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[Display omitted] Orderly hierarchical structure with balanced mechanical, chemical, and electrical properties is the basis of the natural bone microenvironment. Inspired by nature, we developed a piezocatalytically-induced controlled mineralization strategy using piezoelectric polymer poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) fibers with ordered micro-nano structures to prepare biomimetic tissue engineering scaffolds with a bone-like microenvironment (pcm-PLLA), in which PLLA-mediated piezoelectric catalysis promoted the in-situ polymerization of dopamine and subsequently regulated the controllable growth of hydroxyapatite crystals on the fiber surface. PLLA fibers, as analogs of mineralized collagen fibers, were arranged in an oriented manner, and ultimately formed a bone-like interconnected pore structure; in addition, they also provided bone-like piezoelectric properties. The uniformly sized HA nanocrystals formed by controlled mineralization provided a bone-like mechanical strength and chemical environment. The pcm-PLLA scaffold could rapidly recruit endogenous stem cells, and promote their osteogenic differentiation by activating cell membrane calcium channels and PI3K signaling pathways through ultrasound-responsive piezoelectric signals. In addition, the scaffold also provided a suitable microenvironment to promote macrophage M2 polarization and angiogenesis, thereby enhancing bone regeneration in skull defects of rats. The proposed piezocatalytically-induced controllable mineralization strategy provides a new idea for the development of tissue engineering scaffolds that can be implemented for multimodal physical stimulation therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastric cancer is a common malignant tumor, and due to its insidious onset and limited screening methods, most patients are diagnosed with advanced disease and have a poor prognosis. The circRNA in exosomes has an essential role in cancer diagnosis and treatment. However, the part of hsa_circ_0014606 within exosomes in gastric cancer progression is unclear. Firstly, we extracted exosomes from the serum of gastric cancer patients and healthy individuals by ultracentrifugation and analyzed the expression of hsa_circ_0014606 in both exosomes; then knocked down hsa_circ_0014606 in vivo and in vitro, respectively, to observe its effect on the physiological function of gastric cancer cells; finally, we used bioinformatics to screen hsa_circ_0014606 targeting miRNAs and mRNAs, and experiments were performed to verify the interrelationship between the three. The results showed that the level of hsa_circ_0014606 in the serum exosomes of gastric cancer patients was significantly higher than that of the healthy population. The knockdown of hsa_circ_0014606 slowed the proliferation of gastric cancer cells, significantly reduced migration and invasion ability, accelerated apoptosis, and reduced tumor size in mice. In addition, the expression of hsa_circ_0014606 was negatively correlated with the expression of miR-514b-3p and positively correlated with the expression of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein C (HNRNPC). In conclusion, hsa_circ_0014606 exerted a pro-cancer effect indirectly through miR-514b-3p targeting gene HNRNPC, and this study provides a new potential target for treating gastric cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conversion of biomass energy sources is a crucial direction in the transformation of energy resources, such as cellulose to high-value chemicals. As an important platform compound, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is one of the worthwhile products from biomass. Previously, the use of Hf/ZSM-5 catalyst demonstrated excellent catalytic performance, with the yield of HMF reaching 67.50% under optimal reaction conditions (120 min, 190 °C, H2O(NaCl)/THF). Based on the previous work, the effect of a series of metal salts on the preparation of HMF from cellulose catalyzed by Hf/ZSM-5 catalyst was investigated in this paper. This result demonstrates the addition of AlCl3 promoted the production of HMF yield and AlCl3 completed with excellent performance among five metal salts. Moreover, the yield of HMF was improved to 70.95% by adjusting the optimal reaction conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have established a link between fluctuations in climate and increased mortality due to coronary artery disease (CAD). However, there remains a need to explore and clarify the evidence for associations between meteorological changes and hospitalization incidences related to CAD and its subtypes, especially in cold regions. This study aimed to systematically investigate the relationship between exposure to meteorological changes, air pollutants, and hospitalization for CAD in cold regions. We conducted a cross-sectional study using hospitalization records of 86,483 CAD patients between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2019. Poisson regression analysis, based on generalized additive models, was applied to estimating the influence of hospitalization for CAD. Significant associations were found between low ambient temperature [-10°C, RR = 1.65; 95% CI: (1.28–2.13)] and the incidence of hospitalization for CAD within a lag of 0–14 days. Furthermore, O3 [95.50 μg/m3, RR = 12; 95% CI: (1.03–1.21)] and NO2 [48.70 μg/m3, RR = 1.0895% CI: (1.01–1.15)] levels were identified as primary air pollutants affecting the incidence of CAD, ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), and non-STEMI (NSTEMI) within the same lag period. Furthermore, O3 [95.50 μg/m3, RR = 1.12; 95% CI: (1.03–1.21)] and NO2 [48.70 μg/m3, RR = 1.0895% CI: (1.01–1.15)] levels were identified as primary air pollutants affecting the incidence of CAD, ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), and non-STEMI (NSTEMI) within the same lag period. The effect curve of CAD hospitalization incidence significantly increased at lag days 2 and 4 when NO2 and O3 concentrations were higher, with a pronounced effect at 7 days, dissipating by lag 14 days. No significant associations were observed between exposure to PM, SO2, air pressure, humidity, or wind speed and hospitalization incidences due to CAD and its subtypes. Our findings suggest a positive correlation between short-term exposure to low ambient temperatures or air pollutants (O3 and NO2) and hospitalizations for CAD, STEMI, and NSTEMI. These results could aid the development of effective preparedness strategies for frequent extreme weather events and support clinical and public health practices aimed at reducing the disease burden associated with current and future abnormal weather events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic idiopathic inflammatory disorder that affects the entire gastrointestinal tract and is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. Mainstream clinical testing methods are time-consuming, painful for patients, and insufficiently sensitive to detect early symptoms. Currently, there is no definitive cure for IBD, and frequent doses of medications with potentially severe side effects may affect patient response. In recent years, nanomaterials have demonstrated considerable potential for IBD management due to their diverse structures, composition, and physical and chemical properties. In this review, we provide an overview of the advances in nanomaterial-based diagnosis and treatment of IBD in recent five years. Multi-functional bio-nano platforms, including contrast agents, near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probes, and bioactive substance detection agents have been developed for IBD diagnosis. Based on a series of pathogenic characteristics of IBD, the therapeutic strategies of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and intestinal microbiome regulation of IBD based on nanomaterials are systematically introduced. Finally, the future challenges and prospects in this field are presented to facilitate the development of diagnosis and treatment of IBD. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to develop new antibacterial and water purification materials without heavy metal contamination. Herein, AlN–Al 2 O 3 composites were prepared by changing the content of AlN in raw material. The results showed that AlN, Al 2 O 3 , aluminum oxynitride, and yttrium aluminum garnet phases were generated by adjusting the AlN: Al 2 O 3 ratio. The difference in the ability of AlN and aluminum oxynitride to release substances such as ammonium ions and aluminum hydroxide when reacting with water resulted in remarkably different pH values of the sample immersion solution, which led to an increase in the material antibacterial efficiency with the addition of AlN. Similar results were also obtained with zinc ion absorption. Therefore, AlN–Al 2 O 3 composite ceramics can potentially be used as novel antibacterial and water purification materials without heavy metal contamination through the release of ammonium ions for conferring antibacterial effects and of aluminum hydroxide for absorbing heavy metals and suspended impurities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is able to hide within host cells to escape immune clearance and antibiotic action, causing life‐threatening infections. To boost the therapeutic efficacy of antibiotics, new intracellular delivery approaches are urgently needed. Herein, by rational design of an adamantane (Ada)‐containing antibiotic‐peptide precursor Ada‐Gly‐Tyr‐Val‐Ala‐Asp‐Cys(StBu)‐Lys(Ciprofloxacin)‐CBT (Cip‐CBT‐Ada), we propose a strategy of tandem guest‐host‐receptor recognitions to precisely guide ciprofloxacin to eliminate intracellular S. aureus. Via guest‐host recognition, Cip‐CBT‐Ada is decorated with a β‐cyclodextrin‐heptamannoside (CD‐M) derivative to yield Cip‐CBT‐Ada/CD‐M, which is able to target mannose receptor‐overexpressing macrophages via multivalent ligand‐receptor recognition. After uptake, Cip‐CBT‐Ada/CD‐M undergoes caspase‐1 (an overexpressed enzyme during S. aureus infection)‐initiated CBT‐Cys click reaction to self‐assemble into ciprofloxacin nanoparticle Nano‐Cip. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrate that, compared with ciprofloxacin or Cip‐CBT‐Ada, Cip‐CBT‐Ada/CD‐M shows superior intracellular bacteria elimination and inflammation alleviation efficiency in S. aureus‐infected RAW264.7 cells and mouse infection models, respectively. This work provides a supramolecular platform of tandem guest‐host‐receptor recognitions to precisely guide antibiotics to eliminate intracellular S. aureus infection efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is able to hide within host cells to escape immune clearance and antibiotic action, causing life‐threatening infections. To boost the therapeutic efficacy of antibiotics, new intracellular delivery approaches are urgently needed. Herein, by rational design of an adamantane (Ada)‐containing antibiotic‐peptide precursor Ada‐Gly‐Tyr‐Val‐Ala‐Asp‐Cys(StBu)‐Lys(Ciprofloxacin)‐CBT (Cip‐CBT‐Ada), we propose a strategy of tandem guest‐host‐receptor recognitions to precisely guide ciprofloxacin to eliminate intracellular S. aureus. Via guest‐host recognition, Cip‐CBT‐Ada is decorated with a β‐cyclodextrin‐heptamannoside (CD‐M) derivative to yield Cip‐CBT‐Ada/CD‐M, which is able to target mannose receptor‐overexpressing macrophages via multivalent ligand‐receptor recognition. After uptake, Cip‐CBT‐Ada/CD‐M undergoes caspase‐1 (an overexpressed enzyme during S. aureus infection)‐initiated CBT‐Cys click reaction to self‐assemble into ciprofloxacin nanoparticle Nano‐Cip. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrate that, compared with ciprofloxacin or Cip‐CBT‐Ada, Cip‐CBT‐Ada/CD‐M shows superior intracellular bacteria elimination and inflammation alleviation efficiency in S. aureus‐infected RAW264.7 cells and mouse infection models, respectively. This work provides a supramolecular platform of tandem guest‐host‐receptor recognitions to precisely guide antibiotics to eliminate intracellular S. aureus infection efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methyl methacrylate (MMA) material is considered to be a suitable material for repairing concrete crack, provided that its large volume shrinkage during polymerization is resolved. This study was dedicated to investigating the effect of low shrinkage additives polyvinyl acetate and styrene (PVAc + styrene) on properties of the repair material and further proposes the shrinkage reduction mechanism based on the data of FTIR spectra, DSC testing and SEM micrographs. The results showed that PVAc + styrene delayed the gel point during the polymerization, and the formation of two-phase structure and micropores compensated for the volume shrinkage of the material. When the proportion of PVAc + styrene was 12%, the volume shrinkage could be as low as 4.78%, and the shrinkage stress was reduced by 87.4%. PVAc + styrene improved the bending strength and fracture toughness of most ratios investigated in this study. When 12% PVAc + styrene was added, the 28 d flexural strength and fracture toughness of MMA-based repair material were 28.04 MPa and 92.18%, respectively. After long-term curing, the repair material added with 12% PVAc + styrene showed a good adhesion to the substrate, with a bonding strength greater than 4.1 MPa and the fracture surface appearing at the substrate after the bonding experiment. This work contributes to the obtaining of a MMA-based repair material with low shrinkage, while its viscosity and other properties also can meet the requirements for repairing microcracks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial derivatives have developed rapidly over the past few decades due to their risk-averse nature, with options being the preferred financial derivatives due to their flexible contractual mechanisms, particularly Asian options. The Black–Scholes stock option pricing model is often used in conjunction with Monte Carlo simulations for option pricing. However, the Black–Scholes model assumes that the volatility of asset returns is constant, which does not square with practical financial markets. Additionally, Monte Carlo simulation suffers from slow error convergence. To address these issues, we first correct the asset volatility in the Black–Scholes model using a GARCH model. Then, the low error convergence rate of the Monte Carlo method is improved using variance reduction techniques. Meanwhile, the quasi-Monte Carlo approach based on low discrepancy sequences is used to refine the error convergence rate. We also provide a simulation experiment and result analysis to validate the effectiveness of our proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are crucial for the maintenance of vascular homeostasis. The dysfunction of EPCs contributes to the endothelial damage in hypertension. Andrographolide (AGP) is a traditional Chinese patent medicine that has been reported to have protective effects on cardiovascular system. However, the effect of AGP on the function of EPCs in hypertension remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the effect of AGP on EPCs and the underlying mechanisms. In vivo , the blood pressure and endothelial function (indicated by endothelial dependent vasodilation) of AGP-fed angiotensin II (Ang II)-infused hypertensive mice were examined. In vitro , the function of EPCs isolated from bone marrow were evaluated by tube formation, migration, and adhesion assay. Additionally, a silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) inhibitor/agonist and a small interfering RNA (si-RNA) targeting SIRT1 were used to determine the pathway involved. The results showed that AGP not only reduced blood pressure, improved endothelial function in hypertensive mice but also restored the dysfunction of EPCs of hypertension in vitro. Mechanistically, AGP up-regulated SIRT1 expression, decreased the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and the expression level of Cleaved caspase-3, thus inhibiting the apoptosis of Ang II induced EPCs. However, the beneficial effects of AGP on EPCs disappeared after the inhibition or the knockdown of SIRT1. To summarize, this study demonstrates for the first time that AGP improves the dysfunction of EPCs through SIRT1-mediated anti-apoptotic effects. Our findings might provide a novel therapeutic strategy for treating vascular damage in hypertension. • The impaired SIRT1 signaling is involved in Ang II-induced dysfunction of EPCs. • Andrographolide can lower blood pressure, improve endothelial function in Ang II-induced hypertensive mice and restore EPCs function in vitro. • Andrographolide improves Ang II-induced dysfunction of EPCs through SIRT1-mediated anti-apoptotic effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Renovascular hypertension (RVH) is one of the main causes of hypertensive crisis (HTN-C). It is characterized by acute onset and severe disease, and early diagnosis and treatment are difficult. The objective was to describe the characteristics of RVH and factors associated with RVH leading to HTN-C in children. At present, there are few clinical studies on RVH in children with large cases in China. Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of inpatient children with RVH. Patients were divided into non-hypertensive crisis (non-HTN-C) group, and HTN-C group according to the first symptoms and blood pressure. Further, HTN-C were classified as hypertensive urgency (HTN-U) or hypertensive emergency (HTN-E). Results: Fifty-four pediatric cases (41 boys and 13 girls) were included. 83.3% of the RVH cases were ≥ 6 years old. Three cases were classified into the non-HTN-C group. Of the 51 HTN-C cases, 18 cases were grouped as HTN-U and 33 as HTN-E. The HTN-U group were mainly asymptomatic (50.0%, 9/18) while the HTN-E group mainly presented with neurological symptoms (72.7%, 24/33). The number of unknown etiology children was 32 (59.2%). The top three known etiologies were Takayasu's arteritis (50.0%, 11/22), congenital renal dysplasia (27.3%, 6/22) and fibromuscular dysplasia (13.6%, 3/22). As for the target organ damage of RVH, patients had a higher prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy (71.4%, 35/49) and retinopathy (77.8%, 21/27). Conclusions: Most RVH patients with HTN-C as the first symptoms, especially for males over 6 years old, should be assessed for RVH even if they were asymptomatic. Most asymptomatic patients with RVH already had target organ damage, and symptomatic patients even developed life-threatening complications. As preventive measures, routine monitoring of BP during children's physical examinations is advised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spider silks have outstanding potential as biomaterials due to their sought‐after mechanical properties and low immunogenicity. The toughest spider silk is aciniform silk, which is used by spiders to wrap prey and produce egg sacs. A variety of recombinant aciniform silk constructs are now been developed, including hybrid silks with domains from multiple spider silk proteins fused together. In this study, an engineered aciniform silk construct, termed NBSilk, fused both N‐ and C‐terminally to heptapeptide motifs that bind the neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor‐β (NGF) is introduced. NBSilk is shown to be amenable to casting into robust films that remain intact while sequestering and maintaining bioactive NGF at the film surface for at least 7 days. These films support cell survival while enhancing differentiation and neurite density and outgrowth in neuron‐like PC12 cells, with elevation of signaling through both the mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) and protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathways. Strikingly, preloading of NBSilk films with NGF enhances neuritogenesis even over conditions where cells are grown with NGF supplementation in the culture medium. NBSilk scaffolds, thus, warrant future development and evaluation as biomaterials for nerve regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

β-SiAION reticular porous ceramics (Si6_zAIzOzN8_z, Z=2) were prepared with α-AI203, AIN and Si as raw materials and Y2O3 as the sintering aid by the foam impregnation method. The influence of the Y2O3 addition (0, 3%, 6% and 9%, by mass) on the microstructure and the properties of the samples was studied. The results show that the Y2O3 addition is conductive to the sintering of samples and the growth of grains. The sample added with 6% Y203 has the optimal properties: the apparent porosity of 82.9%, the bulk density of 0.53 g • cm-3, the cold compressive strength of 1.97 MPa, and the residual cold compressive strength of 1.68 MPa after oxidation, which can be used as porous ceramic filters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a promising alternative to conventional heat transfer fluids, microencapsulated phase change material slurry (MPCS) was applied in ground heat exchanger (GHE) in this paper. A sandbox system embedded with horizontal serpentine GHE was installed and MPCS using N-eicosane (C 20 H 42) as phase change material is prepared. To explore the merits of MPCS, a comparison study between performance of water and MPCS was conducted. In addition, the enhanced heat transfer mechanism of MPCS were studied by comparing performance of MPCS with different inlet temperature and particle concentration. The experimental results indicate that the heat transfer rate and pumping consumption of 25 wt% MPCS with inlet temperature of 30 °C are 10.5 and 2.8 times that of water, respectively. The heat load-to-pumping consumption ratio has an enhancement of 3.73 times in comparison to water. Obviously, considering the phase transition process, MPCS can efficiently improve thermal performance of GHE. However, in the non-phase transition temperature range, the performance of MPCS is even worse than that of water. The comprehensive performance factor of 15 wt% MPCS and 25 wt% MPCS with inlet temperature of 38 °C declined by 45.6% and 36.9% in comparison with pure water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric conditions vary significantly in terms of the temporal and spatial scales. Therefore, it is critical to obtain atmospheric parameters synchronized with an image for atmospheric correction based on radiative transfer calculation methods. On 3 July 2020, the high resolution and multimode imaging satellite, Gao Fen Duo Mo (GFDM), which was the first civilian high-resolution remote sensing satellite equipped with the Synchronization Monitoring Atmospheric Corrector (SMAC), was launched. The SMAC is a multispectral and polarization detection device that is used to retrieve atmospheric parameters that are time-synchronized with the image sensor of GFDM in the same field-of-view. On the basis of the atmospheric parameters obtained from the SMAC, a synchronization atmospheric correction (Syn-AC) method is proposed to remove the influence of the atmosphere and the adjacency effects to retrieve the surface reflectance. The Syn-AC method was applied in the experiments of synchronous atmospheric correction for GFDM images, where the surface reflectance retrieved via the Syn-AC method was compared with the field-measured values. In addition, the classical correction method, the FLAASH, was applied in the experiments to compare its performance with that of the Syn-AC method. The results indicated that the image possessed better clarity and contrast with the blurring effect removed, and the multispectral reflectance was in agreement with the field-measured spectral reflectance. The deviations between the reflectance retrievals of Syn-AC and the field-measured values of the selected targets were within 0.0625, representing a higher precision than that of the FLAASH method (the max deviation was 0.2063). For the three sites, the mean relative error of Syn-AC was 19.3%, and the mean relative error of FLAASH was 76.6%. Atmospheric correction based on synchronous atmospheric parameters can improve the quantitative accuracy of remote sensing images, and it is meaningful for remote sensing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Near-infrared (NIR) aggregation induced-emission luminogens (AIEgens) circumvent the noisome aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) effect in physiological milieu, thus holding high promise for real-time and sensitive imaging of biomarkers in vivo. β-Galactosidase (β-Gal) is a biomarker for primary ovarian carcinoma, but current AIEgens for β-Gal sensing display emissions in the visible region and have not been applied in vivo. We herein propose an NIR AIEgen QM-TPA-Gal and applied it for imaging β-Gal activity in vitro and in ovarian tumor model. After being internalized by ovarian cancer cells (e.g. , SKOV3), the hydrophilic nonfluorescent QM-TPA-Gal undergoes hydrolyzation by β-Gal to yield hydrophobic QM-TPA-OH , which subsequently aggregates into nanoparticles to turn NIR fluorescence "on" through the AIE mechanism. In vitro experimental results indicate that QM-TPA-Gal has a sensitive and selective response to β-Gal with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.21 U/mL. Molecular docking simulation confirms that QM-TPA-Gal has a good binding ability with β-Gal to allow efficient hydrolysis. Furthermore, QM-TPA-Gal is successfully applied for β-Gal imaging in SKOV3 cell and SKOV3-bearing living mouse models. It is anticipated that QM-TPA-Gal could be applied for early diagnosis of ovarian cancers or other β-Gal-associated diseases in near future. • A near-infrared AIEgen QM-TPA-Gal was designed and synthesized for the first time. • QM-TPA-Gal presented highly sensitive and selective response to β-Gal in vitro, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.21 U/mL. • QM-TPA-Gal was successfully applied for β-Gal imaging in vivo with superior sensitivity, specificity, and biosafety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was aimed at exploring the value of iterative reconstruction (IR) algorithm to treat the periodontitis using computed tomography (CT) image and analyze the relationship between periodontitis and hypertension. 95 patients with periodontitis were selected, including 43 patients with periodontitis, 41 patients with advanced periodontitis and hypertension, and 11 patients with periodontitis and nonhigh blood pressure (NBP). The IR algorithm was introduced to the CT image scanning of them to reduce the noise. In addition, the CT value was statistically analyzed. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) were dramatically increased compared with periodontitis patients with NBP and with hypertension (P < 0.05). After the IR algorithm of the image, the quality, information, and mean square error (MSE) of the image were all effectively improved. Image with a 50% dose showed the lowest noise, but the reconstruction algorithm improved the low-contrast resolution. Moderate and severe periodontitis was independently related to hypertension. Inflammatory cytokines were independently related to hypertension of periodontitis patients (P < 0.05). Therefore, it was concluded that the IR algorithm could effectively improve the spatial resolution of the CT image when it was adopted to treat periodontitis and showed a high accuracy rate; the incidence of hypertension in patients with periodontitis was relatively high, and it had a certain relationship with periodontitis; and inflammatory cytokines were related to periodontitis and hypertension of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to select a suitable rat model for studying polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Post-pubertal Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were allocated to four groups, abbreviated as the control 1 group, DHEA subcutaneous injection (DHEA) group, control 2 group, letrozole intragastric injection (letrozole) group. Body weight and the estrous cycle were monitored during the modeling. Serum stress hormones and reproductive hormones were evaluated by ELISA. The uterus and ovaries were weighed, ovarian follicle counts were calculated, and AR, LHR, FSHR, and AMH expression were assessed by immunohistochemistry. In both model group subjected to the 30-day protocol of DHEA or letrozole, the mean body weights were significantly increased. Rats from both model group exhibited a significant increase of the mean length of the diestrous phase of the estrous cycle, the DHEA group had a longer diestrous phase. There was also a significant increase of serum T, E2, LH, insulin, and a significant decrease of AMH in both model group. There was a significant decrease of ovarian weight, P, and serum FSH, and a significant increase of uterus weight, serum LH/FSH in DHEA model group. There was no significant difference in serum P, FSH, and LH/FSH in letrozole model group. Both two model groups showed significantly higher AR, LHR, and AMH protein expression in rats' ovaries. FSHR protein expression in DHEA group was lower, and in letrozole model group was not different. Compared with letrozole intragastric injection group, the pathological characteristics of DHEA subcutaneous injection group rats were closer to the characteristics of PCOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Abnormal expression of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) has been shown to be associated with the pathogenesis of cancers, including colorectal cancer (CRC). It has been reported that LINC00022 is highly expressed in some typs of cancer and its overexpression indicates poor prognosis. The function of LINC00022 in CRC progression remains unclear and is mainly investigated in the present study.Methods: LINC00022 expression in CRC tissues was analyzed by using the TNMplot software. LINC00022 expression in CRC cells was measured by quantitative real-time PCR. The effects of LINC00022 on the malignant behaviors of CRC cells were detected by a series of in vitro and in vivo experiments. Dual-luciferase assays were used to verify the targeting relationship between LINC00022 and miR-375-3p and between miR-375-3p and Forkhead box F1 (FOXF1), followed by the rescue experiment.Results: LINC00022 was highly expressed in CRC tissues compared with paired para-carcinoma tissues (n = 41). CRC cells with LINC00022 knockdown exhibited decreased cell proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities but increased apoptosis accompanied by decreased protein levels of c-Myc, cyclin D1, cleaved caspase 3, cleaved poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 2, and MMP9. Additionally, LINC00022 downregulation in CRC cells suppressed the tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) as evidenced by decreased vascular endothelial growth factor A levels in LINC00022-silenced cells. The inhibitory effect of LINC00022 knockdown on tumor growth was also observed in an in vivo model. Conversely, LINC00022 overexpression showed that opposite effect. We further demonsrtaed that LINC00022 could upregulate FOXF1 expression through sponging miR-375-3p. Moreover, miR-375-3p knockdown reversed the effects of LINC00022 down-regulation.Conclusions: LINC00022 may up-regulate FOXF1 expression via competitively binding miR-375-3p, thereby promoting the development of CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Virtual manipulatives (VMs) are increasingly adopted in inquiry activities. However, the effects of the ratio of mobile device‐based VMs to students and external scripts (a guiding structure for prompting group process) provision on group interaction has not been detailed. Objectives: This study proposed four different technology affordance conditions for collaborative inquiry learning: 1:1 device‐student ratio (one tablet per student) with external scripts, 1:m ratio (one tablet per group) with external scripts, 1:1 ratio without external scripts, and 1:m ratio without external scripts. The purpose of this study is to identify the effect of technology affordances on group behavioural patterns during collaborative inquiry learning. Methods: The research participants were 21 fifth‐grade students from 4 classes (totalling 130 students) in a public elementary school. Students' collaborative inquiry behavioural patterns were video‐recorded during three themed inquiry activities. To identify the behavioural patterns of groups, this study developed an action‐oriented coding scheme for collaborative inquiry learning emphasizing and coded student actions during cooperation. Through lag sequential analysis and dialog content analysis, the behavioural transition modes of groups were obtained. Results: The results show that device‐student ratios and external scripts affect behavioural patterns through resource coordination, information interaction, collaborative atmosphere, and task awareness. Implications: In mobile device‐support collaborative inquiry learning, the 1:m device‐student ratio yielded more exchanges to test and apply new constructions than that of the 1:1 ratio. External scripts were more applicable to the 1:m condition than to the 1:1 condition. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Virtual manipulatives are increasingly adopted in inquiry‐based learning.External scripts provided by instructors are scaffolds to facilitate collaboration.The amount and type of support offered to students affects group progress during collaboration. What this paper adds: Device‐student ratios could affect group behavioural patterns through resource coordination and information exchanges in collaborative inquiry learning.External scripts could affect collaborative learning atmosphere and task awareness of group members.The combination of video‐aided multimodal dialog analysis and behavioural transition analysis is a potential way to explore group behavioural patterns.Action‐oriented coding scheme can be used to identify collaborative inquiry characteristics during group interaction. Implications for practice and/or policy: Resource allocation of mobile devices and external support needs to be taken into account when design inquiry learning activities.When and how to give external scripts to students in different device‐student ratio conditions are important for the design of instructional intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On‐demand drug delivery is one of the main research directions of the drug delivery system (DDS). At present, with the development of various stimulus‐responsive materials and technology, it is possible to regulate drug release through various external or internal stimuli. Among them, electrical stimulation DDS has great potential due to its easy combination with sensor or microchip and precise time and space controlled‐release ability. At the same time, with the rapid growth of research in self‐powered devices, the self‐powerbility of electrical stimulation DDS has also received a lot of attention. In this review, the current biomaterials used in electrical stimulation DDS, such as conducting polymers, electroconductive hydrogels, carbon‐based nanomaterials, metal, and semiconductors are first introduced. Further the route of administration and recent advances of electrical stimulation DDS is summarized. The development and classification of self‐powered devices used in DDS are highlighted. In the end, the major challenges and future perspectives of electric stimuli‐responsive DDS are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactive membrane filtration, integrating membrane technology with catalytic processes, offers a promising avenue for efficiently generating and utilizing active species in environmental remediation. Herein, a dual-atom Co-Mn site achieved through axial coordination on N-doped graphene catalyst (sp -CoMn@NG) has been developed and applied in membrane filtration for the targeted removal of specific pollutants. Experimental investigations, alongside density functional theory (DFT) calculations, have substantiated that axial coordination can effectively reduce the adsorption energy and activation barrier of PMS, thereby facilitating nearly 100% conversion of PMS to 1O 2 and enhancing catalytic performance. Mechanistic studies further elucidate the 1O 2 production mechanism through a superoxide-mediated chain reaction at the axially coordinated Co-Mn center, as well as the inactivation mechanism of catalytic membranes via the addition reaction of 1O 2 and phenolic-hydroxyl compounds. This research underscores the intelligent prefabrication of axial coordination in dual-atomic-site catalysts, offering an efficient approach for scalable 1O 2 production in reactive membrane filtration. [Display omitted] • Axially coordinated dual-atomic-sites catalyst was prepared via a facile method. • Nearly 100% PMS converted to 1O 2 on axial dual-atomic-sites. • Rate constant increased over 150 times for targeted compound removal. • Superoxide-mediated 1O 2 production mechanism was clarified. • Accumulation of 1O 2 -induced addition compounds leads to active site inactivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Platelets play a critical role as circulating cells in the human body and contribute to essential physiological processes such as blood clotting, hemostasis, vascular repair, and thrombus formation. Currently, platelets are extensively employed in the development of innovative biomimetic drug delivery systems, offering significant enhancements in circulation time, biocompatibility, and targeted delivery efficiency compared to conventional drug delivery approaches. Leveraging the unique physiological functions of platelets, these platelet-derived drug delivery systems (DDSs) hold great promise for the treatment of diverse diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases, wound healing and other diseases. This review primarily focuses on the design and characteristics of existing platelet-derived DDSs, including their preparation and characterization methods. Furthermore, this review comprehensively outlines the applications of these materials across various diseases, offering a holistic understanding of their therapeutic potential. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of the potential value of these materials in clinical treatment, serving as a valuable reference for the advancement of novel platelet-derived DDSs and their broader utilization in the field of disease treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contrastive sentence representation learning has made great progress thanks to a range of text augmentation strategies and hard negative sampling techniques. However, most studies directly employ in-batch samples as negative samples, ignoring the semantic relationship between negative samples and anchors, which may lead to negative sampling bias. To address this issue, we propose similarity and relative-similarity strategies for identifying potential false negatives. Moreover, we introduce adaptive false negative elimination and attraction methods to mitigate their adverse effects. Our proposed approaches can also be considered semi-supervised contrastive learning, as the identified false negatives can be viewed as either negative or positive samples for contrastive learning in adaptive false negative elimination and attraction methods. By fusing information from positive and negative pairs, contrastive learning learns rich and discriminative representations that capture the intrinsic characteristics of the sentence. Experimental results indicate that our proposed strategies and methods can bring further significant performance improvements. Specifically, the combination of similarity strategy and adaptive false negative elimination method achieves the best results, yielding an average performance gain of 2.1% compared to SimCSE in semantic textual similarity (STS) tasks. Furthermore, our approach is generalizable and can be applied to different text data augmentation strategies and certain existing contrastive sentence representation learning models. Our experimental code and data are publicly available at the link: https://github.com/Linda230/AFNC. • The study presents novel methods with similarity metrics to identify false negatives in contrastive learning. • Adaptive false negative elimination and attraction methods are introduced, further boosting performance over SimCSE. • The proposed method demonstrates wide generalizability across various augmentation strategies and existing models. • The method outperforms external SimCSE in detecting false negatives and is more computationally efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing a multidimensional adaptive test (M‐MST) based on a multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) model is critical to make full use of the advantages of both MST and MIRT in implementing multidimensional assessments. This study proposed two types of automated test assembly (ATA) algorithms and one set of routing rules that can facilitate the development of an M‐MST. Different M‐MST designs were developed based on the proposed ATA algorithms and routing rules and were evaluated through two sets of simulation studies. Study 1 used simulated item banks and considered a variety of testing factors, and results from which can inform us the theoretical performance of the proposed M‐MST designs. Study 2 was designed based on a real multidimensional assessment. In addition, a MCAT was simulated as a baseline design to demonstrate the advantage of the proposed M‐MST design in each study. Our simulation results indicate that the proposed ATA algorithms and routing rule can generate M‐MSTs with a good‐quality control and the same or even better ability estimation results than the MCAT given the same condition. This demonstrates the advantage of using M‐MST for multidimensional assessment especially for the one that needs to satisfy many nonstatistical constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to simultaneously compare the psychometric properties and examine the factor structures of 3 emotion regulation (ER) strategy scales using a bifactor approach. Due to good reliability and validity, extensive use, and the same scoring method, the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, and Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy Scale were used to assess ER strategies in 1,036 Chinese respondents. A bifactor confirmatory factor analysis was designed to address the multidimensionality of the factor structure, and the corresponding bifactor structures were then applied in a subsequent bifactor multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) analysis. Finally, bifactor MIRT was used to compare the psychometric properties of the 3 measures. The results indicated that bifactor structures were appropriate for the 3 ER strategy measures, which performed well overall. Different measures provide the highest accuracy for specific groups and designs. Some strengths and limitations of this article are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional topical ointment applied on the skin surface has poor drug penetration due to the thickening of the stratum corneum for psoriasis. Microneedles (MNs) provide a desirable opportunity to promote drug penetration. However, the common MNs are difficult to meet the requirement of on‐demand drug delivery. In this study, a smart electrical responsive MNs is fabricated by introducing conductive material of polypyrrole (PPy). Further, a self‐powered controllable transdermal drug delivery system (sc‐TDDS) based on piezoelectric nanogenerator (PENG) is developed. The sc‐TDDS can control drug release by collecting and converting mechanical energy into electrical energy. The sc‐TDDS can release 8.5 ng dexamethasone (Dex) subcutaneously per electrical stimulation. When treating psoriasis‐like skin disease with sc‐TDDS, the inflammatory skin returned to normal after 5 days, which is obviously better than treating with traditional Dex solution coating. This work provides a promising approach of on‐demand transdermal drug release for various disease treatment scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a devastating condition with high morbidity and mortality rates. The pathological features of AKI are tubular injury, infiltration of inflammatory cells, and impaired vascular integrity. Pyruvate kinase is the final rate‐limiting enzyme in the glycolysis pathway. We previously showed that pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) plays an important role in regulating the glycolytic reprogramming of fibroblasts in renal interstitial fibrosis. The present study aimed to determine the role of PKM2 in fibroblast activation during the pathogenesis of AKI. We found increased numbers of S100A4 positive cells expressing PKM2 in renal tissues from mice with AKI induced via folic acid or ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). The loss of PKM2 in fibroblasts impaired fibroblast proliferation and promoted tubular epithelial cell death including apoptosis, necroptosis, and ferroptosis. Mechanistically, fibroblasts produced less hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in response to a loss of PKM2. Moreover, in two AKI mouse models, fibroblast‐specific deletion of PKM2 blocked HGF signal activation and aggravated AKI after it was induced in mice via ischemia or folic acid. Fibroblast proliferation mediated by PKM2 elicits pro‐survival signals that repress tubular cell death and may help to prevent AKI progression. Fibroblast activation mediated by PKM2 in AKI suggests that targeting PKM2 expression could be a novel strategy for treating AKI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) mice model was randomly divided into 6 groups: blank control group, Clomiphene group, PCOS group, and Yulin mixture high-/medium-/low-dose group. Rats were killed after 5 weeks of administration. The expression levels of serum E2,T,Insulin and LH were detected by ELISA. The localizations and quantities of Steroid-generating factor-1 (SF-1) and Cytochrome protein P450 a1 (Cyp19a1) were detected by immunohistochemistry and western blot. The quantities of miR-320 were detected by RT-PCR. The results showed that the mechanism of Yulin mixture inhibiting the growth of polycystic ovary on mouse PCOS model may be through the decreasing of serum T and LH levels and then reducing local estrogen content to make the polycystic ovary atrophy. Yulin mixture can decrease the level of miR-320 and increase the expression of SF-1 and Cyp19a1 in ovary, thereby regulating the ovarian granulosa cell proliferation and apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, β-SiAlON/aluminum nitride (AlN) composite ceramics were synthesized using a wet-mixing method at 1500 °C under a N 2 atmosphere. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the ceramics before and after immersing them in water for 7 d. The change in pH and release of ammonia nitrogen were studied to investigate the reaction and antibacterial mechanisms of AlN hydrolysis. The effects of the AlN content on the phase composition, microstructure, chemical properties, and antibacterial efficacy of the composite ceramics were investigated. As the AlN content increased, the antibacterial efficiency gradually increased. The antibacterial efficiency of the composite ceramic with an AlN content of 60 wt% was 100%, indicating that an increase in pH and amount of ammonia nitrogen could synergistically enhance the antibacterial effect. However, in a lysogeny broth medium, the buffering effect of the culture medium and promotion of bacterial proliferation may reduce the antibacterial efficiency. Therefore, β-SiAlON/AlN composite ceramics show considerable potential for antibacterial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Hypocalcemia is the most common complication of total parathyroidectomy in secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) and is associated with adverse consequences such as spasms, epilepsy, and arrhythmia and even death if the serum calcium level decreases rapidly. Previous studies have identified several risk factors for postoperative severe hypocalcemia (SH) in patients with SHPT, but the sample sizes were small and thus the results may not be reliable. Objectives. This study was performed to investigate the risk factors for SH after total parathyroidectomy without autotransplantation (tPTX) in a large sample of patients with uremic hyperparathyroidism. Methods. We retrospectively investigated the records of 1,095 patients with SHPT treated with tPTX between January 2008 and December 2018. Based on the postoperative serum calcium concentration, the patients were grouped into SH and non-SH groups. The clinical characteristics and biochemical results were analyzed, and binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify the risk factors for SH. Results. After surgery, 25.9% of the patients developed SH. Age, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate, frequency of bone pain, weight of resected glands, preoperative serum calcium, intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and hemoglobin levels differed between the two groups. Binary logistic regression analyses identified preoperative serum calcium, iPTH, and ALP levels as independent predictors of SH after surgery. Conclusions. The preoperative serum calcium, iPTH, and ALP levels can be used to assess the risk of postoperative SH in patients with SHPT. Such patients should thus be monitored closely in order to initiate prompt interventions to avoid SH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant phenology under changing climate is a critical factor controlling terrestrial vegetation productivity. However, large uncertainties exist due to different data sources and phenological parameter extraction methods. In this study, we took advantage of a suite of long-term field observational data in northern grassland of China to investigate the drivers of phenological shifts and their effect on the maximum aboveground net primary productivity (ANPPmax) across four representative grassland types during 1984–2017. Results showed that drivers of phenological events (i.e., start (SOS), end (EOS), and length (GSL) of the growing season) with warming influence dramatically differed among grassland types, indicating that the synergistic effect of temperature and precipitation should be highlighted. For temperate desert steppe and alpine meadow, GSL of dominant species was both significantly lengthened with temperature rising with averaged 0.94 days year−1 (P < 0.001) and 1.15 days year−1 (P < 0.001), respectively, while for typical temperate grassland, GSL was considerably shortened by an average of 0.58 days year−1 (P < 0.01) as a result of water deficit caused by sharp warming and precipitation decreasing in summer and autumn. For most grassland types in our study, both SOS and GSL were significantly correlated with ANPPmax under different precipitation gradients with SOS advanced and GSL extended leading to higher ANPPmax. Only the typical temperate grassland presents a relatively poor correlation between phenological events and productivity. Furthermore, compared with GSL, ANPPmax was more sensitive to the advancement of SOS for every 1-day phenological change. However, the effect of EOS on ANPPmax across the four grassland types was much weaker and unstable. There were spatial response differences between ANPPmax and phenological transition events, with the temperate meadow grassland tending to be more sensitive compared with three other grassland types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autofluorescence-free luminescence imaging, which captures optical output without using real-time light excitation, enables non-invasive visualization of biological events with extremely low backgrounds. It is endowed with high specificity and sensitivity at the molecular level by adjuvant stimulus-activatable probes, which turn their luminescent signals "on" exclusively at the stimulus-rich region of interest. Particularly, those activatable autofluorescence-free imaging probes with small molecular weights (i.e. , activatable small molecular probes) also possess high molecular programmability, well-defined chemical structure, tunable optical properties, and relatively high biosafety. In this review, we provide an overview of the activatable small molecular probes with autofluorescence-free techniques (including chemiluminescence, bioluminescence, time-gated luminescence, and afterglow luminescence) for imaging of endogenous bioanalytes (i.e. , enzymes and bioactive species), with the emphasis on the very recent breakthroughs in the past three years (from 2020 to early 2023). Finally, challenges and trends in this field are discussed. This review provides an overview of the activatable small molecular probes with autofluorescence-free techniques (including chemiluminescence, bioluminescence, time-gated luminescence, and afterglow luminescence) for imaging of endogenous bioanalytes (i.e. , enzymes and bioactive species), with the emphasis on the very recent breakthroughs in the past three years (from 2020 to early 2023). [Display omitted] • Autofluorescence-free bioimaging enables non-invasive visualization of biological events at the molecular level with extremely low backgrounds. • In this review, we provide an overview of the activatable small molecular probes with autofluorescence-free techniques for imaging of endogenous bioanalytes. • We emphasize the very recent breakthroughs in the past three years (from 2020 to early 2023). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The O2 adsorption and dissociation on M‐doped (M = Cu, Ag, W) Al(111) surface were studied by density functional theory. The adsorption energy of adsorbate, the average binding energy and surface energy of Al surface, and the doping energy of doping atom were calculated. All the doped atoms can be stably combined with Al atoms, while being slightly embedded in the surface to a certain depth. The TOP‐type surfaces are the most stable doped surfaces for O2 adsorption, which is related to the orbital hybridization between the adsorbate and the surface atoms, the electronegativity, and the orbital energy level of the doping atoms. Moreover, the O atoms and doping atoms contribute significantly to the density of states (DOS), especially the O‐p orbital electrons and the d orbital electrons of doping atoms. The degree of O2 dissociation is related to the doping atoms on Al surfaces, and the doping atoms actually resist the dissociation of O2. W atoms have the best resistance effect on the O2 dissociation as compared with Cu and Ag atoms, especially W‐1NN surface, which has both large barrier energy and reaction energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flower-like porous carbon has fascinated significant attention due to its outstanding and exceptional properties. However, controlled synthesis of porous carbon with adjustable morphology, highly active sites and cross-linked pore channels remains still a great challenge. Herein, an inimitable dissolution–reassembly anisotropic growth strategy was firstly demonstrated for the fabrication of idiographic orchid-like hierarchical porous carbon with ultra-thin multilayer carbon sheets, high specific surface area (1063 m2 g−1), large pore volume (0.82 cm3 g−1) and rich nitrogen content (7.6 wt%). Highly reactive phloroglucinol and EDA aggregated magically and SiO2 acted as a pore former. Ingeniously, acetone acted as a "surgical knife," which cut the composite of SiO2@phloroglucinol–EDA into many tiny units and further anisotropic growth into orchid-like polymers. The width and thickness of the carbon petals can be effectively controlled with the diversification of acetone concentration. Intriguingly, monodisperse hollow carbon nanospheres could be harvested with silicon-deficient system, which may offer new insight into the construction of functionalized carbon materials with hollow architecture. Owing to the unmatched superstructures, orchid-like carbon materials can be employed as an ideal drug carrier and dye adsorbent. Figure Schematic illustration of solid carbon nanosphere, hollow carbon nanosphere and OHPC-25. For the first time, a novel dissolution–reassembly route based on strong hydrogen-bonding interaction was developed to prepare unique orchid-like hierarchical porous carbon, in which phloroglucinol acted as a carbon precursor and EDA both as a base catalyst and as a nitrogen precursor. The critical step to this synthetic approach was the ingeniously employed acetone as a "surgical knife" to cut the composite of SiO2@phloroglucinol–EDA into many tiny units, and these units were reassembled into orchid-like polymers. After adding acetone, the morphology of carbon materials has changed from solid nanospheres to hollow nanospheres. This strategy did not use any template as the cavity, which may offer a new insight into the comprehension of synthesized functionalized carbon materials with hollow architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuroblastoma (NB) is one of the most common malignant tumors of the sympathetic nervous system in childhood. NB severely threatens patient's health and life. However, more effective diagnosis and treatment methods are badly needed in clinics all over the world. MYCN is well recognized as a genetic biomarker of high risk and poor outcome in NB. miRNAs are small RNAs and miR-98 involved in the pathogenesis of various cancers. The role and mechanism of miR-98 in NB remains to be investigated. Here we found that miR-98 was decreased in human MYCN-high-expression NB tissues, and its down-regulation was associated with poor prognosis of NB. Over-expression of miR-98 inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion of NB cells. The analysis by employing the software of miRanda predicted the possible binding sites of miR-98 in the 3′-UTR of MYCN, and experimental data illustrated that miR-98 directly bound to MYCN 3′-UTR and decreased MYCN expression. Over-expression of MYCN rescued the decreased malignant phenotype caused by over-expression of miR-98 in NB. N6-methyladenosine modification in 3′-UTR of MYCN promoted its interaction with miR-98. The data collectively demonstrated that RNA m6A modification was required for miR-98/MYCN axis-mediated inhibition of neuroblastoma progression, and miR-98 might be novel targets for NB detection and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Perigraft abscess is a rare condition which constitutes a small proportion of aortic graft infection (AGI). Early diagnosis is very important for timely intervention and improving the survival rate of patients because of its significant morbidity and mortality.Case Presentation: A 24-year-old young male patient with a history of complicated total arch replacement using elephant trunk technique for acute DeBakey type-1 aortic dissection 6 months before visited our hospital with the chief complaint of persistent fever. Antibiotic treatment in local hospital was ineffective. Echocardiography showed liquid dark area around the aortic graft, and a computerized tomography angiography (CTA) was done for further evaluation of periaortic fluid collection which showed findings to suggest perigraft abscess. The patient underwent surgical debridement of the abscess and was found to have an abscess around the aortic graft which was drained followed by antibiotic treatment. The patient was discharged to his local hospital and recovered well at 2 month follow-up appointment.Conclusion: This is a very rare case of aortic abscess around the graft that could successfully be managed by graft-conserving surgery, and it emphasizes the significance of early diagnosis of perigraft abscess in patients with aortic dissection surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mural cells synthesize and deposit laminin to the basement membrane. To investigate the function of mural cell-derived laminin, we generated a mutant mouse line lacking mural cell-derived laminin (termed PKO). In a previous study, we showed that the PKO mice were grossly normal under homeostatic condition, but developed blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown with advanced age (> 8 months), suggesting that these mutants are intrinsically weak. Based on these findings, we hypothesized that PKO mice have exacerbated injuries in pathological conditions.Methods: Using collagenase-induced intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) as an injury model, we examined various stroke outcomes, including hematoma volume, neurological function, neuronal death, BBB integrity, paracellular/transcellular transport, inflammatory cell infiltration, and brain water content, in PKO mice and their wildtype littermates at young age (6-8 weeks). In addition, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis and an in vitro ICH model were used to investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms.Results: Compared to age-matched wildtype littermates, PKO mice display aggravated stroke outcomes, including larger hematoma size, worse neurological function, increased neuronal cell death, enhanced BBB permeability, increased transcytosis, and elevated inflammatory cell infiltration. These mutants also exhibit high baseline brain water content independent of aquaporin-4 (AQP4). In addition, mural cell-derived laminin significantly reduced caveolin-1 without affecting tight junction proteins in the in vitro ICH model.Conclusions: These results suggest that mural cell-derived laminin attenuates BBB damage in ICH via decreasing caveolin-1 and thus transcytosis, regulates brain water homeostasis, and plays a beneficial role in ICH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A label-free electrochemical aptasensor was developed for the sensitive detection of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ). To do this, a diblock dual-aptamer allosteric hairpin (DDAH) was designed, followed by conjugation with gold nanoparticles (DDAH&AuNP). The presence of target destroyed the stable hairpin structure, and then the catalytic cleavage of DNAzymes removed the IFN-γ-binding molecules, triggering the allosteric switching from inactive hairpin to active streptavidin aptamer (A-DDAH&AuNP) in homogeneous system. Moreover, streptavidin-inorganic hybrid nanoflowers decorated with graphene composites (SFG) were synthesized and used as substrates to modify glassy carbon electrodes (SFG/GCE). SFG specifically bind to the A-DDAH&AuNP to realize high-efficient readout of signals. Under the optimal conditions and by using differential pulse stripping voltammetry (DPSV), the response peak currents increases linearly with the logarithm of the IFN-γ concentration in the range between 0.1 pg mL−1 and 500 ng/mL. The detection limit is as low as 19 fg mL−1. The aptasensor also has excellent electrochemical performances, which exhibits broad application prospects in biometric analysis. Image 1 • A new diblock dual-aptamer allosteric hairpin switch is designed and used to improve the sensitivity and selectivity of aptasensor. • SFG was used as substrate material to amplify the signal of sensor. • The electrochemical aptasensor showed a low detection limit of 19 fg mL−1 for IFN-γ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the impact of the Western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) on the air pollution episode of Xiamen, a coastal city in Southeastern China, this study focused on formation processes and influencing mechanisms of an air pollution episode from 17th to 23rd September 2017. The results showed that the WPSH fluctuated in this period and intensified this air pollution with local emissions. The episode was divided into four stages according to WPSH center locations to diagnose the air pollution. Visibility declined below 10 km twice while fine particulate matte (PM 2.5) concentration was up to 89.05 μg/m3 during this episode. As a consequence of high temperature (28.33 ± 1.25 °C) resulted from WPSH, atmospheric oxidation at high level (140.81 ± 56.49 μg/m3) was the driving force of secondary aerosols generations. Oxidation determined photo-chemical reactions with the pathways of gas-phase and heterogeneous formation. Sulfate was formed from gas-phase oxidation by SO 2 in daytime while heterogeneous reaction occurred at night. Nitrate generation was dominated by not only excess ammonium but also intense oxidation. Reconstruction light extinction results coupling with trajectories revealed that (NH 4) 2 SO 4 , NH 4 NO 3 and OM were the priority factors to the reduction of atmospheric visibility. These findings provided new insights of air pollution episode diagnosis and indicative function of WPSH impacts on local air quality in Southeast China. Unlabelled Image • Hourly PM 2.5 and O 3 showed similar trends during the WPSH transitory movement. • A threshold at 28 °C of atmospheric oxidizing capacity was found. • Aged sulfate and nitrate enhanced light extinction coupling with trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a signal-on electrochemical aptasensor for highly sensitive detection of thrombin (TB) was constructed based on the DNAzyme-driven DNA walker strategy. We developed a new dual functional hairpin DNA (HP) containing a substrate sequence of the Mg2+-dependent DNAzyme (in the loop region) and the G-quadruplex forming segment (in the stem region). The DNA walker (TBA 2 -DWs), containing a TB aptamer and an enzymatic sequence, was introduced onto gold electrode (GE) by aptamers-target specific recognition, and thus initiated the enzymatic sequences to hybridize with the substrate sequence. Then, the DNA walker could repeatedly bind and cleave HP in the assistance of Mg2+, unlocking many active G-quadruplex forming sequences. Finally, hemin can further bind the G-quadruplex to form G-quadruplex/hemin complexes and generate enhanced current output. The aptasensor for TB assay showed a linear detection range from 1 pM to 60000 pM with a lower detection limit of 0.58 pM. And more, the proposed detection strategy was enzyme-free and label-free. Image 1 • A signal-on electrochemical aptasensor based on DNAzyme-driven DNA Walker strategy has been developed. • DNA walker is driven by DNAzyme and induced by dual recognition of target molecules. • A new dual functional hairpin DNA (HP) was developed and used in this electrochemical anpptsensor. • A signal-on electrochemical aptasensor is designed from enzyme-free and label-free. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citric acid and oxalic acid, the main metabolites of fungi, have different leaching effects on uranium ore. Herein, uranium leaching from a volcano-litho-type uranium ore using citric acid and oxalic acid was studied by performing soaking experiments in incubator shakers using pure water and H2SO4 as controls. The citric acid is advantageous over oxalic acid in terms of the uranium leaching rate (97% and 67%) and speed for 20 days of leaching. These findings will help optimize the isolation and cultivation conditions of organic acid-producing fungi used for uranium leaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxygen vacancies are usually considered to be beneficial in catalytic conversion of polysulfides in lithium–sulfur batteries. Now it is demonstrated that the conversion of polysulfides was hindered by oxygen vacancies on ultrathin niobic acid. The inferior performance induced by the oxygen vacancy was mainly attributed to the decreased electric conductivity as well as the weakened adsorption of polysulfides on the catalyst surface. This work shows that the care should be taken when designing a new catalyst for the lithium–sulfur battery using a defect‐engineering strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxygen vacancies are usually considered to be beneficial in catalytic conversion of polysulfides in lithium–sulfur batteries. Now it is demonstrated that the conversion of polysulfides was hindered by oxygen vacancies on ultrathin niobic acid. The inferior performance induced by the oxygen vacancy was mainly attributed to the decreased electric conductivity as well as the weakened adsorption of polysulfides on the catalyst surface. This work shows that the care should be taken when designing a new catalyst for the lithium–sulfur battery using a defect‐engineering strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study applied a bifactor approach to investigate the structures and simultaneously compare the psychometric properties of three popular self-report internet addiction (IA) instruments. A bifactor confirmatory factor analysis was used to address the structures of the three scales, while the bifactor multidimensional item response model was employed to compare the psychometric properties of the three scales. Results of bifactor confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed that the bifactor structures were suitable for the three scales. These corresponding bifactor structures were used in the subsequent bifactor multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) analysis. Results of the bifactor MIRT showed that: three instruments of IA performed well as a whole; the Generalised Problematic Internet Use Scale (GPIUS) and Internet Addiction Test (IAT) provided more test information and had less standard error of measurement, which ranged from −3 to −1 standard deviations of theta or IA severity; the Game Addiction Scale (GAS) performed better than the other two scales in that it can provide more test information in the large area of IA severity (from −1 to +3 SDs). These suggest that the GPIUS and IAT may be the best choice for epidemiological IA studies and for measuring those with lower IA severity. Meanwhile, the GAS may be a good choice when we recruit those with various levels of IA severity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new attempt combining MPCM slurry and tree-shaped GHE was proposed. • Thermo-fluidic characteristics of MPCM slurry were investigated. • Comparisons between MPCM and water flowing through different tubes were conducted. • Influences of volume fractions on thermos-fluidic performance are studied. Taking into account the potential of the tree-shaped ground heat exchanger to reduce pressure losses and microencapsulated phase change material slurry to enhance heat transfer performance, a new attempt combining microencapsulated phase change material slurry with tree-shaped structure is proposed in this paper. Firstly, to obtain the optimal structure of tree-shaped ground heat exchanger, influences of structure parameters on thermo-fluidic performance of ground heat exchanger are explored. Based on this optimal structure, numerical simulations adopting Eulerian-Eulerian approach are conducted to study hydraulic and heat transfer performance of microencapsulated phase change material slurry flowing through horizontal tree-shaped structure under constant flux. Comparison studies between different working fluid: water and microencapsulated phase change material slurry and different types of tube: horizontal straight tube and Y tube (tree-shaped tube) are studied. The results indicate that the numerical results accord well with experimental results. For tree-shaped ground heat exchanger with bifurcation level of 1, the optimal pipe diameter ratio meets D 0 / D 1 = 2 3 / 7 , D 1 / D 2 = 1 and the optimal length ratio is L 0 / L 1 = 1. Furthermore, the combination of microencapsulated phase change material slurry and tree-shaped structure can efficiently enhance thermal performance and reduce pressure losses. Considering comprehensive performance of microencapsulated phase change material slurry, the optimal volume fraction is 12% for Y tube, whose overall performance is 38.9% higher than that of pure water flowing through straight tube. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Neisseria meningitidis caused meningitis is life-threatening acute infection with high fatality and high frequency of severe sequelae. Meningococcal capsular polysaccharides can be used to prevent meningococcal disease; while conjugating the polysaccharides to carrier protein was found necessary to improve the immunogenicity and induce memory responses in infants and young children. Nevertheless, repeated administration of glycoconjugate vaccines might lead to carrier-induced epitope suppression due to limited number of carrier proteins. Here in this study, full-length hepatitis B core antigen virus-like particles (HBc VLPs) was used as a novel potential carrier protein for conjugation of meningococcal group C polysaccharides (CPS) with heterobifunctional polyethylene glycol (PEG) of different length (2, 5 and 10 kDa) as linkers. The physiochemical properties of the CPS-PEG-HBc conjugate vaccines were fully characterized. The TEM, DLS, native agarose gel electrophoresis, and HPLC analyses all confirmed the successful conjugation. As compared to plain CPS and the physical mixture of CPS and HBc, the immunization with the conjugate vaccines can generate about 10 times increase in CPS specific IgG titers with a significant boosting effect. HBc conjugation induced a shift to a Th1 cellular immune type response, as assessed by the increased IgG2a subclass production. In addition, vaccination of the conjugate vaccines elicited much enhanced avidity functional antibody and long-lasting immunological memory. IgG titers elicited by CPS-P2k-HBc, CPS-P5k-HBc and CPS-P10k-HBc at week 18 maintained 38.1%, 17.9% and 33.3% of their peak values. All these results demonstrated that HBc VLPs can be used as potential carrier protein to develop polysaccharide conjugate vaccines effective in eliciting long-lasting and strong cellular immune response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the Member Discrete Element Method (MDEM) is modified and perfected for three aspects: the algorithm itself, loading and computational efficiency, and to accurately and quantitatively simulate the progressive collapse for large-span spatial steel structures. In addition, the corresponding computational programs are compiled. First, from the perspective of the method, a meshing principle for discrete element models is determined, a treatment for material nonlinearity and strain rate effect is proposed, and a damping model is established. Next, the Displacement Method is introduced to determine the multi-support excitation for the MDEM, and then motion equations of particles under multi-support excitation are derived. On this basis, the specific process of gravitational field loading is presented. Furthermore, parallel implementation strategies for the MDEM based on OpenMP are constructed. Finally, the collapse simulation of a 1/3.5-scaled single-layer reticulated dome shaking table test model under multi-support excitation is carried out. The comparison demonstrates that the ultimate load and failure mode as well as the complete collapse time of the numerical results are consistent with the experimentally measured responses, and the configuration variations from member buckling and local depression until collapse failure are fully captured. Moreover, the displacement time-history curves obtained using MDEM are almost identical to the experimental measurements, and there is a nuance only in the amplitude. It is verified that MDEM is capable of precisely addressing the collapse failure for large-span spatial steel structures. Additionally, the failure mechanism for structures of this type is naturally revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]