thereby be used as an indicator for the extent of heat processing of dairy products including antibacterial proteins in a mild heat treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The cleaved product NLS-RARα inhibits 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 -induced differentiation of HL-60 and U937 cell lines. • Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) can be driven by NLS-RARα functioning as an oncogene in vivo. • NLS-RARα modulates differentiation via cell cycle regulation, and can bind to the RAREs of p21WAF1/CIP1. The fusion oncogene, promyelocytic leukemia (PML)-retinoic acid receptor-α (RARα), is crucial for acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) pathogenesis. Previous studies have reported that PML-RARα is cleaved by neutrophil elastase (NE), an early myeloid-specific serine protease, leading to translocation of the nuclear localization signal (NLS) of the PML protein to the N-terminal of RARα. This study was designed to evaluate the value of NLS-RARα in the early diagnosis of APL. To investigate the potential functional role of NLS-RARα in leukemogenesis, HL-60 and U937 cell lines were transfected with NLS-RARα lentivirus and negative control (LV NC). The results showed that the induced expression of NLS-RARα down-regulated expressions of CD11b, CD11c, and CD14 compared to the LV NC group induced by 1α, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 (1,25(OH) 2 D 3). This suggested that NLS-RARα overexpression inhibited granulocytic and monocytic differentiation of myeloid leukemia cells. In addition, Wright-Giemsa staining, flow cytometry, respiratory burst assay, and NBT reduction assay all confirmed the importance of NLS-RARα in differentiation. The mechanistic investigations revealed that induced NLS-RARα expression inhibited 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 -induced granulocytic differentiation by regulating the cell cycle regulators p19INK4D, p21WAF1/CIP1, cyclinD1, cyclin E1, and pRB. Furthermore, the cleaved protein NLS-RARα enhanced the oncogenicity of U937 cells in NOD/SCID mice. These findings collectively demonstrated that NLS-RARα blocked granulocytic and monocytic differentiation of myeloid leukemia cells by inhibiting the downstream targets of the RARα signal pathway and the cell cycle. This may provide a promising new target and method for diagnosing and treating APL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metastasis determines the lethality of cancer. In most clinical cases, patients are able to live with tumor proliferation before metastasis. Thus, the transition from tumor proliferation to metastasis/invasion is essential. However, the mechanism is still unclear and especially, the proliferation-to-metastasis/invasion transition point has not been well defined. Therefore, quantitative characterization of this transition is urgently needed. We have successfully developed a home-built living-cell incubation system combined with an inverted optical microscope, and a systematic, quantitative approach to describing the major characteristic morphological parameters for the identification of the critical transition points for tumor-cell spheroids in a collagen fiber scaffold. The system focuses on in vitro tumor modeling, e.g. the development of tumor-cell spheroids in a collagen fiber scaffold and the monitoring of cell transition from proliferation to invasion. By applying this approach to multiple tumor spheroid models, such as U87 (glioma tumor), H1299 (lung cancer), and MDA-MB-231 (breast cancer) cells, we have obtained quantitative morphological references to evaluate the proliferation-to-invasion transition time, as well as differentiating the invasion potential of tumor cells upon environmental changes, i.e. drug application. Our quantitative approach provides a feasible clarification for the proliferation-to-invasion transition of in vitro tumor models (spheroids). Moreover, the transition time is a useful reference for the invasive potential of tumor cells. This quantitative approach is potentially applicable to primary tumor cells, and thus has potential applications in the fields of cancer metastasis investigations and clinical diagnostics. • Proliferation-to-invasion transition model by tumor spheroids in defined conditions • Image-based, automated and quantitative analysis of the morphological transitions • Proposed suitable parameters for well definition of the transition point • Transition point and time provide good assistance for cancer invasion investigation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The armature is driven forward by induced electromagnetic force in asynchronous induction coil launcher, and the space–time characteristics of force on the armature affect the exit velocity and energy conversion efficiency. Affected by the driving current, velocity, displacement, and other factors, the electromagnetic force received by the armature has obvious nonlinear characteristics. In this article, simulation and analysis of the electromagnetic volume force (EVF) distribution of the armature under different initial positions in the transient model using the field-circuit coupling theory and finite element method are studied. The characteristics of the armature force during the propulsion process are summarized. The structure of armature is optimized according to the simulation results and experiments. It is found that depending on the initial position, the electromagnetic force distribution also varies. There is an optimal initial position that allows the armature to greatly reduce the value of peak force under the premise of ensuring exit velocity. During the period of propulsion, there are two concentrated areas of EVF on the armature. Because of the three-phase excitation, there are three peaks in each of the two areas. The distance between the peaks is about the width of single driving coil, which can be used to optimize the structure of armature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of in situ tumors developing into malignant tumors and exhibiting invasive behavior is extremely complicated. From a biophysical point of view, it is a phase change process affected by many factors, including cell-to-cell, cell-to-chemical material, cell-to-environment interaction, etc. In this study, we constructed spheroids based on green fluorescence metastatic breast cancer cells MDA-MB-231 to simulate malignant tumors in vitro, while constructed a three-dimensional (3D) biochip to simulate a micro-environment for the growth and invasion of spheroids. In the experiment, the 3D spheroid was implanted into the chip, and the oriented collagen fibers controlled by collagen concentration and injection rate could guide the MDA-MB-231 cells in the spheroid to undergo directional invasion. The experiment showed that the oriented fibers greatly accelerated the invasion speed of MDA-MB-231 cells compared with the traditional uniform tumor micro-environment, namely obvious invasive branches appeared on the spheroids within 24 hours. In order to analyze this interesting phenomenon, we have developed a quantitative analyzing approach to explore strong angle correlation between the orientation of collagen fibers and invasive direction of cancer cell. The results showed that the oriented collagen fibers produced by the chip can greatly stimulate the invasion potential of cancer cells. This biochip is not only conducive to modeling cancer cell metastasis and studying cell invasion mechanisms, but also has the potential to build a quantitative evaluation platform that can be used in future chemical drug treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The magnitude of soil and sediment erosion and accumulation processes can profoundly affect landscape development and hamper efficient management of natural resources. Consequently, estimating the rates and causes of these processes is essential, particularly in remote regions, for prediction of changes in landform and river evolution and protection of local ecosystem. We here present the results of a soil and sediment erosion investigation in the Source Area of the Yellow River (SAYR), northeast Qinghai-Tibet Plateau based on a combined analysis of 10Be cosmogenic isotope and Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) simulation modelling. The data reveal variable soil erosion trends that range between 103 and 830 t km−2 a−1. The low values occur in the western part of the basin that are associated with low sediment yield, while the high values appear in the dominant sediment export part of the basin along the main stream of the Yellow River in the east. Generally, soil and sediment accumulation is characterized by high 10Be concentration in the western part and the northwest of Ngöring Lake. The style of landform development by the erosion/accumulation processes is closely linked to the distribution and degradation extent of the permafrost in the study region. Soil surface erosion increases with more permafrost degradation from the western to the eastern part of the basin, and surface soil particles are dominantly removed from the surface rather than deeper layers. Highlights • Soil erosion is assessed by isotopes and Soil and Water Assessment Tool. • Different soil erosion types are identified by 10Be isotope. • Surface erosion, instead of gully erosion, is the main process in the region. • Surface erosion is more severe with the decrease of permafrost covering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat germ protein is a potential resource to produce bioactive peptides. As a cheap, safe, and healthy nutritional factor, wheat germ-derived bioactive peptides (WGBPs) provide benefits and great potential for biomedical applications. The objective of this review is to reveal the current research status of WGBPs, including their preparation methods and biological functions, such as antibacterial, anti-tumor, immune regulation, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties, etc. We also reviewed the information in terms of the preventive ability of WGBPs to treat serious infectious diseases, to offer their reference to further research and application. Opinions on future research directions are also discussed. Through the review of previous research, we find that there are still some scientific issues in the basic research and industrialization process of WGBPs that deserve further exploration. Firstly, based on current complex enzymolysis, the preparation and production of WGBPs need to be combined with other advanced technology to achieve efficient and large-scale production. Secondly, studies on the bioavailability, biosafety, and mechanism against different diseases of WGBPs need to be carried out in different in vitro and in vivo models. More human experimental evidence is also required to support its industrial application as a functional food and nutritional supplement. The purification and identification of wheat germ-derived bioactive peptides. The main biological activities and potential mechanisms of wheat germ hydrolysates/peptides. Possible absorption and transport pathways of wheat germ hydrolysate/peptide. Wheat germ peptide shows a variety of health benefits according to its amino acid sequence. Current food applications and future perspectives of wheat germ protein hydrolysates/peptide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Authentication and authorization constitute the essential security component, access control, for preventing unauthorized access to cloud services in mobile cloud computing (MCC) environments. Traditional centralized access control models relying on third party trust face a critical challenge due to a high trust cost and single point of failure. Blockchain can achieve the distributed trust for access control designs in a mutual untrustworthy scenario, but it also leads to expensive storage overhead. Considering the above issues, this work constructed an authentication and authorization scheme based on blockchain that can provide a dynamic update of access permissions by utilizing the smart contract. Compared with the conventional authentication scheme, the proposed scheme integrates an extra authorization function without additional computation and communication costs in the authentication phase. To improve the storage efficiency and system scalability, only one transaction is required to be stored in blockchain to record a user's access privileges on different service providers (SPs). In addition, mobile users in the proposed scheme are able to register with an arbitrary SP once and then utilize the same credential to access different SPs with different access levels. The security analysis indicates that the proposed scheme is secure under the random oracle model. The performance analysis clearly shows that the proposed scheme possesses superior computation and communication efficiencies and requires a low blockchain storage capacity for accomplishing user registration and updates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychological distress is a frequently reported outcome measure in HIV research. However, because of its poor conceptualization, many studies only partially capture it because they focus solely on depression or anxiety based on symptoms. This study undertook a concept analysis of HIV-related psychological distress (HRPD) using Walker and Avant's method. The findings include HRPD's (a) attributes, including changes to emotional status, symptom burden, HIV disclosure distress and HIV-related stigma; (b) antecedents, including HIV-related stressors, cognitive appraisal of stressors and difficulty coping with the disease or treatment; and (c) consequences, including poor health outcomes and posttraumatic growth. Lazarus and Folkman's theory and the conservation of resources theory were adapted to further understand HRPD. This article provides insight into HRPD and increases the awareness of how to screen and assess HRPD at an early stage. The findings indicate the need to develop specific and rigorous measures and to provide appropriate interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A theory is presented to investigate the existence and propagation stability of gap solitons in a parity—time (PT) complex superlattice with dual periods. In this superlattice, the real and imaginary parts are both in the form of superlattices with dual periods. In the self-focusing nonlinearity, PT solitons can exist in the semi-infinite gap. However, only those gap solitons with low powers can propagate stably, whereas the high-power solitons present periodic oscillation and simultaneously suffer energy decay. In the self-defocusing nonlinearity, PT solitons only exist in the first gap and all these solitons are stable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT A novel molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for caffeine based on konjac glucomannan (KGM) was prepared using grafted copolymer of KGM/acrylic acid as a functional monomer, N, N′-methylenebisacrylamide as a cross-linker, and caffeine as a template. The recognition sites in MIPs were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and the morphology of MIPs was characterized by scanning electron microscopy. Compared with nonimprinted polymers (NIPs), the obtained MIPs showed high adsorption capacity and good selectivity for caffeine. The maximum adsorption ( Qmax) of MIPs and NIPs for caffeine was 62.97 and 21.67 mg/g, respectively. The selective factor (α) of MIPs and NIPs was 2.50 and 0.91, respectively. Adsorption isotherm of MIPs followed the Langmuir equation. In addition, the obtained materials were packed on solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridges and evaluated as a sorbent for selective trapping and preconcentration of caffeine from real beverage samples. Under the optimized extraction conditions, recoveries of caffeine ranging from 91.3 to 99.2% was achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]