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Flower constancy describes the phenomenon that pollinators tend to successively visit flowers of a single species during foraging, reducing reproductive interference in natural communities. The extent of flower constancy is largely determined by the floral traits of co-flowering species. Both higher inter-specific and lower intraspecific differences of floral traits should contribute to a higher level of flower constancy. However, previous studies mainly focused on interspecific difference, and the intraspecific variation (consistency) of floral traits received much less attention. We hypothesise that selection may favour lower intraspecific floral trait variation in communities composed of multiple co-flowering congeners. We investigated the floral colour variation of three focal Pedicularis species that share pollinators in 19 communities composed of either single or multiple Pedicularis species. Colour was quantified using image-based colour analysis as perceived by pollinators. We found that most of the intrapopulation floral colour variation was below the colour discrimination threshold of bumblebees, implying strongly constrained by the visual selection by pollinators. Contrary to the hypothesis, there is no significant difference in intraspecific floral colour variation between different community contexts. It may be due to the relatively large interspecific floral colour differences of most co-flowering species. The influence of community context on intraspecific variation may be reflected in floral traits other than colours.

Abstract Background Gan-song Yin (GSY) is originated from the scripture “Gan-song Pills”, a medical work of the Ningxia ethnic minorities, and its treatment of kidney diseases has good results. Its method of treating Renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) is still unknown, nevertheless. Methods Firstly, utilizing a network pharmacology strategy to screen GSY for active components and targets and looking up KIRC-related targets in GeneCards and GEO databases. Secondly, protein interaction networks were constructed and analyzed for GO and KEGG enrichment. Molecular docking was then performed and clinical and other correlations of the network pharmacology results were analyzed using bioinformatic analysis methods. Finally, we performed in vitro cellular experiments with 786-O cells and ACHN cells to validate the results of network pharmacology and bioinformatic analysis. Results With the help of network pharmacological analysis, six hub targets were eliminated. Bioinformatics study revealed that the hub targets has clinically significant clinical guiding importance. The results showed that GSY inhibited the proliferation of 786-O cells and ACHN cells, induced cell apoptosis, blocked cell cycle, and reduced cell colony formation ability. qRT-PCR results showed that GSY promoted the expression of ALB and CASP3 genes, and inhibited the expression of EGFR, JUN, MYC and VEGFA genes. Western blot results showed that GSY could promote the expression of ALB and CASP3 protein, and inhibit the expression of EGFR, JUN, MYC and VEGFA protein. Conclusions Network pharmacology and bioinformatics analysis showed that GSY could act on multiple targets through a variety of components to achieve the effect of treating KIRC. In this study, we confirmed that GSY inhibits KIRC by regulating the expression of core targets through in vitro cellular experiments, thus providing a reference for subsequent related studies.

Abstract. Background:. Asthma imposes a large healthcare burden in China and the United States (US). However, the trends of asthma mortality and the relative risk factors have not been comparatively analyzed between the countries. The aim of this study was to compare the mortality and risk factors between China and the US. Methods:. The deaths, and mortality rates of asthma in China and the US during 1990-2019 were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. The age-period-cohort model was used to estimate these mortality rates based on a log-linear scale with additive age, period, and cohort effects. The population attributable fractions of risk factors for asthma were estimated. Results:. In 1990-2019, the asthma mortality rate was higher in China than in the US. The crude and age-standardized asthma mortality rates trended downward in both China and the US from 1990 to 2019. The decline in mortality was more obvious in China. Mortality gap between the two countries was narrowing. A sex difference in asthma mortality was observed with higher mortality in males in China and females in the US. The age effects showed that mortality increased with age in adults older than 20 years, particularly in the elderly. Downward trends were generally observed in the period and cohort rate ratios in both countries, with China experiencing a more obvious decrease. Smoking and high body mass index (BMI) were the leading risk factors for asthma mortality in China and the US, respectively. Mortality attributable to occupational asthmagens and smoking decreased the most in China and the US, respectively. Conclusions:. In 1990-2019, the asthma mortality rate was higher in China than in the US; however, the mortality gap has narrowed. Mortality increased with age in adults. The improvements in asthma death risk with period and birth cohort were more obvious in China than in the US. Smoking, high BMI, and aging are major health problems associated with asthma control. The role of occupational asthmagens in asthma mortality underscores the importance of management and prevention of occupational asthma.

BackgroundThe Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) is a straightforward and objective tool for nutritional screening in older patients and has been demonstrated to possess prognostic predictive value in several diseases. Nonetheless, there is a lack of research on the nutritional risk associated with brain abscess in the older. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of nutritional risk among these patients by GNRI and to investigate its potential prognostic value for clinical outcomes.Materials and methodsFrom August 2019 to April 2023, 100 older patients diagnosed with brain abscess were enrolled in this single-center prospective cohort study, which evaluated the prognostic value of the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) in elderly brain abscess patients. Data collected included demographic, and clinical characteristics at admission and calculated the GNRI, and the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) score 6 months post-discharge. A GOS score of 5 was considered indicative of a good recovery, whereas scores ranging from 1 to 4 were classified as poor recovery.ResultsThe results revealed that 48% of older brain abscess patients were at risk of malnutrition according to the GNRI. These patients had significantly higher post-admission C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (p = 0.017), more comorbidities (p

BackgroundDespite extensive research on hyperuricemia (HUA) in adults, there remains a dearth of studies examining this condition in youth. Consequently, our objective was to investigate the prevalence of HUA among youth in the United States, as well as identify the corresponding risk factors.MethodsThis study employed a nationally representative subsample of 1,051 youth aged 13–20 from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted between January 2017 and March 2020. Univariate and multivariate techniques were utilized to examine the association between HUA and obesity, dietary nutrients, liver and kidney function, glucose and lipid metabolism, inflammation, and other indicators in the adolescent population.ResultsThe study encompassed a cohort of 1,051 youth aged 13–20 years, comprising 538 boys and 513 girls. The overall prevalence of HUA was found to be 7% (74 out of 1,051). Univariate analysis revealed that the HUA group exhibited greater age, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Additionally, the prevalence of obesity was significantly higher in the HUA group compared to the non- HUA group (all p 0.05).ConclusionHigh BMI remains a major risk factor for HUA in US youth aged 13–20 years, and ALT and Cr levels should be closely monitored along with serum uric acid.

BackgroundChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most prevalent chronic respiratory diseases and the fourth cause of mortality globally. Neutrophilic inflammation has a vital role in the occurrence and progression of COPD. This study aimed to identify the novel hub genes involved in neutrophilic inflammation in COPD through bioinformatic prediction and experimental validation.MethodsBoth the single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) dataset (GSE173896) and the RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) dataset (GSE57148) were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The Seurat package was used for quality control, dimensions reduction, and cell identification of scRNA-seq. The irGSEA package was used for scoring individual cells. The Monocle2 package was used for the trajectory analysis of neutrophils. The CIBERSORT algorithm was used for analysis of immune cell infiltration in the lungs of COPD patients and controls in RNA-seq dataset, and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) correlated gene modules with neutrophil infiltration. The Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis explored the causal relationship between feature DEGs and COPD. The protein–protein interaction (PPI) network of novel hub genes was constructed, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to validate novel hub genes in clinical specimens.ResultsIn scRNA-seq, the gene sets upregulated in COPD samples were related to the neutrophilic inflammatory response and TNF-α activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway. In RNA-seq, immune infiltration analysis showed neutrophils were upregulated in COPD lung tissue. We combined data from differential and modular genes and identified 51 differential genes associated with neutrophilic inflammation. Using MR analysis, 6 genes were explored to be causally associated with COPD. Meanwhile, 11 hub genes were identified by PPI network analysis, and all of them were upregulated. qRT-PCR experiments validated 9 out of 11 genes in peripheral blood leukocytes of COPD patients. Furthermore, 5 genes negatively correlated with lung function in COPD patients. Finally, a network of transcription factors for NAMPT and PTGS2 was constructed.ConclusionThis study identified nine novel hub genes related to the neutrophilic inflammation in COPD, and two genes were risk factors of COPD, which may serve as potential biomarkers for the clinical severity of COPD.

The key to sEMG (surface electromyography)-based control of robotic hands is the utilization of sEMG signals from the affected hand of amputees to infer their motion intentions. With the advancements in deep learning, researchers have successfully developed viable solutions for CNN (Convolutional Neural Network)-based gesture recognition. However, most studies have primarily concentrated on utilizing sEMG data from the hands of healthy subjects, often relying on high-dimensional feature vectors obtained from a substantial number of electrodes. This approach has yielded high-performing sEMG recognition systems but has failed to consider the considerable inconvenience that the abundance of electrodes poses to the daily lives and work of patients. In this paper, we focused on transradial amputees and used sEMG data from the Ninapro DB3 database as our dataset. Firstly, we introduce a STFT (Short-Time Fourier Transform)-based time-frequency feature fusion map for sEMG. This map includes both time-frequency features and the time-frequency localization of sEMG signals. Secondly, we propose an Improved DenseNet (Dense Convolutional Network) model for recognizing motion intentions in the affected hand of amputees based on their sEMG signals. Finally, addressing the issue of optimizing the number of electrodes carried by amputees, we introduce the PCMIRR (Pearson Correlation and Motion Intention Recognition Rate) algorithm. This algorithm optimizes the number of channels by considering the Pearson correlation between the sEMG channels of amputees and the recognition rate of motion intentions in the affected hand based on single-channel sEMG data. The experimental results reveal that the recognition accuracy, recall, and F1 score achieved by the Improved DenseNet model were 93.82%, 93.61%, and 93.65%, respectively. When the number of electrodes was optimized to 8, the recognition accuracy reached 94.50%. In summary, this paper ultimately attained precise recognition of motion intentions in amputees' affected hands while utilizing the minimum number of sEMG channels. This method offers a novel approach to sEMG-based control of bionic robotic hands.

Brandisia is a shrubby genus of about eight species distributed basically in East Asian evergreen broadleaved forests (EBLFs), with distribution centers in the karst regions of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi in southwestern China. Based on the hemiparasitic and more or less liana habits of this genus, we hypothesized that its evolution and distribution were shaped by the development of EBLFs there. To test our hypothesis, the most comprehensive phylogenies of Brandisia hitherto were constructed based on plastome and nuclear loci (nrDNA, PHYA and PHYB); then divergence time and ancestral areas were inferred using the combined nuclear loci dataset. Phylogenetic analyses reconfirmed that Brandisia is a member of Orobanchaceae, with unstable placements caused by nuclear-plastid incongruences. Within Brandisia, three major clades were well supported, corresponding to the three subgenera based on morphology. Brandisia was inferred to have originated in the early Oligocene (32.69 Mya) in the Eastern Himalayas–SW China, followed by diversification in the early Miocene (19.45 Mya) in karst EBLFs. The differentiation dates of Brandisia were consistent with the origin of keystone species of EBLFs in this region (e.g., Fagaceae, Lauraceae, Theaceae, and Magnoliaceae) and the colonization of other characteristic groups (e.g., Gesneriaceae and Mahonia). These findings indicate that the distribution and evolution of Brandisia were facilitated by the rise of the karst EBLFs in East Asia. In addition, the woody and parasitic habits, and pollination characteristics of Brandisia may also be the important factors affecting its speciation and dispersal.

Abstract Background Obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are risk factors for hyperuricemia. However, which anthropometric indices can better predict incident hyperuricemia in patients with T2DM remains inconsistent. This study aimed to examine the associations between hyperuricemia and different anthropometric indices in middle-aged and older male patients with T2DM. Methods In this retrospective study, a total of 1447 middle-aged (45—65 years, n = 791) and older (≥ 65 years, n = 656) male patients with T2DM were collected from December 2015 to January 2020 at Shanghai Xinhua Hospital. Hyperuricemia was defined as a serum uric acid level above 7.0 mg/dL. Weight, height, waist circumference (WC) and hip circumference (HC) were measured by trained nurses at visit. Results The median uric acid level of subjects was 5.6 (interquartile ranges: 4.7—6.7) mg/dl, and 279 (19.3%) were hyperuricemia, with 146 (18.5%) in the middle-aged group, and 133 (20.3%) in the older group. After adjusting for age, duration of T2DM, fasting plasma glucose and insulin, homeostasis model assessment-β, aspartate aminotransferase, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and estimated glomerular filtration rate, body mass index (BMI), WC, HC, and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) were associated with a higher risk of hyperuricemia in both middle-aged and older group (P

ObjectiveAlthough most studies have shown that neighborhood social cohesion (NSC) is associated with life satisfaction among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), it remains unclear how NSC is linked to life satisfaction. The present study aims to examine the potential mediation effect of depressive symptoms and sleep quality on the relationship between NSC and life satisfaction among Chinese individuals with T2DM.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted from August 2019 to November 2020 involving 1747 T2DM patients. The main information was obtained using the Center for Epidemiological Survey Depression Scale (CES-D), self-report sleep quality and life satisfaction questionnaire and NSC scales. Mediation analyses were performed using the PROCESS macro in SPSS.ResultsThe results manifested that the NSC was positively associated with sleep quality (r = 0.219) and life satisfaction (r = 0.214), while negatively correlated with depressive symptoms (r = −0.232). Depressive symptoms were found to be negatively associated with life satisfaction (r = −0.263). NSC influenced life satisfaction through three mediating pathways: (a) depressive symptoms (effect = 0.0081); (b) depressive symptoms and sleep quality (effect = 0.0019); and (c) sleep quality (effect = 0.0015). The total mediating effect accounted for 28.1% of the overall effect.ConclusionOur findings support the hypothesis that depressive symptoms and sleep quality mediated the relationship between NSC and life satisfaction in patients with T2DM. It is important to encourage T2DM patients to participate in social interactions and enhance their level of NSC. Additionally, efforts should be made to actively reduce depressive symptoms and improve sleep quality, so as to improve their life satisfaction.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of tri-ponderal mass index (TMI) in determining obesity in Chinese children aged 6-9 years, using the criteria of percentage of body fat (PBF) and body mass index z-scores (BMI-Z).MethodsThe cross-sectional study included 5365 children, aged 6–9 years, who participated in the project survey “Group prevention and treatment of obesity among students and school health promotion in Shanghai” from September 2007 to September 2009. Height, weight, waist circumference, body mass index (BMI), TMI, waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and PBF were recorded. Statistical analyses including Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, chi-square test, receiver operating characteristics curve, and kappa chi-square test were performed.ResultsTMI for both sexes was relatively constant with increasing age, and statistically significant differences were not observed at some ages (P > 0.05 at 6, 7, 8, and 9 years). WHtR showed subtle changes, while BMI and PBF increased significantly with age in boys and girls (P < 0.01). Using BMI-Z criteria as the measure of general obesity, the results indicated that TMI cutoff values for 6–9 years were 14.60 kg/m3 for boys and 14.84 kg/m3 for girls (P < 0.001). Analysis of the agreement between TMI and BMI-Z showed that the kappa statistic was 0.826 in boys and 0.709 in girls (P < 0.001).ConclusionTMI, as a constant tool, holds great potential as an alternative screening method for identifying children aged 6-9 years who may be at risk of obesity at an early stage.

Abstract Although some studies have shown the association between sleep duration and cognitive impairment is positive, the mechanism explaining how sleep duration is linked to cognition remains poor understood. The current study aims to explore it among Chinese population. A cross-sectional study of 12,589 participants aged 45 or over was conducted, cognition was assessed by three measures to capture mental intactness, episodic memory, and visuospatial abilities. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale 10 (CES-D10) was administered during the face-to-face survey to assess depressive status. Sleep duration was reported by the participants themselves. Partial correlation and linear regression were used to explore the association between sleep duration, cognition, and depression. The Bootstrap methods PROCESS program was used to detect the mediation effect of depression. Sleep duration was positively correlated with cognition and negatively with depression (p

Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP) is the main active component of Fructus Lycii, exhibiting various biological activities. This study aims to explore the protective effects of LBP on human corneal epithelial cells (HCEC) and a rat corneal injury model. Potential target points for LBP improving corneal injury repair were screened from public databases, and functional and pathway enrichment analyses of core targets were conducted using Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). Rat corneal alkali burns and HCEC oxidative stress injury models were established, and the results were validated through slit lamp examination, HE staining, TUNEL assay, immunofluorescence, CCK-8 assay, flow cytometry, scratch assay, and qRT-PCR methods. In the context of database retrieval, identification of 10 LBP monosaccharide components and 50 corneal injury repair-related targets was achieved. KEGG pathway analysis suggested that LBP might regulate the IL-17 and TNF signaling pathways through targets such as JUN, CASP3, and MMP9, thereby improving corneal damage. In vivo and in vitro experimental results indicated that LBP could reduce the increase of inflammation index scores (p < 0.05), inflammatory cell density (p < 0.01), TUNEL-positive cells (p < 0.01), corneal opacity scores (p < 0.01), and expression of corneal stromal fibrosis-related proteins α-SMA, FN, and COL (p < 0.01) caused by chemical damage to rat corneas. LBP inhibited oxidative stress-induced decreases in cell viability (p < 0.001) and migration healing ability (p < 0.01) in HCECs, reducing apoptosis rates (p < 0.001), ROS levels (p < 0.001), and the expression of inflammatory factors TNF-α and IL-6 (p < 0.01). qRT-PCR results demonstrated that LBP intervention decreased the mRNA levels of JUN, CASP3, and MMP9 in H2O2-induced alkaline-burned corneas and HCECs (p < 0.01).The integrated results from network pharmacology and validation experiments suggest that the inhibitory effects of LBP on apoptosis, inflammation, and fibrosis after corneal injury may be achieved through the suppression of the TNF and IL-17 signaling pathways mediated by JUN, CASP3, and MMP9.

Abstract Background Complex lower limb reconstruction due to severe trauma remains a challenge for reconstructive surgeons. Here, we introduce a modified donor blood flow-preserved cross-leg anterolateral thigh flap procedure and evaluate its clinical efficacy. Methods Between January 2013 and December 2019, 22 patients (range 10 to 64 years old) with unilateral lower limb injury underwent modified donor blood flow-preserved cross-leg anterolateral thigh flap procedures. Among them, 16 cases were traffic accidents, 5 cases were persistent ulcers, and 1 case was a degloving injury. The arterial pedicle of the flap was prepared in a Y-shaped fashion and microanastomosed to the posterior tibial artery of intact leg in a flow-through style. A split-thickness skin graft was applied to wrap the vascular pedicle after anastomosis. The flap was designed in a single or bilobed fashion according to the shape of the tissue defect. The operation time, the intraoperative blood loss and the length of hospital stays were recorded. The vascular pedicle was divided 4 weeks after anastomosis. Doppler ultrasound was performed to evaluate the blood flow of the donor posterior tibial artery during postoperative follow-up. Results All 22 flaps survived. The tissue defects ranged from 12 × 6 to 21 × 18 cm2. The flap sizes ranged from 14 × 7.5 to 24 × 21 cm2. The average operation time, intraoperative blood loss and length of hospital stays were 6.73 ± 1.49 h, 280.95 ± 59.25 ml and 30.55 ± 2.52 days, respectively. Eighteen flaps were designed in a single fashion, while four were in bilobed fashion. Twenty patients underwent fasciocutaneous flap transplantations, while two underwent musculocutaneous flap transplantations. Two cases developed local lysis of the flap which healed after further debridement. Direct suture of the incision after flap harvest was performed in 16 cases, while additional full-thickness skin grafting was performed in the remaining 6 cases. Further bone transport procedures were performed in 15 patients who had severe tibia bone defects. The blood flow of donor posterior tibial artery was confirmed in all patients during follow-ups. All patients recovered flap sensation at the final follow-up. The postoperative follow-ups ranged from 18 to 84 months, and no long-term complications were observed. Conclusions The modified donor blood flow-preserved cross-leg anterolateral thigh flap procedure is an ideal method to repair severe lower limb trauma with tibial artery occlusion which avoids sacrificing the major artery of the uninjured lower limb.

Detection of the four tobacco shred varieties and the subsequent unbroken tobacco shred rate are the primary tasks in cigarette inspection lines. It is especially critical to identify both single and overlapped tobacco shreds at one time, that is, fast blended tobacco shred detection based on multiple targets. However, it is difficult to classify tiny single tobacco shreds with complex morphological characteristics, not to mention classifying tobacco shreds with 24 types of overlap, posing significant difficulties for machine vision-based blended tobacco shred multi-object detection and unbroken tobacco shred rate calculation tasks. This study focuses on the two challenges of identifying blended tobacco shreds and calculating the unbroken tobacco shred rate. In this paper, a new multi-object detection model is developed for blended tobacco shred images based on an improved YOLOv7-tiny model. YOLOv7-tiny is used as the multi-object detection network’s mainframe. A lightweight Resnet19 is used as the model backbone. The original SPPCSPC and coupled detection head are replaced with a new spatial pyramid SPPFCSPC and a decoupled joint detection head, respectively. An algorithm for two-dimensional size calculation of blended tobacco shreds (LWC) is also proposed, which is applied to blended tobacco shred object detection images to obtain independent tobacco shred objects and calculate the unbroken tobacco shred rate. The experimental results showed that the final detection precision, mAP@.5, mAP@.5:.95, and testing time were 0.883, 0.932, 0.795, and 4.12 ms, respectively. The average length and width detection accuracy of the blended tobacco shred samples were −1.7% and 13.2%, respectively. The model achieved high multi-object detection accuracy and 2D size calculation accuracy, which also conformed to the manual inspection process in the field. This study provides a new efficient implementation method for multi-object detection and size calculation of blended tobacco shreds in cigarette quality inspection lines and a new approach for other similar blended image multi-object detection tasks.

Notch signaling is involved in cell fate determination and deregulated in human solid tumors. Hypoxia is an important feature in many solid tumors, which activates hypoxia-induced factors (HIFs) and their downstream targets to promote tumorigenesis and cancer development. Recently, HIFs have been shown to trigger the Notch signaling pathway in a variety of organisms and tissues. In this review, we focus on the pro- and anti-tumorigenic functions of Notch signaling and discuss the crosstalk between Notch signaling and cellular hypoxic response in cancer pathogenesis, including epithelia-mesenchymal transition, angiogenesis, and the maintenance of cancer stem cells. The pharmacological strategies targeting Notch signaling and hypoxia in cancer are also discussed in this review.

BackgroundLipids and lipid ratios are associated with complications of diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2DM), such as cardiovascular disease, but the relationship between blood glucose levels and lipid or lipid ratios is not fully understood in T2DM patients. This study assesses the association between blood glucose levels and lipid or lipid ratios in a cohort of T2DM patients.MethodsA total of 1,747 Chinese T2DM patients from the Ningxia province of China were included in this cross-sectional study. Lipid parameters, including triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), and fasting blood glucose levels were measured quantitatively using standard methods. Fasting blood glucose was divided into three groups. A multiple mixed-effect linear regression model was conducted to identify a potential association between blood glucose and lipid parameters.ResultsThere was a positive association between blood glucose and TG levels (β=0.34, 95% CI: (0.20, 0.48), p

Aiming at the problems of low uniformity and utilization rate in the traditional deep application method of orchard manure, a soil–fertilizer collision mixing and mulching device was designed. The ditching mechanism, the structure of the soil divider, and the fertilizer delivery auger were analyzed and designed. Furthermore, with the rotational speed of the cutter and auger and the deflection angle of the soil divider as factors, as well as the uniformity of soil–fertilizer mixing and mulching as evaluation indexes, the discrete element simulation tests were conducted. The simulation results showed that when the turret speed, the stirrer speed and the soil separator deflection angle were 140 r/min, 146 r/min and 22°, the mixing uniformity and mulching uniformity were the highest, which was 88.35% and 96.86%, respectively. Based on the optimal parameters, the field test was conducted, and the soil–fertilizer mixing uniformity was 87.02%, with a relative error of 1.33% compared with the simulation test results. The relative error of 94.37% of mulch uniformity is 2.49%, which indicates that the simulation optimization results are reliable and the mixing performance of the device is good and can meet the requirements of soil–fertilizer mixing operation. The results of this study can provide an important reference for the design of the soil and fertilizer mixing machine.

BackgroundThe milk fat globule membrane (MFGM), a tri-layer membrane structure surrounding the milk fat globule, has been shown to have immune-modulating properties. This study aimed to investigate the effects of MFGM supplementation in a rat model of short bowel syndrome (SBS) associated liver disease and its possible mechanisms.Materials and MethodsTwenty one male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: Sham, SBS (underwent massive small bowel resection), and SBS+MFGM (SBS rats supplemented with 1.5 g/kg/d MFGM). Liver pathology, myeloperoxidase (MPO) staining, serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT), endotoxin concentration, protein expression of autophagy and nucleotide binding oligomerization domain, leucine-rich repeat and pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) pathway in the liver tissue were measured.ResultsBoth SBS and SBS + MFGM groups had higher serum levels of ALT and liver endotoxin levels than the Sham group (P < 0.05), with no difference detected between each other. Compared with the SBS group, the SBS+MFGM group showed lower liver pathology scores of steatosis and inflammation, less MPO positive cells and reduced expressions of NLRP3, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC), Caspase-1, interleukin (IL)-1β(P < 0.05) in the liver. Additionally, the expression of Beclin-1 and microtubule-associated protein1 light chain 3(LC3) B, the fluorescence intensity of NLRP3 and LC3B in the SBS + MFGM group were lower than the SBS group (P < 0.05). The LC3B expression was positively correlated with the NLRP3 level.ConclusionEnteral supplementation of MFGM help to alleviate liver injury in SBS rats, which might be related to inhibition of aberrant activation of autophagy and NLRP3 inflammasome pathways.

Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) fruit (JF) is widely consumed as food in Asian countries due to its potential effects for human health. As a traditional Chinese medicine, JF is often used to treat anorexia, fatigue and loose stools caused by spleen deficiency syndromes in China, but the mechanism underlying this effect has not been thoroughly elucidated. In this study, a rat model of spleen deficiency syndromes was adopted to investigate the therapeutic effect of JF extract and its possible mechanism by metabolomics analyses of plasma and urine as well as the intestinal flora analysis. The results showed that the changes in plasma and urine metabolites caused by spleen deficiency were reversed after administration of JF, and these changed endogenous metabolites were mainly involved in retinol metabolism, pentose and glucuronate interconversions, nicotinate and niacinamide metabolism pathways. The 16S rDNA sequencing results showed that JF could regulate intestinal flora imbalance caused by spleen deficiency. The covariance analysis of intestinal flora structure and metabolome indicated that Aerococcus may be a candidate strain for predicting and treating the metabolic pathways of spleen deficiency and related disorders. In summary, it can be revealed that spleen deficiency, which alters metabolic profiles and the intestinal flora, could be alleviated effectively by JF extract.

BackgroundHyperuricemia has been increasing among children with obesity in recent years. However, few studies in such a study group had explored the relationship between obesity-anthropometric indexes and hyperuricemia. This study aimed to examine the associations between hyperuricemia and different body components in children and adolescents with obesity, and further explore gender differences in these associations.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, a total of 271 obese children and adolescents (153 boys and 118 girls) aged 6–17 years were recruited from Shanghai Xinhua Hospital. Data about basic information, anthropometric assessments, body composition, and laboratory tests of participants were collected.ResultsIn this study, 73 boys (47.71%) and 57 girls (48.31%) were diagnosed to have hyperuricemia. The impacts of percentage of skeletal muscle (PSM) (OR = 1.221, P < 0.001) and skeletal muscle mass (SMM) (OR = 1.179, P < 0.001) on the risk of hyperuricemia was the largest, followed by hip circumference (HC) (OR = 1.109, P < 0.001), waist circumference (WC) (OR = 1.073, P < 0.001), and body fat mass (BFM) (OR = 1.056, P < 0.05) in whole sample, which was adjusted for age, gender and body mass index (BMI). After being stratified by gender, PSM (boys: OR = 1.309, P < 0.001) and SMM (boys: OR = 1.200, P < 0.001; girls: OR = 1.147, P < 0.05) were still the most predictors of hyperuricemia, followed by HC (boys: OR = 1.147, P < 0.001; girls: OR = 1.080, P < 0.05). WC showed a significant association with hyperuricemia only in boys (OR = 1.083, P < 0.05), while BFM showed no association with hyperuricemia in both gender groups after adjusting for age and BMI.ConclusionOur findings suggested that SMM was a stronger predictor of hyperuricemia than BFM in children and adolescents with obesity, especially in boys.

Abstract Background Current adult studies suggest that uric acid (UA) is associated with body fat, but the relationship in obese children is unclear. Thus, we aim to evaluate the association between uric acid and body composition of obese children. Methods A total of 79 obese children were included in this study, and 52 children (34 boys and 18 girls) underwent a 6-week weight loss camp, including 34 boys and 18 girls. Six-week weight-loss interventions were performed on all participants through aerobic exercise and appropriate dietary control. Laboratory tests and body composition were collected before and after the intervention. Results Before the intervention, correlation analysis demonstrated that uric acid was positively correlated with height, weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, hip circumference, fat mass (FM), and free fat mass (FFM) with adjusting for age and gender (P

Abstract Background Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have become a promising treatment for spinal cord injury (SCI) due to the fact that they provide a favorable environment. Treatment using MSCs results in a better neurological functional improvement through the promotion of nerve cell regeneration and the modulation of inflammation. Many studies have highlighted that the beneficial effects of MSCs are more likely associated with their secreted factors. However, the identity of the factor that plays a key role in the MSC-induced neurological functional recovery following SCI as well as its molecular mechanism still remains unclear. Methods A conditioned medium (collected from the MSCs) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) were used to test the effects on the differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCS) in the presence of BMP4 with or without a c-Met antibody. In SCI rats, Western blot, ELISA, immunohistochemistry, and hematoxylin-eosin staining were used to investigate the biological effects of MSC-conditioned medium and HGF on nerve cell regeneration and inflammation with or without the pre-treatment using a c-Met antibody. In addition, the possible molecular mechanism (cross-talk between HGF/c-Met and the BMP/Smad 1/5/8 signaling pathway) was also detected by Western blot both in vivo and in vitro. Results The conditioned medium from bone marrow-derived MSCs (BMSCs) was able to promote the NSC differentiation into neurons in vitro and the neurite outgrowth in the scar boundary of SCI rats by inhibiting the BMP/Smad signaling pathway as well as reduces the secondary damage through the modulation of the inflammatory process. The supplementation of HGF showed similar biological effects to those of BMSC-CM, whereas a functional blocking of the c-Met antibody or HGF knockdown in BMSCs significantly reversed the functional improvement mediated by the BMSC-CM. Conclusions The MSC-associated biological effects on the recovery of SCI rats mainly depend on the secretion of HGF.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate whether serum uric acid (SUA) plays a mediating role in the development of insulin resistance (IR) in obese children and adolescents.MethodsA total of 369 participants aged 4-17 years with obesity who attended the Nutrition Outpatient Clinic for Obesity at Xinhua Hospital from January 2012 to January 2019 were recruited for this retrospective study. We classified participants into two groups on the basis of HOMA-IR values: the low HOMA-IR group (< 3.16) (n = 222) and the high HOMA-IR group (≥ 3.16) (n = 147).ResultsThe univariate analysis found that the high HOMA-IR group had higher BMI, SUA, and fasting insulin (FINS) (P < 0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis and mediating effect analysis indicated that body mass index (BMI) could directly regulate FINS and HOMA-IR (both P < 0.05). The results from the mediating effect analysis found that UA partially played an indirect role in the link between BMI, FINS and HOMA-IR (both P < 0.05) but had no effect on fasting blood glucose (P > 0.05).ConclusionsSUA should be investigated in obesity and plays a partial mediating role in insulin resistance induced by obesity in obese children and adolescents.

Objective: There are few studies about the relationship between social capital (SC) and depression among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients, and the mechanism explaining how SC leads to decreased depression is unclear. The current study aims to explore the relationship between SC and depressive symptoms among the T2DM patients in northwest China, with a particular focus on the mediating role of sleep quality.Methods: A cross-sectional study of 1,761 T2DM patients from Ningxia Province was conducted. The Center for Epidemiological Survey Depression Scale (CES-D) and self-report sleep quality questionnaire coupled with the SC scales were administered during the face-to-face survey. The Bootstrap methods PROCESS program is employed to test the mediation model.Results: The prevalence of depressive symptoms among T2DM patients was 24.8%. After controlling for covariates, the SC (r = −0.23, p < 0.001) was negatively correlated with CES-D score; the sleep quality was also negatively correlated with CES-D score (r = −0.31, p < 0.001); and the SC was positively correlated with sleep quality (r = 0.10, p < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed that SC was inversely related to the risk of depressive symptoms. Meanwhile, sleep quality was negatively associated with depressive symptoms. Sleep quality has mediated the relationship between SC and depressive symptoms among T2DM patients (explaining 12.6% of the total variance).Conclusions: We elucidated how SC interacted with depressive symptoms through the mediation pathway of sleep quality using a representative sample of the Chinese diabetes patients. The findings indicate that the improvement of SC and sleep quality may help in maintaining mental health among T2DM patients. Hence, clinicians can suggest that patients communicate more with others to improve the SC and, in turn, maintain their health.

Seven lipopolysaccharide (LPS) transport proteins (LptBFGCADE) mediate the transport of LPS from the inner to the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. Here the authors provide mechanistic insights into LPS recognition and transportation by determining the cryo-EM structures of the inner membrane complex LptB2FGC bound to either LPS or AMP-PNP.

The last two decades have witnessed significant advances in the field of indoor positioning systems, which have led to technologies with high location precision. However, there still lacks robust meter-level indoor positioning approaches which only rely on in-building communication infrastructures and smartphones. We present STARLIT, a system that enables a single LED beacon to localize smartphones to within sub-meter. As the smartphone camera contains millions of pixels, we create a virtual sensor array with the camera to measure the received signal strength (RSS) of the LED beacon. Different from the existing camera-based approaches, which need to capture images of the LED within a short light-to-camera distance, we utilize the reflection light from the floor. By exploiting the rolling shutter mechanism in the smartphone cameras, we propose a solution to separate the signal layer from the image background and noise. Given the measured RSSs, we establish an equation set with the Lambertian model and the camera projection model to solve the location of the smartphone. We have implemented STARLIT and evaluated its performance in an office room. Our experiments demonstrate that the STARLIT can achieve a median error of 23cm and an 80-percentile error of 55cm.

Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase is one of the most widely studied enzymes in the plant kingdom. It is a crucial pathway from primary metabolism to significant secondary phenylpropanoid metabolism in plants, and plays an essential role in plant growth, development, and stress defense. Although PAL has been studied in many actual plants, only one report has been reported on potato, one of the five primary staple foods in the world. In this study, 14 StPAL genes were identified in potato for the first time using a genome-wide bioinformatics analysis, and the expression patterns of these genes were further investigated using qRT-PCR. The results showed that the expressions of StPAL1, StPAL6, StPAL8, StPAL12, and StPAL13 were significantly up-regulated under drought and high temperature stress, indicating that they may be involved in the stress defense of potato against high temperature and drought. The expressions of StPAL1, StPAL2, and StPAL6 were significantly up-regulated after MeJa hormone treatment, indicating that these genes are involved in potato chemical defense mechanisms. These three stresses significantly inhibited the expression of StPAL7, StPAL10, and StPAL11, again proving that PAL is a multifunctional gene family, which may give plants resistance to multiple and different stresses. In the future, people may improve critical agronomic traits of crops by introducing other PAL genes. This study aims to deepen the understanding of the versatility of the PAL gene family and provide a valuable reference for further genetic improvement of the potato.

BackgroundStudies have found that social capital (SC) is associated with the risk of cognitive decline; however, the mechanism explaining how SC leads to cognitive decline is unclear. The current study examines the mediation effect of sleep duration on the relationship between SC and cognitive decline in Chinese older adults.MethodsA cross-sectional study of 955 community-dwelling aged 60 or over was conducted. The mini-mental state examination (MMSE), self-report sleep duration questionnaire, and social capital scales were administered during the face-to-face survey. The Bootstrap methods PROCESS program is employed to test the mediation model.ResultsAfter controlling for covariates, both social cohesion and social interaction were positively correlated with the MMSE score (pConclusionsSocial capital negatively associated with the risk of cognitive decline in this Chinese population, and sleep duration may partly explain this relationship. It may be a suggestive clue to identify those at a higher risk of progressing to cognitive impairment. Further prospective study in need to confirm this finding due to the cross-sectional design.

Although hermaphroditism is common in flowering plants, unisexual flowers occur in many plant taxa, forming various sexual systems. However, the sexual system of some plants is difficult to determine morphologically, given that their sex expression may be influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Specifically, androdioecy (the coexistence of both male and hermaphroditic individuals in the same population) has often been confused with the gender diphasy, a gender strategy in which plants change their sex expression between seasons. We studied the reproductive function of male and hermaphroditic flowers of Lloydia oxycarpa (Liliaceae), in order to investigate its sexual system and determine whether it is a gender-diphasic species. We found that although male flowers occur in a considerable number of plants, relative to hermaphrodites, they did not exhibit any significant reproductive advantage in terms of flower size, pollen quantity, attractiveness to visitors or siring success. In addition, this plant has spontaneous self-pollination and showed no inbreeding depression. These results render the maintenance of male individuals almost impossible. Furthermore, a considerable number of individuals changed their sex in successive years. The sex expression was found to be related to bulb size and dry weight, with larger individuals producing hermaphroditic flowers and smaller individuals producing male flowers. These results suggest that L. oxycarpa is not an androdioecious plant but represents a rare case of size-dependent gender diphasy.

Alternative splicing (AS) is an important mechanism by which eukaryotes regulate transcription and protein diversity. The dynamic changes in AS that occur on a genome-wide scale during interactions between plant roots and pathogens remain unknown. Here, we used the interaction between Arabidopsis and Ralstonia solanacearum as a model to explore the AS changes that take place during the response of roots to infection by means of high-throughput RNA-sequencing. We showed that dynamic changes in AS occur much earlier than changes at the level of transcription during R.solanacearum infection. Comparing genes that are regulated at the transcriptional and AS levels indicated that there are few common genes between differentially spliced genes (DSGs) and differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The functional gene ontology (GO) analysis identified that the enriched GO terms for the DSGs were different from those of the DEGs. The DSGs were over-represented in GO terms associated with post-transcriptional and translational regulations, suggesting that AS may act on RNA stability and during post-translation, thus affecting the output of plant defense molecules. Meanwhile, changes in DSGs were infection stage-specific. Furthermore, the nucleotide binding domain and leucine-rich repeat proteins and receptor-like kinases, key regulators in plant immunity, were shown to undergo dynamic changes in AS in response to R. solanacearum. Taken together, AS, along with transcription, modulates plant root defense to R. solanacearum through transcriptome reprogramming.

Objectives Two-stage open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) and limited internal fixation combined with external fixation (LIFEF) are two widely used methods to treat Pilon injury. However, which method is superior to the other remains controversial. This meta-analysis was performed to quantitatively compare two-stage ORIF and LIFEF and clarify which method is better with respect to postoperative complications in the treatment of tibial Pilon fractures. Methods We conducted a meta-analysis to quantitatively compare the postoperative complications between two-stage ORIF and LIFEF. Eight studies involving 360 fractures in 359 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Results The two-stage ORIF group had a significantly lower risk of superficial infection, nonunion, and bone healing problems than the LIFEF group. However, no significant differences in deep infection, delayed union, malunion, arthritis symptoms, or chronic osteomyelitis were found between the two groups. Conclusion Two-stage ORIF was associated with a lower risk of postoperative complications with respect to superficial infection, nonunion, and bone healing problems than LIFEF for tibial Pilon fractures. Level of evidence 2.

SNX6 is a ubiquitously expressed PX-BAR protein that plays important roles in retromer-mediated retrograde vesicular transport from endosomes. Here we report that CNS-specific Snx6 knockout mice exhibit deficits in spatial learning and memory, accompanied with loss of spines from distal dendrites of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells. SNX6 interacts with Homer1b/c, a postsynaptic scaffold protein crucial for the synaptic distribution of other postsynaptic density (PSD) proteins and structural integrity of dendritic spines. We show that SNX6 functions independently of retromer to regulate distribution of Homer1b/c in the dendritic shaft. We also find that Homer1b/c translocates from shaft to spines by protein diffusion, which does not require SNX6. Ablation of SNX6 causes reduced distribution of Homer1b/c in distal dendrites, decrease in surface levels of AMPAR and impaired AMPAR-mediated synaptic transmission. These findings reveal a physiological role of SNX6 in CNS excitatory neurons.

Extrafloral structures are supposed to have evolved to protect flowers from harsh physical environments but might have effects on pollination. Overlapping leaves cover flowers in Eriophyton wallichii, an alpine perennial endemic to the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains. In previous study, it has showed that these extrafloral leaves can protect interior flowers from temperature fluctuations caused by drastic solar radiation fluctuations, but these leaves may also protect interior flowers from rain wash and UVB damage, and we do not know which one is the main function. In this study, we investigated whether rain and UVB protection are the main functions of overlapping leaves covering flowers and their potential impact on pollination. We first measured the intensities of UVB radiation in open air, beneath leaves and corollas, and then examined pollen susceptibility to different intensities of UVB and rain in the laboratory to estimate whether corollas per se protect interior pollen from UVB and rain damage. We also carried out pollination treatments and observed pollinator visitation of flowers with and without leaves in the field to assess whether the overlapping leaves covering flowers impair pollinator attraction. Our results showed that (1) water and strong UVB significantly decreased pollen germinability, but corollas per se could protect pollen from UVB and rain damage; (2) no autonomous self-pollination and apomixis occurred, and pollinators were essential for the reproduction of E. wallichii; however, flower coverage by overlapping leaves did not limit pollination. We suggested that rain and UVB protection was not the main function of overlapping leaves covered flowers, given that this protection can be provided by corollas per se. Alternatively, this extrafloral structure in E. wallichii may have evolved in response to extreme high temperatures associated with the strong solar radiation fluctuations. This indicates that, even in alpine plants, extreme high temperature may affect the evolution of plant extrafloral structures.

This study aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of N-methylcytisine (NMC) in a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis model and explore its possible mechanisms. Experimental colitis was induced by administering the mice with 5% DSS for 7 days. Different doses of NMC (1, 4 and 16 mg/kg) and 5-aminosalicylic acid (100 mg/kg) were given orally once every day for 7 days. The protective effect of NMC was evaluated using the disease activity index, colon length and results of histopathological examination. The possible mechanisms of NMC were explored by evaluating the expression levels of tumour necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β and interleukin-6 (IL-6) using ELISA and analysing the protein expression levels of nuclear factor (NF)-κB p65, p-NF-κB p65, p-IκB, IκB, IκB kinase (IKK) and p-IKK using western blots. Results demonstrated that the oral administration of NMC attenuated the DSS-induced clinical symptoms and pathological damage. In addition, NMC treatment significantly reduced myeloperoxidase activity and level of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Further studies revealed that NMC blocked the activation of NF-κB by inhibiting IκB and IKK phosphorylation. These findings suggested that NMC exerts anti-inflammatory effects on DSS-induced colitis, and its mechanism may be related to the suppression of NF-κB activation. Thus, NMC may have potential therapeutic value in the treatment of colitis.

The floral traits of bisexual flowers may evolve in response to selection on both male and female functions, but the relative importance of selection associated with each of these two aspects is poorly resolved. Sexually dimorphic traits in plants with unisexual flowers may reflect gender-specific selection, providing opportunities for gaining an increased understanding of the evolution of specific floral traits. We examined sexually dimorphic patterns of floral traits in perfect and female flowers of the gynodioecious species Cyananthus delavayi. A special corolla appendage, the throat hair, was investigated experimentally to examine its influences on male and female function. We found that perfect flowers have larger corollas and much longer throat hairs than female flowers, while female ones have much exerted stigmas. The presence of throat hairs prolonged the duration of pollen presentation by restricting the amount of pollen removed by pollen-collecting bees during each visit. Floral longevity was negatively related to the rate of pollen removal. When pollen removal rate was limited in perfect flowers, the duration of the female phases diminished with the increased male phase duration. There was a weak negative correlation between throat hair length and seed number per fruit in female flowers, but this correlation was not significant in perfect flowers. These results suggest that throat hairs may enhance male function in terms of prolonged pollen presentation. However, throat hairs have no obvious effect on female function in terms of seed number per fruit. The marked sexual dimorphism of this corolla appendage in C. delavayi is likely to have evolved and been maintained by gender-specific selection.

Chemical investigation of Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb, a traditional herbal medicine used for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment in northwest China, led to the discovery of a new phenolic aromatic rings substituted lactam, tamaractam (1), together with the previously reported compounds cis-N-feruloyl-3-O-methyldopamine (2) and trans-N-feruloyl-3-O-methyldopamine (3). The structures of the compounds were determined by high resolution electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (HRESIMS) and 1D and 2D-NMR experiments, as well as comparison with the literature data. The effects of the three compounds on the viability of RA fibroblast-like synoviocytes (RA-FLS) were assessed by 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Pro-apoptosis effect of compound 1 in RA-FLS was further investigated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay, activated caspase-3/7 level assessment using luminescence assay, and sub-G1 fraction measurement using flow cytometry. It was found that these three compounds displayed variable proliferation inhibitory activity in RA-FLS, and compound 1 exhibited the strongest effect. Compound 1 could remarkably induce cellular apoptosis of RA-FLS, increase activated caspase-3/7 levels, and significantly increase sub-G1 fraction in the cell cycle. The results suggested that compound 1 may inhibit the proliferation of RA-FLS through apoptosis-inducing effect, and these compounds may contribute to the anti-RA effect of T. ramosissima.

Sanguinoderma (Ganodermataceae) is recognized as a valuable medicinal resource in Taiwan, China. Additionally, it serves as a traditional folk medicine for treating neurotic epilepsy in Malaysia. This study involved the collection of six specimens of Sanguinoderma from Yunnan Province, China. Employing multigene phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences, including internal transcribed spacer (ITS), nuclear large subunit (LSU), RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (rpb2), translation elongation factor 1-alpha (tef1-α), mitochondrial small subunit (mtSSU), nuclear small subunit (nSSU) and morphological examinations, three new species, viz. Sanguinoderma concentricum, S. dehongense and S. ovisporum, are introduced. Sanguinoderma concentricum is characterized by a central stipe basidiomata, an orbicular to suborbicular pileus, a grayish-yellow surface with alternating concentric zones and wavy margin-like petals and regular pileipellis cells (4–8 × 17–28 μm). Sanguinoderma dehongense is characterized by a long stipe and flabelliform basidiomata, a dark-grayish yellow-to-dark-yellow pileus surface, irregular pileipellis cells and wavy margin and ellipsoid basidia (8–11 × 9–13 μm). Sanguinoderma ovisporum is characterized by a reniform basidiomata, a heterogeneous context and ovoid basidiospores (7.5–8.6 × 5.5–7.2 µm). A detailed description and illustrations of these new species are provided, as well as a morphological comparison with similar taxa.

The molecule of the title compound, C14H9Cl2FN2O, exists in a trans configuration with respect to the methylidene unit and the benzene rings form a dihedral angle of 8.1 (2)°. In the crystal, molecules are linked through N—H...O hydrogen bonds into C(4) chains propagating in [100].

In the title one-dimensional coordination polymer, [ZnCl2(C12H10N4)]n, the ZnII atom (site symmetry 2) is coordinated by two chloride ions and two 1,4-bis(imidazol-1-yl)benzene ligands, generating a distorted tetrahedral ZnCl2N2 geometry for the metal ion. The bridging ligand, which is completed by crystallographic inversion symmetry, links the ZnII atoms into zigzag chains propagating in [101]. Within the ligand, the dihedral angle between the central benzene ring and terminal imidazole ring is 27.82 (13)°.

The weathering at the top of bedrock in Jurassic coalfield in northern Shaanxi is strong, and the formed weathered bedrock aquifer is the main water filling source of the mine, which poses a serious threat to the safe mining of the mine. The scientific evaluation of the water abundance of the weathered bedrock aquifer and the advanced drainage of the areas with strong water abundance are essential measures for preventing and controlling water disasters of the roof weathered bedrock. In this paper, taking Nanliang Coal Mine as an example, according to the drilling data, the weathering index, core recovery rate, brittle-plastic rock thickness ratio and rock structure index are selected to construct the evaluation system. The fuzzy analytic hierarchy process and coefficient of variation method are used to weigh comprehensively, and the water abundance of weathered bedrock aquifer in Nanliang Coal Mine is evaluated. The results show that the weathering degree of bedrock in Nanliang Coal Mine is strongly affected by ancient terrain, and the underlying Quaternary gully controls the thickness of the bedrock weathering zone. Combined with the evaluation results of mine water inrush status, the water inflow in the water-rich area is large.

Objective: The Traditional Chinese Medicine Qingzao Jiufei Tang decoction (QZJFD) is effective for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). In this study, we explored the anti-pulmonary fibrosis effect of QZJFD and the underlying mechanism. Methods: The effects of QZJFD at low, medium, and high doses were investigated in a rat model of lung fibrosis induced by tracheal injection of bleomycin; pirfenidone was included as a positive control. Serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factors (TNF-a), and IL-1ß in rats were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Expression of a-smooth muscle actin (a-SMA), TGF-ß1, p-Jun N-terminal kinase (p-JNK), JNK, p-P38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), P38 MAPK, collagen I, and fibronectin-1 (FN1) in lung tissues was detected by immunofluorescence labeling and western blot analysis. Results: QZJFD contained 209 main components and 575 corresponding targets. In total, 3875 disease action targets were related to IPF, with 308 common targets shared by drugs and diseases. The key targets included albumin (ALB), recombinant protein, TNF, IL-6, and tumor protein p53. In total, 3061 items were identified in the gene ontology enrichment analysis (P < .05) and 197 signaling pathways in the Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (P < .05), including MAPK, calcium, advanced glycosylation end products - receptors, TNF, and IL-17. Molecular docking simulation showed that the 2 predominant compounds of QZJFD, naringenin, and kaempferol, bound with high affinity to ALB. Serum levels of IL-6, TNF-a, and IL-1ß and the expression levels of a-SMA, TGF-ß1, p-JNK, p-P38 MAPK, collagen I, and FN1 in lung tissues were significantly increased in the model rats (P < .001). After treatment with pirfenidone and QZJFD at the medium and high doses, serum levels of IL-6, TNF-a, and IL-1ß and expression levels of a-SMA, p-JNK, p-P38 MAPK, collagen I, and FN1 in lung tissues of rats were significantly lower than those in the model group (P < .05). Conclusions: QZJFD may exert antifibrotic and anti-inflammatory effects that improve the status of IPF by regulating the MAPK signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]