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In recent years, bird droppings flashover faults frequently occur on transmission lines. Based on the existing conditions of the laboratory, this paper explores the flashover mechanism of 110 kV bird droppings. A new type of bird droppings propulsion device was designed and developed, and the process of bird droppings falling in the natural state was simulated without voltage. According to several typical forms of bird droppings, the main findings are ① the bird droppings connected to the two poles are the most serious short circuit situation; ② the bird droppings flashover fault of the 110 kV line is actually a single-phase grounding fault of the line through a resistance, and the grounding resistance is between 20 and 300 kΩ; and ③ the conductivity is the most sensitive factor affecting bird droppings flashover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the opening and closing process of the contact, it will undergo repeated arc ablation and wear. After each ablation and wear, the composition, performance, and shape of the contact surface constantly change, leading to cracks, slag drop, melting, evaporation, and other phenomena on the contact surface, ultimately causing the contact to fail, resulting in the switch not being able to open and close normally. In order to study the failure mechanism of arc contacts caused by arc erosion after breaking short-circuit current, a pair of arc contacts for the cumulative breaking short circuit current test was selected as the research object. The metallographic, microscopic morphology, and energy spectrum analysis of the arc contacts were conducted, and the analysis results were compared with the new arc contacts to reveal the evolution and development process of arc contacts from cumulative arc erosion to failure during breaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first-principal pseudopotential plane wave method based on density functional theory was used to calculate the geometrical structure, electronic structure, complex dielectric function, absorption coefficient and photoconductivity of Sc or Ce doped and co-doped CrSi2, respectively. The results show that the lattice constants of CrSi2 increase with the doping of Sc and Ce, and the values of bandgap decrease with the co-doping of Sc and Ce. The band gaps of Sc, Ce and co-doped CrSi2 decrease to 0. 245 eV, 0. 232 eV and 0. 198 eV, respectively. The Fermi level of doped CrSi2 moves to the low energy region and enters the valence band. Due to the major contribution of the 3d state electrons of Sc and 4f state electrons of Ce, the single Sc or Ce doped CrSi2 appears an impurity level below the conduction band. Sc-Ce co-doping makes CrSi2 transform into metal, and the electrical conductivity is improved obviously. After doping, the first dielectric peak of the imaginary part of the CrSi2 dielectric function increases and moves towards the direction of low energy, indicating that Sc or Ce doping enhances the optical transition intensity of CrSi2 in the low energy region, and great intensity is obtained when the CrSi2 is co-doped by Sc-Ce. The absorption edge of Sc or Ce doped CrSi2 redshifts in the low energy direction. The intrinsic CrSi2 hardly absorbs photons when the photon energy is greater than 21.6 eV, especially near higher photon energies at 31. 3 eV. The absorption ability of Sc doped and Sc-Ce co-doped CrSi2 increases, and the second absorption peak is formed near E = 31. 3 eV. The results show that doping Sc or Ce can improve the absorption of CrSi2 to infrared and higher energy photons. The photoconductivity of CrSi2 increases after doping in the low energy region of less than 3.91 eV. In the energy range of 20.01 eV < E <34.21 eV, the photoconductivity of intrinsic CrSi2 is zero, but the photoconductivity of the Sc and Ce doped CrSi2 is not zero. Doping broadens the optical response range of CrSi2. The results provide a theoretical basis for the application and design of CrSi2-based optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a semantic segmentation algorithm (RoadNet) for auxiliary edge detection tasks with an attention mechanism. RoadNet improves the dispersion of the low-level features of the network model and further enhances the performance and applicability of the semantic segmentation algorithm. In RoadNet, a fully convolutional neural network is used as the basic model, an auxiliary loss in the image classification, multitask learning in machine learning, and attention mechanism in natural language processing. To improve the generalization of the model, we select and analyze a proper domain difference measure. Subsequently, the context semantic distribution module and the annotation distribution loss are designed based on the context semantic encoding structure. The domain discriminator based on the adversarial training and the adversarial training algorithm based on transfer learning are then well integrated to provide a transfer learning-based semantic segmentation algorithm (TransRoadNet). The experimental results indicate that the proposed TransRoadNet and RoadNet overperform their equivalent comparison models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new two-dimensional(2D) direct bandgap semiconductor material, 2D Mg 2 Si-111, with a reticulated hexagonal structure and excellent photoresponse properties is predicted by using the first-principles calculation method based on density generalized function theory (DFT). 2D Mg 2 Si-111 has excellent properties that can be tuned with the number of layers and Mg defects. The calculation shows that the semiconductor of 2D Mg 2 Si-111 is stable at absolute temperature, and the bandgap value increases to a range suitable for light absorption, which is 1.17 eV. The electronic transition in 2D Mg 2 Si-111 is changed from the indirect transition of three-dimensional(3D) Mg 2 Si to direct transition, and its high-efficiency application potential in optoelectronic devices is more prominent. The electron effective mass in single-layer Mg 2 Si-111 ranges from 0.277 m o to 0.357 m 0 , which is lower than typical 2D materials, and exhibits an unconventional optical response that is not lower than the bulk parent body and has excellent absorption characteristics in the near-infrared region. Meanwhile, consider the effects of layer number modulation and defect regulation on 2D Mg 2 Si-111. The band gap value of 2D Mg 2 Si-111 can be modulated with the number of layers, from single layer to four layers, with an adjustable band gap of 0 eV - 1.17 eV that changes with the number of layers. The band gap change caused by Mg vacancy defects is only 0.89 eV - 1.1 eV, lower than the band gap of multilayer modulation, however, defect control can maintain a higher value of the band gap in 2D Mg 2 Si-111. Therefore, vacancy defects are a more refined means of regulation, and the influence of layer-number modulation on the characteristics of 2D Mg 2 Si-111 is significant. The light absorption characteristics of three-layer Mg 2 Si-111 have considerable light absorption responses from short-wave infrared to near-ultraviolet. Therefore, the layer number modulation has obvious changes to 2D Mg 2 Si-111. Compared with Mg 2 Si, 2D Mg 2 Si-111 is predicted to be a more efficient and promising optoelectronic material, and this work paves the way for the preparation, design and application of novel 2D Mg 2 Si-111 in 2D optoelectronic devices. • A new, stable, environmentally friendly 2D direct bandgap semiconductor was predicted: 2D Mg 2 Si-111. • 2D Mg 2 Si-111 has excellent optical characteristics and a low electron effective mass. • 2D Mg 2 Si-111 with Mg vacancy defect regulation has typical optical responses. • Vacancy defect and layer modulation affect the performance of 2D Mg 2 Si-111. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand the mechanism of enhanced nitrogen removal by photo-sequencing batch reactors (photo-SBRs), which incorporated microalgal photosynthetic oxygenation into the aerobic phases of a conventional cycle, this study performed comprehensive analysis of one-cycle dynamics. Under a low aeration intensity (about 0.02 vvm), a photo-SBR, illuminated with light at 92.27 μ·mol·m −2 ·s −1 , could remove 99.45% COD, 99.93% NH 4 + -N, 90.39% TN, and 95.17% TP, while the control SBR could only remove 98.36% COD, 83.51% NH 4 + -N, 78.96% TN, and 97.75% TP, for a synthetic domestic sewage. The specific oxygen production rate (SOPR) of microalgae in the photo-SBR could reach 6.63 fmol O 2 ·cell −1 ·h −1 . One-cycle dynamics shows that the enhanced nitrogen removal by photo-SBRs is related to photosynthetic oxygenation, resulting in strengthened nitrification, instead of direct nutrient uptake by microalgae. A too high light or aeration intensity could deteriorate anoxic conditions and thus adversely affect the removal of TN and TP in photo-SBRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wastewater treatment technology with better energy efficiency and recyclability is in urgent demand. Photo-Sequencing batch reactor (SBR), which introduces microalgae into conventional SBR, is considered to have more potential for resource recycling. In this study, a photo-SBR was evaluated through the manipulation of several key operational parameters, i.e., aeration strength, light supply intensity and time per cycle, and solid retention time (SRT). The algal-bacterial symbiotic system had the potential of removing COD, NH 4 + -N and TN with limited aeration, representing the advantage of energy-saving by low aeration requirement. Maintaining appropriate proportion of microalgae in the symbiotic system is critical for good system performance. Introducing microalgae into conventional SBR has obvious impact on the original microbial ecology. When the concentration of microalgae is too high (>4.60 mg Chl/L), the inhibition on certain phyla of bacteria, e.g., Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria , would become prominent and not conducive to the stable operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early identification and intervention of cognitive decline could be effective to prevent progression to dementia. We developed a self-delivered cognitive screening tool, Automated Memory and Executive Screening (AMES), to assess cognitive domains including memory, language, and executive function. 189 participants with diagnoses of mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 43), subjective cognitive decline (SCD, n = 29), objectively-defined subtle cognitive decline (obj-SCD, n = 18), and normal controls (NC, n = 99) completed the study. AMES had good convergent validity with conventional scales, and was good to discriminate patients with MCI (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.88; sensitivity = 86%; specificity = 80%) and obj-SCD (AUC = 0.78; sensitivity = 89%; specificity = 63%) from NC. These findings support that AMES is an easy to administer and effective instrument to screen for early cognitive impairment in community-based settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, pulse laser cleaning and angle grinder polishing were used to clean the surface rust of carbon steel, and the cleaning effects of different cleaning methods for carbon steel surface rust were studied. The change of the micro-region morphology and element composition of the cleaned surface was analyzed. Comparative experiments were conducted on the corrosion resistance and paint anticorrosion ability of cleaned metal surfaces. Through comparison and analysis, the use of laser cleaning technology can improve the surface cleanliness and corrosion resistance of metals, reduce maintenance times, and extend service life. Laser cleaning machines with a power of 100 W or above can effectively perform precision cleaning and can be widely promoted in the field of power systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unique echinus-like Fe-doped SnO 2 particles constructed from ultrathin nanorods with the 2–4 nm diameter were readily synthesized by one-pot solvothermal method, in which hydrochloric acid was used to control the hydrolysis rates of SnCl 4 and FeCl 3 . The as-prepared sample were characterized by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and N 2 adsorption-desorption analysis, etc. The obtained echinus-like Fe-doped SnO 2 composites exhibited enhanced activity for both photodegradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) and photoreduction of Cr(VI) under simulated sunlight irradiation, which could be largely attributed to the Eg decreased by Fe-doping, high specific surface area and porosity of structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pytoremediation was studied in this project to treat swine manure lagoon wastewater characteristic of high concentrations of organic carbon, ammonium (N) and phosphorus (P). The impacts of introducing exogenous microalgae Chlorella into the lagoon wastewater on the removal of major nutrients and the transformation of the native wastewater microbiota structure were explored under two phytoremediation modes (shake flask and CO 2 -air bubbling). The results showed that the inoculation of microalgae could significantly enhance N and P removal. Metagenomic analysis of the native microbiota composition in the wastewater affected by algae inoculation revealed that a substantial population of algicidal bacteria was developed in the shake flask system, while in the CO 2 -air bubbling system, a niche for more mutualistic bacteria was created, which benefited the maximal algal growth with the simultaneous optimal N and P removal. To our knowledge, this study presents, the first reported case of applying metagenomic approach to a phytoremediation system treating real swine lagoon wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The excessive dissemination of New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1 (NDM-1), which mediates resistance to a majority of clinical β-lactam antibiotics, has created a major public health problem worldwide. Herein, a bla NDM-1 -carrying (plasmid encoded) super-resistant bacterium, Acinetobacter sp. CS-2, was selected to reveal its mechanisms of inactivation and photoreactivation during UV, chlorination and UV/chlorination disinfection. The inactivated CS-2 underwent a certain photoreactivation after UV and chlorination. The logistic model precisely fitted the data obtained in the photoreactivation experiments by UV treatment, with the estimated kinetic parameters S m (0.530%−12.071%) and k 2 (0.0009–0.0471). The photoreactivation of Acinetobacter sp. CS-2 was observed when treated by chlorination at a dosage of 0.5 mg/L with a survival ratio of 34.04%. UV/chlorination not only resulted in the high-efficiency reduction of CS-2 but also effectively controlled its photoreactivation with a survival ratio of 0%− 0.87%. UV/chlorination showed great advantages in causing the irreversible destruction of bacterial surface structures by making the cell membranes wrinkled and incomplete compared with UV disinfection. The singlet oxygen (1O 2) generated during UV/chlorination treatment played a vital role in bla NDM-1 removal. This study proposed new insights into the mechanism of inactivation and the characteristics of photoreactivation for the super-resistant bacteria by UV, chlorination and UV/chlorination. [Display omitted] • Logistic model precisely fitted photoreactivation experiments of superbug. • Photoreactivation and decay period were observed when treated by chlorination. • Irreversible destruction of cell surface structures by UV/chlorination treatment. • Singlet oxygen plays an important role on the plasmid-encoded bla NDM-1 removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Caesarean section (CS) rates continue to evoke worldwide concern because of their steady increase, lack of consensus on the appropriate CS rate and the associated additional short- and long-term risks and costs. We present the latest CS rates and trends over the last 24 years. Methods: We collected nationally-representative data on CS rates between 1990 to 2014 and calculated regional and subregional weighted averages. We conducted a longitudinal analysis calculating differences in CS rates as absolute change and as the average annual rate of increase (AARI). Results: According to the latest data from 150 countries, currently 18.6% of all births occur by CS, ranging from 6% to 27.2% in the least and most developed regions, respectively. Latin America and the Caribbean region has the highest CS rates (40.5%), followed by Northern America (32.3%), Oceania (31.1%), Europe (25%), Asia (19.2%) and Africa (7.3%). Based on the data from 121 countries, the trend analysis showed that between 1990 and 2014, the global average CS rate increased 12.4% (from 6.7% to 19.1%) with an average annual rate of increase of 4.4%. The largest absolute increases occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (19.4%, from 22.8% to 42.2%), followed by Asia (15.1%, from 4.4% to 19.5%), Oceania (14.1%, from 18.5% to 32.6%), Europe (13.8%, from 11.2% to 25%), Northern America (10%, from 22.3% to 32.3%) and Africa (4.5%, from 2.9% to 7.4%). Asia and Northern America were the regions with the highest and lowest average annual rate of increase (6.4% and 1.6%, respectively). Conclusion: The use of CS worldwide has increased to unprecedented levels although the gap between higher- and lower-resource settings remains. The information presented is essential to inform policy and global and regional strategies aimed at optimizing the use of CS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the ease of processing and stability during filtration, polydopamine (PD) coatings with grafted hydrophilic polymers have recently received significant attention. In this study, glycine-functionalized PVA was synthesized and grafted to a PD-coated ultrafiltration (UF) membrane to improve its performance during wastewater filtration. The membranes were modified by grafting PD with glycine-functionalized PVA (PD-g-PVA), and the resultant materials were characterized using surface morphology analyses, contact angle measurements, flux, oil/water emulsion separation tests, and grafted layer stability tests. The performance of the PD-g-PVA membrane was compared to that of the membrane modified with PD-g-polyethylene glycol (PEG). After grafting the PD-g-PVA, the surface roughness of the membranes decreased significantly. The grafted PVA layer, which was stable under acidic and alkaline conditions, protected the PD layer. The filtration experiments with an oil/water emulsion indicated that modifying the glycine-functionalized PVA by grafting can significantly improve the antifouling ability of membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

α-Klotho exerts pleiotropic biological actions. Heterozygous α-Klotho haploinsufficient mice (kl/+) appear normal at baseline except for agerelated changes in the lung, suggesting heightened pulmonary susceptibility to α-Klotho deficiency. We used in vivo and in vitro models to test whether α-Klotho protects lung epithelia against injury. Normally, α-Klotho is not expressed in the lung, but circulating α-Klotho levels are reduced ~40% in kl/+ mice and undetectable in homozygous α-Klotho-deficient mice (kl/kl). kl/+ mice show distal air space enlargement at a given airway pressure, with elevated lung oxidative damage marker (8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine; 8-OHdG); these abnormalities are exacerbated in kl/kl mice. Studies were performed in A549 lung epithelial cells and/or primary culture of alveolar epithelial cells. Hyperoxia (95% O2) and high inorganic phosphate concentrations (Pi, 3-5 mM) additively caused cell injury (lactate dehydrogenase release), oxidative DNA damage (8-OHdG), lipid oxidation (8-isoprostane), protein oxidation (carbonyl), and apoptosis (caspase-8 activity and TUNEL stain). Transfection of transmembrane or soluble α-Klotho, or addition of soluble α-Klotho-containing conditioned media, increased cellular antioxidant capacity (Cu- and Fe-based assays) via increased nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2-related factors 1 and 2 (Nrf1/2) transcriptional activity and ameliorated hyperoxic and phosphotoxic injury. To validate the findings in vivo, we injected α-Klotho-containing conditioned media into rat peritoneum before and during hyperoxia exposure and found reduced alveolar interstitial edema and oxidative damage. We conclude that circulating α-Klotho protects the lung against oxidative damage and apoptosis partly via increasing endogenous antioxidative capacity in pulmonary epithelia. Cytoprotection by α-Klotho may play an important role in degenerative diseases of the lung. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To improve nitrogen removal performance in vertical-flow constructed wetlands (VFCWs) and promote their application in domestic wastewater treatment in China, it is important to identify the reoxygenation sources, their contribution weightings and the oxygen distribution profiles in the VFCW substrates. This study indicated that dissolved oxygen (DO) levels rise at first and then drop in the VFCWs vertically from top to bottom in the VFCWs treating domestic wastewater. There were other sources of oxygen supply to the wastewater in the VFCWs, especially in the upper portion of the VFCWs. In treating domestic wastewater, atmospheric reoxygenation is the main oxygen source for the VFCWs, contributing more than 99.9% of the total oxygen supply. Approximately 50% of atmospheric reoxygenation is supplied to 0–10cm below the wastewater distribution system in the VFCWs. Over 99.8% of the oxygen consumed is used for organics degradation and nitrification. In this study, oxygen was mainly consumed in organics degradation in the upper 0–40cm of the VFCWs and nitrification was dominant in the lower part. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: To evaluate the ability of CT radiomic features extracted from peritumoral parenchyma of 2 mm and 5 mm distinguishing invasive adenocarcinoma (IAC) from adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS)/minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA). Methods: For this retrospective study, 121 lung adenocarcinomas appearing as ground-glass nodules on thin-section CT were evaluated. Quantitative radiomic features were extracted from the peritumoral parenchymal region of 2 mm and 5 mm on CT imaging, and the radiomic models of External2 and External5 were constructed. The ROC curves were used to evaluate the performance of different models. Differences between the AUCs were evaluated using DeLong's method. Results: The radiomic scores of IAC were statistically higher than those of MIA/AIS in both the External2 and External5 models. The AUCs of the External2 and External5 models were 0.882, 0.778 in the training cohort and 0.888, 0.804 in the validation cohort, respectively. The AUC of the External2 model was not statistically different from the External5 model both in the training cohort (p = 0.116) and validation cohort (p = 0.423). Conclusions: The radiomic features extracted from the peritumoral region of 2 mm and 5 mm at thin-section CT showed good predictive values to differentiate the IAC from AIS/MIA. The radiomic features from the peritumoral region of 5 mm provide no additional benefit in distinguishing IAC from MIA/AIS than that of the 2 mm region. Key Points: • The radiomic models from various peritumoral lung parenchyma were developed and validated to predict invasiveness of adenocarcinoma. • The peritumoral parenchyma of lung adenocarcinoma may contain useful information. • Radiomics from peritumoral lung parenchyma of 5 mm provides no added efficiency of the prediction for invasiveness of lung adenocarcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) belong to bone marrow‐derived myeloid progenitor cells that have strong proliferative ability. Dysregulation of miRNAs after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) can result in EPCs injury, thus we hypothesize that correction of miRNA expression may contribute to the tolerance of EPCs against oxidative stress. The peripheral blood of healthy volunteers and patients with ST‐segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) was clinically collected. EPCs derived from peripheral blood were transfected by miR‐324‐5p mimic and simultaneously handled with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to inducing EPCs injury. At 24 hrs after the H2O2 treatment, cell viability, the uptake capacity on DiI‐Ac‐LDL, and carrying ability on FITC‐UEA‐l and multiplication capacity were analyzed. The mechanism process was carefully researched by valued the characteristics of the mitochondrion morphology, membrane potential, ATP levels, and the expressing of apoptosis pathways. Small RNA sequencing indicated that the expression level of miR‐324‐5p in peripheral blood EPCs of patients with STEMI was significantly lower compared with the healthy volunteers. The Mtfr1 has been confirmed as a targeted gene of miR‐324‐5p through miRTarBase software and western blot. The miR‐324‐5p mimic units could be contributed for the improvement of viability, the uptake capacity on DiI‐Ac‐LDL and carrying ability on FITC‐UEA‐l and multiplication capacity on oxidative stress‐injured EPCs. miR‐324‐5p could suppress mitochondrial fragmentation, promote membrane potential, and ATP levels, as well as protect against oxidative stress‐induced EPCs apoptosis. Our results suggested that miR‐324‐5p protects against oxidative stress‐induced EPCs injury by regulating Mtfr1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate the validity and efficacy of comparing texture features from contrast-enhanced images with non-enhanced images in identifying infiltrative lung adenocarcinoma represented as ground glass nodules (GGN).Materials and Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted with patients presenting with lung adenocarcinoma and treated at a single centre between January 2015 to December 2017. All patients underwent standard and contrast-enhanced thoracic CT scans with 0.5 mm collimation and 1 mm slice reconstruction thickness before surgery. A total of 34 lung adenocarcinoma patients (representing 34 lesions) were analysed; including 21 instances of invasive adenocarcinoma (IAC) lesions, 4 instances of adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) lesions, and 9 minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA) lesions. After radiologists manually segmented the lesions, texture features were quantitatively extracted using Artificial Intelligence Kit (AK) software. Then, multivariate logistic regression analysis based on standard and contrast-enhanced CT texture features was employed to analyse the invasiveness of lung adenocarcinoma lesions appearing as GGNs. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate the performance of those models.Results: A total of 21 quantitative texture features were extracted using the AK software. After dimensionality reduction, 5 and 3 features extracted from thin-section unenhanced and contrast-enhanced CT, respectively, were used to establish the model. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) values for unenhanced CT and enhanced CT features were 0.890 and 0.868, respectively. There was no significant difference (P = 0.190) in the AUC between models based on non-enhanced and contrast-enhanced CT texture features.Conclusion: Compared with unenhanced CT, texture features extracted from contrast-enhanced CT provided no benefit in improving the differential diagnosis of infiltrative lung adenocarcinoma from non-infiltrative malignancies appearing as GGNs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondria (MT) participate in most metabolic activities of mammalian cells. A near-unidirectional mitochondrial transfer from T cells to cancer cells was recently observed to "metabolically empower" cancer cells while "depleting immune cells," providing new insights into tumor-T cell interaction and immune evasion. Here, we leverage single-cell RNA-seq technology and introduce MERCI, a statistical deconvolution method for tracing and quantifying mitochondrial trafficking between cancer and T cells. Through rigorous benchmarking and validation, MERCI accurately predicts the recipient cells and their relative mitochondrial compositions. Application of MERCI to human cancer samples identifies a reproducible MT transfer phenotype, with its signature genes involved in cytoskeleton remodeling, energy production, and TNF-α signaling pathways. Moreover, MT transfer is associated with increased cell cycle activity and poor clinical outcome across different cancer types. In summary, MERCI enables systematic investigation of an understudied aspect of tumor-T cell interactions that may lead to the development of therapeutic opportunities. [Display omitted] • Cancer cells "hijack" mitochondria from nearby T cells • Development of MERCI for tracing intercellular MT transfer • Genomic inference of receiver cancer cells at single-cell resolution using MERCI • Receiver cancer cells exhibit a distinct phenotype from the rest Recent work observes mitochondrial transfer from T cells to cancer cells. Zhang et al. systematically investigate this process using single-cell sequencing data from human cancers and identify a distinct phenotype related to mitochondrial transfer. Genes and pathways associated with this phenotype may serve as future therapeutic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ginsenoside Rg5 has been implicated in a variety of diseases. However, it is unknown whether Ginsenoside Rg5 can protect against hypoxia‐induced neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRMs). The purpose of this study was to look into the effect of Ginsenoside Rg5 on hypoxia‐induced NRMs apoptosis as well as the underlying molecular mechanism. In this study, following isolation and culture of ventricular myocardial cells from neonatal rats, the appropriate concentration of Rg5 was determined using the MTT assay, the effect of Rg5 on apoptosis was assessed employing TUNEL staining and flow cytometry assays. Levels of apoptosis‐related proteins and phosphorylated level of Akt (ser 473 and ser 308) were analyzed using the western blot analysis. Finally, the experimental results shown that Ginsenoside Rg5 significantly inhibited hypoxia‐induced NRMs apoptosis, decreased the expression pro‐apoptotic protein Bax, increased the expression of anti‐apoptotic protein Bcl‐2 ratio and the level of cleaved caspase 3. Akt signaling activation was found to be the mechanism of Ginsenoside Rg5s protective effect on hypoxia‐induced NRMs apoptosis, as an Akt inhibitor eliminated the anti‐apoptotic effects of Ginsenoside Rg5. Various analyses were performed and verified, ginsenoside Rg5 suppressed hypoxia‐induced apoptosis in NRMs via activation of the Akt signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquatic organisms, such as microalgae ( Chlorella , Arthrospira (Spirulina), Tetrasselmis , Dunalliela etc.) and duckweed ( Lemna spp., Wolffia spp. etc.) are a potential source for the production of protein-rich biomass and for numerous other high-value compounds (fatty acids, pigments, vitamins etc.). Their cultivation using agro-industrial wastes and wastewater (WaW) is of particular interest in the context of a circular economy, not only for recycling valuable nutrients but also for reducing the requirements for fresh water for the production of biomass. Recovery and recycling of nutrients is an unavoidable long-term approach for securing future food and feed production. Agro-industrial WaW are rich in nutrients and have been widely considered as a potential nutrient source for the cultivation of microalgae/duckweed. However, they commonly contain various hazardous contaminants, which could potentially taint the produced biomass, raising various concerns about the safety of their consumption. Herein, an overview of the most important contaminants, including heavy metals and metalloids, pathogens (bacteria, viruses, parasites etc.), and xenobiotics (hormones, antibiotics, parasiticides etc.) is given. It is concluded that pretreatment and processing of WaW is a requisite step for the removal of several contaminants. Among the various technologies, anaerobic digestion (AD) is widely used in practice and offers a technologically mature approach for WaW treatment. During AD, various organic and biological contaminants are significantly removed. Further removal of contaminants could be achieved by post-treatment and processing of digestates (solid/liquid separation, dilution etc.) to further decrease the concentration of contaminants. Moreover, during cultivation an additional removal may occur through various mechanisms, such as precipitation, degradation, and biotransformation. Since many jurisdictions regulate the presence of various contaminants in feed or food setting strict safety monitoring processes, it would be of particular interest to initiate a multi-disciplinary discussion whether agro-industrial WaW ought to be used to cultivate microalgae/duckweed for feed or food production and identify most feasible options for doing this safely. Based on the current body of knowledge it is estimated that AD and post-treatment of WaW can lower significantly the risks associated with heavy metals and pathogens, but it is yet unclear to what extent this is the case for certain persistent xenobiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen energy is a clean, carbon-free, flexible, efficient, and widely used secondary energy source, which is an ideal alternative to promote the clean and efficient use of traditional fossil fuels. Hydrogen fuel cell bus has the advantages of a high-energy conversion rate, absolute pollution-free, sufficient raw materials, and convenient filling. The hybrid power system, composed of fuel cell and auxiliary energy source, is one of the key technologies to promote the development of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. This study aims to propose an energy management strategy by analyzing the output characteristics and power allocation of fuel cell and power battery in the hybrid power mode with fuel cell as the main and battery as the auxiliary. A GM (1, N) power prediction strategy was proposed and compared with other strategies as an on-off control strategy and logical threshold value strategy in this study. The variation curves of the battery SOC and fuel cell output power under two working conditions of CCBC and real vehicle conditions were analyzed by using these three strategies, when the initial SOC of power battery is 30%, 70%, and 90%, respectively. Results showed that the power prediction strategy based on GM (1, N) has a better performance in output efficiency and fuel economy when compared to the other two strategies by analyzing the aspects of the battery in the SOC variation and equivalent hydrogen consumption and the fuel cell in the output power variation and hydrogen consumption. This research can be helpful to provide the suggested solution for energy management of the hybrid power system for hydrogen fuel cell buses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lung interfaces with atmospheric oxygen via a large surface area and is perfused by the entire venous return bearing waste products collected from the whole body. It is logical that the lung is endowed with generous anti-oxidative capacity derived both locally and from the circulation. The single-pass pleiotropic alpha-Klotho (αKlotho) protein was discovered when its genetic disruption led to premature multi-organ degeneration and early death. The extracellular domain of αKlotho is cleaved by secretases and released into circulation as endocrine soluble αKlotho protein, exerting wide-ranging cytoprotective effects including anti-oxidation on distant organs including the lung, which exhibits high sensitivity to circulating αKlotho insufficiency. Because circulating αKlotho is derived mainly from the kidney, acute kidney injury (AKI) leads to systemic αKlotho deficiency that in turn increases the risks of pulmonary complications, i.e., edema and inflammation, culminating in the acute respiratory distress syndrome. Exogenous αKlotho increases endogenous anti-oxidative capacity partly via activation of the Nrf2 pathway to protect lungs against injury caused by direct hyperoxia exposure or AKI. This article reviews the current knowledge of αKlotho antioxidation in the lung in the setting of AKI as a model of circulating αKlotho deficiency, an under-recognized condition that weakens innate cytoprotective defenses and contributes to the dysfunction in distant organs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The quantities of plastic debris in raw digestate were 415–3298 particles/kg-ww. • Depackaging food waste at source can reduce plastic debris in solid digestate. • Fiber was the dominant shape in raw and solid digestate. • There were 7–38 particles/L MPs in the liquid digestate. Plastic debris, including macroplastics (>5 mm) and microplastics (0.1–5 mm), has proven to be an emerging contaminant. Anaerobic digestion, coupled with energy recovery, can be an effective valorization technology for biogenic waste. But the use of the resulting digestate as a soil conditioner is a source for plastic debris release into the environment. The preprocess and postprocess used could influence the quantity of plastic debris found in the digestate, but the specifics of these effects are relatively unknown. Therefore, we measured the quantity of plastic debris in raw digestate under a variety of preprocessing scenarios. We also investigated the occurrence of plastic debris in solid and liquid digestates resulting from the dewatering of raw digestate. The quantity of plastic debris ranged from 41 to 3298 particles/kg (WW) for raw digestate, 319–3604 particles/kg (WW) for solid digestate and 7–38 particles/kg (WW) for liquid digestate. We observed that depackaging at source by citizens themselves (removing the package of biogenic waste when dropping it into bins), significantly reduced the quantities of plastic debris in raw digestate by an order of magnitude. Furthermore, the number of polymer types in raw digestate, where depackaging occurred at source, were lower than that where this rule was not in place. The average size of plastic debris in solid digestate was significantly smaller than that in raw digestate, which indicated that the process of mechanical dewatering could generate MPs. It is recommended to depackage for biogenic waste at source to reduce the quantities of MPs in digestate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Identifying high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) at its early or preinvasive stage is paramount in improving ovarian cancer (OC) mortality. In contrast to the conventional approaches relying on assessing tumor-released proteins, or imaging assessment, we hypothesized that it is feasible to identify cancer signals from the adaptive immune system. It has been reported that shared sequence similarity in the hypervariable CDR3 region of the T cell receptors (TCR) can be used as a surrogate for shared antigen-specificity. Under this observation, clustering similar TCRs has proven powerful in identifying antigen-specific T cell groups. Our objective was to demonstrate a distinct T cell immune repertoire signature for HGSOCs. Methods: Targeted TCR repertoire sequencing using the immunoSEQ platform was performed on blood samples from cancer patients and healthy controls in the public domain. The CDR3 regions from these patients were used as training data to develop a computational framework to systematically investigate TCR repertoires in cancer patients. ImmunoSEQ platform was performed on blood samples from 45 non-treated HGSOCs, ten non-HGSOCs, 31 benign cysts, and 34 healthy controls collected under an IRB-approved protocol. This data was used as a proof-of-principle analysis of our computational framework to differentiate ovarian cancers from benign cysts and healthy controls. Results: Our training data consisted of 20 million cancer-associated TCR sequences and 500,000 non-cancer TCR extracted from 50 healthy donors. Pooled TCRs from the above samples were partitioned into 5,000 clusters. The centroid of each cluster represents an antigen-specific TCR signature, referred to as 'repertoire functional unit' (RFU). Each RFU can be perceived as a 'gene' of the TCR repertoire, which is responsible for recognizing a class of unknown antigens. Although their antigen-specificities remain uncharacterized, the relative abundance of RFUs in each repertoire can reveal important information of the disease signatures, including ovarian cancer. With this transformation, each repertoire sample was converted into a 5,000 vector of the frequency of the same RFUs, disregarding the large diversity of the original CDR3 sequences. An unsupervised principal component analysis (PCA) of the sample-by-RFU matrix was able to differentiate HGSOCs from benign and normal controls (p=2.5, 10-6, one-way ANOVA). We next performed a proof-of-principal analysis by using the RFUs as predictors for a cohort of 120 HGSOC and control patients collected from our biore-pository. We showed that a simple machine learning model using different numbers of selected RFUs achieved high prediction accuracies ranging from 97.3% to 100%. Conclusions: This result suggested that the HGSOC tumor significantly altered the blood TCR repertoire composition, causing a sufficient shift in the RFU composition that dominated the variation between cancer and non-cancer samples. Proof-of principle analysis demonstrates a strong and distinctive immune repertoire signature of HGSOCs with high prediction accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: High-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) is the most frequent and lethal type of ovarian cancer. It has been proposed that tubal secretory cells are the origin of ovarian HGSC in women with familial BRCA1/2 mutations. However, the molecular changes underlying malignant transformation remain unknown.Method: We performed single-cell RNA and T cell receptor sequencing of tubal fimbriated ends from 3 BRCA1 germline mutation carriers (BRCA1 carriers) and 3 normal controls with no high-risk history (non-BRCA1 carriers).Results: Exploring the transcriptomes of 19,008 cells, predominantly from BRCA1+ samples, we identified 5 major cell populations in the fallopian tubal mucosae. The secretory cells of BRCA1+ samples had differentially expressed genes involved in tumor growth and regulation, chemokine signaling, and antigen presentation compared to the wild-type BRCA1 controls. There are several novel findings in this study. First, a subset of the fallopian tubal secretory cells from one BRCA1 carrier exhibited an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype, which was also present in the mucosal fibroblasts. Second, we identified a previously unreported phenotypic split of the EMT secretory cells with distinct evolutionary endpoints. Third, we observed increased clonal expansion among the CD8+ T cell population from BRCA1+ carriers. Among those clonally expanded CD8+ T cells, PD-1 was significantly increased in tubal mucosae of BRCA1+ patients compared with that of normal controls, indicating that T cell exhaustion may occur before the development of any premalignant or malignant lesions.Conclusion: These results indicate that EMT and immune evasion in normal-looking tubal mucosae may represent early events leading to the development of HGSC in women with BRCA1 germline mutation. Our findings provide a probable molecular mechanism explaining why some, but not all, women with BRCA1 germline mutation present with early development and rapid dissemination of HGSC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the accuracy of the satellite and reanalysis precipitation products is very important for understanding their uncertainties and potential applications. However, because of underestimation existing in commonly used evaluation benchmark, gauge precipitation data, it is necessary to investigate the influence of systematic errors in gauge data on the performance evaluation of satellite and reanalysis precipitation datasets. Daily satellite-based IMERG and model-based ERA5-Land, together with gauge precipitation data, were collected with the period from 2005 to 2016 over China in this study. Daily corrections for precipitation biases from wind-induced undercatch, wetting loss, and trace error were made for gauge measurements. A set of metrics, including relative bias, Kling-Gupta efficiency, frequency bias, and critical success index, were used to evaluate and intercompare the performances of IMERG and ERA5-Land against original and bias-corrected gauge data in different locations, years, seasons, climatic zones, classes of precipitation events, and precipitation phases. The results have shown that: After removing the bias in gauge data, the relative biases of IMERG and ERA5-Land both significantly decline. The noticeable changes of their accuracy occur and vary with different locations, years, seasons, climatic zones, and precipitation phases. Furthermore, the frequency biases of IMERG and ERA5-Land rise in no precipitation events and decline in light, moderate, heavy, and extreme precipitation events. The detection capability of IMERG and ERA5-Land in no and light precipitation events is also obviously affected. Therefore, this study has demonstrated the significant influence of systematic gauge precipitation errors on the assessment of IMERG and ERA5-Land and reinforces the necessity to remove negative bias in gauge data before using it as the benchmark. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • UV/PMS could efficiently inactivate ARB and control the risk of photoreactivation. • bla NDM-1 was greater resistance to UV/PMS than bla OXA-58 in the same plasmid. • ARGs base pairs number and length were responsible for ARGs removal. • 1O 2 plays an important role on the plasmid-encoded ARGs removal in UV/PMS. The super-resistant bacteria that produce the New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase 1 (NDM-1) enzyme are becoming a conceivably major worldwide clinical issue with serious consequences. Studying the disinfection and mechanism of super-resistant bacteria and their antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) is crucial for controlling their spread in the water environment. In this study, the disinfection of the super-resistant bacterium Acinetobacter sp. CS-2 and its transferable ARGs (plasmid-encoded bla NDM-1 and bla OXA-58) by ultraviolet radiation (UV), peroxymonosulfate (PMS), and ultraviolet/peroxymonosulfate (UV/PMS) exposure were investigated. UV/PMS could completely inactivate CS-2 and control the photoreactivation risk, while bacteria that underwent UV and PMS treatment had survival ratios of 0.22% and 0.28%, respectively. The removal efficiencies of bla NDM-1 and bla OXA-58 ranged from 3.64 to 4.05 log, and the advantage of UV/PMS treatment on ARGs damage was further identified by gel electrophoresis analysis. The removal efficiency of bla NDM-1 was lower than that of bla OXA-58 , which was attributed to the low number of adjacent 5′-TT-3′ harbored by bla NDM-1. The removal rate constants of the ARGs by UV treatment were significantly correlated with the number of adjacent base pairs (e.g., 5′-TT-3′, 5′-CT-3′, 5′-TC-3′ and 5′-CC-3′) and length, with R -values ranging from 0.9044 to 0.9512. Singlet oxygen (1O 2) played a vital role in the reduction of bla NDM-1 and bla OXA-58 in the UV/PMS treatment. UV/PMS showed high removal efficiency under natural pH conditions and in the presence of various aqueous ions (e.g., Cl−, SO 4 2− and HCO 3 −). Overall, this study provides new understandings and theoretical support for the risk control of super-resistant bacteria and plasmid-encoded ARGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PD-1 signaling on T cells is the major pathway that limits T cell immunity, but the efficacy of anti-PD-1 therapy has been limited to a small proportion of patients with advanced cancers. We fortuitously observed that anti-PD-1 therapy depends on IL-2 signaling, which raises the possibility that a lack of IL-2 limits anti-PD-1-induced effector T cell expansion. To selectively deliver IL-2 to PD-1+CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we engineered a low-affinity IL-2 paired with anti-PD-1 (PD-1-laIL-2), which reduced affinity to peripheral Treg cells but enhanced avidity to PD-1+CD8+ TILs. PD-1-laIL-2 exerted better tumor control and lower toxicity than single or mixed treatments. Mechanistically, PD-1-laIL-2 could effectively expand dysfunctional and tumor-specific CD8+ T cells. Furthermore, we discovered that presumably dysfunctional PD-1+TIM3+ TILs are the dominant tumor-specific T cells responding to PD-1-laIL-2. Collectively, these results highlight that PD-1-laIL-2 can target and reactivate tumor-specific TILs for tumor regression as a unique strategy with stronger efficacy and lower toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Polydopamine (PD) coating and PD-graft-poly(ethylene glycol) (PD-g-PEG) surface modification can be used to improve the anti-fouling properties of membrane surface. This work studies the features of polyethersulfone (PES) membranes with different molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) modified by PD coating and PD-g-PEG modification on their morphology, stability, and adsorbability. The stability of modified membranes was evaluated by immersion tests. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was used as a model foulant to investigate the anti-biofouling performance of modified membranes. The results of stability tests showed that both modified membranes had a fine mechanical stability, and the PD-g-PEG modified membrane had a better chemical stability. The images of FESEM and AFM indicate the modifications of PD coating and PD-g-PEG changes the morphology of the PES ultrafiltration (UF) membrane apparently. The modified membranes had less flux reduction in filtration and lower adsorptive amount of BSA in isothermal adsorption tests. The PD-g-PEG modification improves the stability of the PES membrane and the adsorbability for BSA more significantly. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] Fetal bovine serum was selected as the surrogate matrix and validated. [•] The derivatization of internal standard was developed and applied. [•] The method was developed for the first time. [•] The pharmacokinetics of DEH, MET and NOR was investigated. [•] This study provides the basis for the consumption of pollen of Brassica campestris. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: Previous studies have shown that the relationship between hypertension (HT) and contrast-associated acute kidney injury (CA-AKI) is not clear. We apply a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the association between HT and CA-AKI. Methods: We searched for articles on the study of risk factors for CA-AKI in the Embase, Medline, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (by March 25, 2021). Two authors independently performed quality assessment and extracted data such as the studies' clinical setting, the definition of CA-AKI, and the number of patients. The CA-AKI was defined as a serum creatinine (SCr) increase ≥25% or ≥0.5 mg/dL from baseline within 72 h. We used fixed or random models to pool adjusted OR (aOR) by STATA. Results: A total of 45 studies (2,830,338 patients) were identified, and the average incidence of CA-AKI was 6.48%. There was an increased risk of CA-AKI associated with HT (aOR: 1.378, 95% CI: 1.211–1.567, I2 = 67.9%). In CA-AKI with a SCr increase ≥50% or ≥0.3 mg/dL from baseline within 72 h, an increased risk of CA-AKI was associated with HT (aOR: 1.414, 95% CI: 1.152–1.736, I2 = 0%). In CA-AKI with a Scr increase ≥50% or ≥0.3 mg/dL from baseline within 7 days, HT increases the risk of CA-AKI (aOR: 1.317, 95% CI: 1.049–1.654, I2 = 51.5%). Conclusion: Our meta-analysis confirmed that HT is an independent risk factor for CA-AKI and can be used to identify risk stratification. Physicians should pay more attention toward prevention and treatment of patients with HT in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a simple method for the restoration of clogged vertical subsurface flow constructed wetland by earthworm. Since clogging always takes place at the top layer, epigeic earthworm is suitable for restoration of the clogged wetland. Earthworm can not only loosen the substrate, but also transform 80∼90% of undissolved organic particles into dissolved matters. Accordingly, the accumulated solids in substrate with earthworm are 50% less than the one without earthworm. The wetland with earthworm removed 2∼5 percentage points more nitrogen and 12 percentage points more phosphorous for its better ventilation conditions, while 2 percentage points less COD because the generation of dissolved organic matter from undissolved organic particles by earthworm. In general, the influence of earthworm on the effluent quality of the wetland could be ignored. Hydrology of six full-scale clogged wetlands was restored by Eisenia foetida. The optimal strength of earthworm addition is 0.5 kg/m², which spend RMB six yuan/m², less than 0.75/m². No specific training is required for the staffs on this method; it takes 10 days to restore the clogged wetland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anaerobic digestion (AD) comprises a series of biochemical reactions, with methane as one of the target products. Amino acids (AAs) are important molecular and primary intermediate products when protein is the main component of organic waste/wastewater. The L (levorotatory, left-handed)-configuration is natural for AAs, while D (dextrorotatory, right-handed) -AAs also widely exist in the natural environment and can be generated by racemization. However, the effects and underlying mechanisms of natural AAs and their enantiomers on the methane yield and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, the effects of certain widespread L-AAs and their enantiomers on two-stage AD and the mechanisms therein were investigated. The AAs enantiomers showed variable or even opposite effects on different processes. The methane yield from a model monosaccharide (glucose) decreased by 57% with D-leucine addition. The butyrate generation and the methane yield from propionate were sensitive to the AA configuration and were inhibited by D-leucine by 80% and 61.8%, respectively, with D-leucine addition, while the volatile fatty acids concentration was slightly increased with the addition of L-leucine. The related mechanisms were further investigated in terms of key enzymes and microbial communities. The addition of D-Leucine decreased acetic acid production from homoacetogens by 30.2% due to the inhibition of key enzymes involved in hydrogen generation and consumption. The transform of butyryl CoA to butyryl phosphate was the rate-limiting step, with the related enzyme (phosphotransbutylase) was inhibited by D-leucine. Furthermore, the bacteria related to butyric acid generation and organic matter degradation were inhibited by D-leucine, while the methanogenic archaea remained stable irrespective of leucine addition. The effect of D-AAs on microorganisms is related to the type of sludge. In this study, the methanogenetic seed sludge was granular and did not dissociate after treatment; however, the D-AAs could trigger biofilm disassembly and reduce the stability of the sludge floc. The study provides a novel method for regulating AD by adding specific AAs with L or D configuration. [Display omitted] • The AAs enantiomers showed various or even opposite influence on anaerobic digestion. • D-leucine inhibited the butyrate generation and the methane yield from propionate by 80% and 61.8%, respectively. • The underlying mechanisms were analyzed in terms of key enzymes and microbiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel synthetic approach based on the reaction between tetrabutyl titanate and normal fatty acids is proposed to fabricate hierarchical nanoporous TiO 2 (B) assemblies with tailored crystallites and architectures, which not only sheds new light on TiO 2 (B) crystallization, but also provides an effective solution for rational design of complex TiO 2 (B) micro-/nanoarchitectures for desired applications. [Display omitted] In comparison to the common anatase, rutile and brookite phases, the bronze phase TiO 2 (TiO 2 (B)) is rarely prepared, and obtaining unique TiO 2 (B) structures, especially those with complex configurations remains a great challenge. This work presents a completely new synthetic approach for fabricating hierarchical nanoporous TiO 2 (B) assemblies with tailored crystallites and architectures via the reaction between tetrabutyl titanate and normal fatty acids. Three different kinds of normal fatty acids, i.e., pentanoic acid, hexanoic acid, and nonanoic acid were utilized as the sole solvent. After a simple solvothermal treatment, nanoporous TiO 2 (B) microspheres constructed by [0 0 1]-elongated ultrathin nanorods, randomly aggregated ultrafine nanocrystals, and crystallographically oriented nanocrystals were successfully produced separately. Further investigation revealed that the morphology of the hierarchical assemblies could be modified by using foreign substrates to adjust the growth dynamics of TiO 2 (B) crystals. As a good illustration, by introducing graphene nanosheets into the tetrabutyl titanate-pentanoic acid system, nanosized [0 0 1]-elongated-ultrathin-nanorod-constructed nanoporous TiO 2 (B) assemblies were obtained, which exhibited superior performance as an anode in Li-ion batteries. This work can not only shed new light on TiO 2 (B) crystallization, but also provide an effective solution for the rational design of complex TiO 2 (B) micro-/nanoarchitectures for desired applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some special oral drugs may cause adverse reactions and degrade in the stomach; therefore, it is necessary to develop a new generation of multifunctional drug delivery carries to deal with such issues. Herein, by polyelectrolyte composite method using KGM and CS as raw material, CKGM/CS/TPP/5‐ASA microcapsules are prepared using 5‐ASA as model drug, and then coated with an acid‐resistant polyacrylic acid polymer layer. The size of CKGM/CS/TPP/5‐ASA microcapsules is relatively uniform, with average particle size 1.78 ± 0.02 mm. The inner part of microcapsules has a core‐shell three‐dimensional network structure, and the 5‐ASA embedded in the network is in its crystal form. The microcapsules exhibited good encapsulate properties, with 495.5 µg mg−1 drug loading amount and 82.3% encapsulation efficiency under optimized conditions. The in vitro release properties of microcapsules are also studied, and results showed that the drug is released little in Simulated Gastric Fluid solution (pH 1.2) but fully released in Simulated Colonic Fluid or Phosphate Buffered Solution (pH 7.0), and the release rate is higher in SCF solution, indicating that β‐mannanase could facilitate release. All these results indicated that CKGM/CS/TPP microcapsules have good pH‐controlled release, enzymatic release, and sustained release properties, hence they are promising multifunctional colon‐targeted release carriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Contrast-associated acute kidney injury (CA-AKI) is a common complication in patients undergoing coronary angiography (CAG). However, few studies demonstrate the association between the prognosis and developed CA-AKI in the different periods after the operation.Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 3206 patients with preoperative serum creatinine (Scr) and at least twice SCr measurement after CAG. CA-AKI was defined as an increase ≥50% or ≥0.3 mg/dL from baseline in the 72 hours after the procedure. Early CA-AKI was defined as having the first increase in SCr within the early phase (<24 hours), and late CA-AKI was defined as an increase in SCr that occurred for the first time in the late phase (24-72 hours). The first endpoint of this study was long-term all-cause mortality. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to count the cumulative mortality, and the log-rank test was used to assess differences between curves. Univariate and multivariate cox regression analyses were performed to assess whether patients who developed different type CA-AKI were at increased risk of long-term mortality.Results: The number of deaths in the 3 groups was 407 for normal (12.7%), 106 for early CA-AKI (32.7%) and 57 for late CA-AKI (17.7%), during a median follow-up period of 3.95 years. After adjusting for important clinical variables, early CA-AKI (HR = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.02-1.74, P=0.038) was significantly associated with mortality, while late CA-AKI (HR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.65-1.31, P=0.633) was not. The same results were found in patients with coronary artery disease, chronic kidney disease, diabetes mellitus, and percutaneous coronary intervention.Conclusions: Early increases in Scr, i.e., early CA-AKI, have better predictive value for long-term mortality. Therefore, in clinical practice, physicians should pay more attention to patients with early renal injury related to long-term prognosis and give active treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a long time, anaerobic digestion (AD) is considered to be one of the most promising methods to solve the problem of solid waste recycling. The addition of zero-valent iron (ZVI) in AD system is proved to be of great improvement. In this review, we reviewed the principle of ZVI in AD process and the mechanism studied at present. Then, the applications of ZVI in various solid waste AD system, such as sludge, manure, and food waste (FW), were thoroughly reviewed. In particular, some important factors for ZVI performances were carefully addressed, including pretreatment method, particle size and addition amount. Most studies reported that the proper amount of ZVI has a good effect on microbial activity, that is, the control of a certain dosage of ZVI has a positive effect, mainly manifested in better long-term stability of the digester, such as greater substrate degradation, lower volatile fatty acids (VFAs) concentration and higher microbial abundance and methane production. However, due to the great variance of the AD operation and digestion substrates, there are still many challenges when designing an efficient and cost-effective AD system for practical solid waste recycling. Therefore, further studies are acquired for better utilize ZVI to enhance AD performances according to different conditions. Image 1 • The mechanism of ZVI in AD includes reduction, adsorption, electrolysis and precipitation. • ZVI can alleviate the inhibition of ammonia nitrogen in AD. • ZVI improves methane production by promoting enzyme activity and acting as an electron donor. • Real-field implementation problems and scope for further studies are described. • The cost analysis and recovery of ZVI are worthy of further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Digital health tools (WeChat or mobile health apps) provide opportunities for new methods of hypertension management for hypertensive patients. However, the willingness of these patients to use social media and mobile health apps for hypertension management remains unclear. This study explored the characteristics and requirements of patients willing to use digital health (WDH) tools to manage hypertension.Methods: From February to March 2018, we administered questionnaires to 1089 patients with hypertension at eight Chinese primary medical units. We assessed independent risk factors of WDH and requirement among WDH patients.Results: Overall, 43% (465/1089) of participants were WDH patients, who were younger (58 ± 12 vs 61 ± 13 years) and had a greater proportion of employed individuals (31% vs 14%) and higher education levels (65% vs 52%) than the non-WDH patients (all P < 0.0001). After adjusting for other risk factors, higher education (OR: 0.52; 95% CI: 0.34-0.79), good medicine adherence (OR: 1.5; 95% CI: 1.0-2.3) and blood pressure self-monitoring (OR: 1.6; 95% CI: 1.2-2.3) remained significantly associated with WDH (all P < 0.05). WDH patients responded that digital health tools should try to provide a platform for blood pressure monitoring (42%), medication reminders (41%), hypertension knowledge (39%) and doctor-patient communication (32%).Conclusion: Our survey suggested that among hypertensive patients, willingness to use digital health tools was significantly associated with education, medicine adherence and blood pressure self-monitoring. Digital health tool developers and researchers should pay particular attention to recruiting older, less educated and unemployed patients with less willingness and who are less technologically savvy and research the requirements of WDH patients (blood pressure monitoring, medication reminders, and knowledge education) in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-beam antenna technology can effectively mitigate the impact of deep fading caused by multipath propagation on communication quality through spatial diversity and increase the reliability of wireless mobile communication systems. At the same time, the multi-beam antenna with beamforming algorithm as the key technology can realize spatial division multiple access (SDMA) by automatically adapting the weight vector of the antenna array, enhance the expected value, and suppress the interference. A novel beamforming technology increases the inner circle beam width and reduces the outer ring beam width to minimize the difference between the internal and external cell link SNR. This study considers reducing the number of cells by reasonably allocating beams, which satisfies both the requirements of coverage link quality and the difficulty of forming antenna beams. This research subject applies the scheme and strategy of improving multi-beam antenna technology in the same system. Under the requirement of cell coverage and partitioning, the related technologies and strategies combining multi-beamforming technology and space-time block code technology can obtain high coding gain and diversity gain without sacrificing bandwidth and effectivelyx improve the wireless systematic capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor mutational burden and heterogeneity has been suggested to fuel resistance to many targeted therapies. The cytosine deaminase APOBEC proteins have been implicated in the mutational signatures of more than 70% of human cancers. However, the mechanism underlying how cancer cells hijack the APOBEC mediated mutagenesis machinery to promote tumor heterogeneity, and thereby foster therapy resistance remains unclear. We identify SYNCRIP as an endogenous molecular brake which suppresses APOBEC-driven mutagenesis in prostate cancer (PCa). Overactivated APOBEC3B, in SYNCRIP-deficient PCa cells, is a key mutator, representing the molecular source of driver mutations in some frequently mutated genes in PCa, including FOXA1, EP300. Functional screening identifies eight crucial drivers for androgen receptor (AR)-targeted therapy resistance in PCa that are mutated by APOBEC3B: BRD7 , CBX8 , EP300 , FOXA1 , HDAC5 , HSF4 , STAT3 , and AR. These results uncover a cell-intrinsic mechanism that unleashes APOBEC-driven mutagenesis, which plays a significant role in conferring AR-targeted therapy resistance in PCa. [Display omitted] • SYNCRIP mitigates APOBEC-induced mutagenesis in PCa • SYNCRIP-deficiency promotes tumor heterogeneity via APOBEC3B mutagenesis • Overactivated APOBEC3B is a key mutator for prevalent gene mutations in PCa • APOBEC-driven mutations in eight mutated genes fuel AR-targeted therapy resistance Li et al. reveals how SYNCRIP-deficiency in prostate cancer accelerates APOBEC driven mutations, contributing to increased tumor diversity and resistance to current AR-targeted therapies. The study crucially links these mutations in eight specific genes to therapy resistance, paving the way for new anticancer therapy to overcome resistance and benefit patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Aims Renin-angiotensin system modulates cardiac structure independent of blood pressure. The present study aimed at investigating whether single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and haplotype of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) could influence blood pressure and the susceptibility to hypertensive left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Subjects and methods A total of 647 patients (347 females and 300 males) with newly diagnosed mild to moderate essential hypertension were enrolled in a blood pressure matched, case-control study. Four ACE2 tagSNPs (rs2074192, rs4646176, rs4646155 and rs2106809) were genotyped and major haplotypes consisting of these four SNPs were reconstructed for all subjects. Key findings In females, minor alleles of ACE2 rs2074192 and rs2106809 respectively conferred a 2.1 and 2.0 fold risk for LVH. ACE2 haplotype TCGT increased the risk for LVH while another haplotype CCGC decreased the risk in females. The covariates-adjusted mean left ventricular mass index was 11% greater in TCGT haplotype carriers than in noncarriers in women. In females, the covariates-adjusted mean systolic blood pressure was 3.4 mm Hg lower in CCGC haplotype carriers than in noncarriers. In males, the covariates-adjusted mean systolic blood pressure was 2.4 mm Hg lower in CCGC haplotype carriers than in noncarriers. Significance ACE2 tagSNPs rs2074192 and rs2106809 as well as major haplotypes CCGC and TCGT may serve as novel risk markers for LVH in hypertensive patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Non-airtight fermentation of sugar beet pulp with digested dairy manure was tested. • The hydrolysis process of non-airtight fermentation produced up to 8.1 g/L VFAs. • Acid-rich hydrolysate was used for microalgae cultivation. • Microalgal growths in hydrolysate and original digested dairy manure were compared. • Logistic models were established for microalgal growths in different wastewaters. Abstract Non-airtight fermentation of lignocellulosic agricultural residues with animal wastes is an emerging pretreatment method to produce acid-rich substrates in two-phase anaerobic digestion. Acid-rich hydrolysate could be an excellent feedstock for cultivating microalgae, therefore, the feasibility of a two-step process combining non-airtight fermentation of sugar beet pulp with anaerobically digested dairy manure and mixotrophic microalgae species Chlorella cultivation in the hydrolysate was explored in this study. The hydrolysis and acidification process of 8-day non-airtight fermentation produced up to 8.1 g/L volatile fatty acids under mesophilic condition. Microalgal growths in diluted hydrolysates were compared with that in diluted digested dairy manure (DDM) as a control using experimental data and fitted logistic models. Chlorella grown in the 10-fold diluted DDM showed an exponential decay, while Chlorella cultured in the 3-fold diluted hydrolysate demonstrated the best performance in terms of biomass density, which reached 2.17 g/L within a short period of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of hierarchical TiO2 superstructures with new morphologies and intriguing photoelectric properties for utilizing solar energy is known to be an effective approach to alleviate the serious problems of environmental pollution. Herein, unique oxygen‐deficient dumbbell‐shaped anatase TiO2−x mesocrystals (DTMCs) enclosed by nearly 100 % {101} facets were readily synthesized by mesoscale transformation in TiCl3/acetic acid (HAc) mixed solution, followed by calcination under vacuum. These mesocrystals exhibited much higher photoreactivity toward removing the model pollutants methyl orange and CrVI than truncated tetragonal bipyramidal anatase nanocrystals (TNCs), anatase mesocrystals built from truncated tetragonal bipyramidal anatase nanocrystals (TTMCs), and anatase mesocrystals constructed by anatase nanocrystals with nearly 100 % exposed {101} facets (TMCs), revealing that both the oxidation and reduction abilities of anatase TiO2 were simultaneously enhanced upon fabricating an oxygen‐deficient mesocrystalline architecture with about 100 % exposed {101} facets. Further characterization illustrated that such an enhancement of photoreactivity was mainly due to the strengthened light absorption, boosted charge carrier separation, and nearly 100 % exposed {101} facets of the oxygen‐deficient dumbbell‐shaped anatase mesocrystals. This work will be useful for guiding the synthesis of oxygen‐deficient ordered superstructures of metal oxides with desired morphologies and exposed facets for promising applications in environmental remediation. Hierarchical TiO2 superstructures: Unique oxygen‐deficient dumbbell‐shaped anatase TiO2−x mesocrystals (DTMCs) enclosed by nearly 100 % {101} crystal facets are successfully synthesized by mesoscale transformation in TiCl3/acetic acid mixed solution and subsequent calcination under vacuum. These mesocrystals exhibit enhanced photocatalytic activity toward removing the pollutants methyl orange (MO) and CrVI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Radical assisted iron impregnation was used to prepare sludge precursors. • Radical oxidation promoted enhanced Fe3+ interaction with disintegrated sludge flocs. • The resulted catalyst had Fe NPs uniformly encapsulated in carbon matrix. • The resulted catalyst had much improved stability and activity. • Fe NPs distributed in pores facilitate the polar interaction with organic acids. Abstract Radical induced sewage sludge pretreatment has been developed to enhance sludge stabilization and dewaterability. Except for anaerobic digestion, the reutilization of the oxidized sludge residuals is still a challenging issue for wastewater treatment plant. In the view of favorable role in sludge disintegration, the pretreated sludge precursors, which was obtained by sequential radical oxidation and iron impregnation, was carbonized to prepare the carbon encapsulated Fe nanoparticles (Fe NPs), which could then behave as highly stable and active heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst to degrade Black-T. By contrast, the carbonized products derived from direct iron impregnation were also prepared as a control method. The effect of H 2 O 2 /Fe2+ on zeta potential, particle size, morphology and texture structure of the pretreated sludge precursors and their corresponding influence on the carbonized materials were systematically evaluated. Results showed that radicals’ activation could facilitate the iron impregnation on sewage sludge by rupturing the microbial aggregate and making them more accessible to subsequent microbial fragments. Compared to direct iron impregnation, the carbonized products featured much higher iron insertion rate and the uniformly dispersed Fe NPs encapsulated into porous carbons, which in turn enables catalysts exhibiting more efficient catalytic activity in continuous heterogeneous Fenton-like degradation and resistance to metal leaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract KF-loaded CaO is known as a good solid base catalyst for biodiesel synthesis. KCaF 3 is generated when the KF/CaO catalyst is prepared, but its role in biodiesel synthesis is uncertain. Herein, we systematically investigated how KCaF 3 affected the transesterification reaction to yield biodiesel. We found that KCaF 3 , by itself or as a component in KF/CaO, had no catalytic activity in biodiesel synthesis. Its real role was to improve the mechanical strength and structural robustness of the catalyst, thereby enhancing the catalytic activity of KF/CaO in transesterification reaction. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • The component of KCaF 3 in KF/CaO catalyst was found to have no basicity. • KCaF 3 was also demonstrated to be inactive in the transesterification reaction. • The key role of KCaF 3 is to improve the mechanical strength and structural robustness of KF/CaO. • KCaF 3 endows the catalyst with enhanced activity in transesterification reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]