Search

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is frequently induced after long-term exposure to reduce the therapeutic effect of chemotherapeutic drugs, which is always associated with the overexpression of efflux proteins, such as P-glycoprotein (P-gp). Nano-delivery technology can be used as an efficient strategy to overcome tumor MDR. In this study, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) were synthesized and linked with a disulfide bond and then coated with lipid bilayers. The functionalized shell/core delivery systems (HT-LMSNs-SS@DOX) were developed by loading drugs inside the pores of MSNs and conjugating with D-α-tocopherol polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) and hyaluronic acid (HA) on the outer lipid surface. HT-LMSNs-SS and other carriers were characterized and assessed in terms of various characteristics. HT-LMSNs-SS@DOX exhibited a dual pH/reduction responsive drug release. The results also showed that modified LMSNs had good dispersity, biocompatibility, and drug-loading capacity. In vitro experiment results demonstrated that HT-LMSNs-SS were internalized by cells and mainly by clathrin-mediated endocytosis, with higher uptake efficiency than other carriers. Furthermore, HT-LMSNs-SS@DOX could effectively inhibit the expression of P-gp, increase the apoptosis ratios of MCF-7/ADR cells, and arrest cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase, with enhanced ability to induce excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in cells. In tumor-bearing model mice, HT-LMSNs-SS@DOX similarly exhibited the highest inhibition activity against tumor growth, with good biosafety, among all of the treatment groups. Therefore, the nano-delivery systems developed herein achieve enhanced efficacy towards resistant tumors through targeted delivery and redox-responsive drug release, with broad application prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The archetypal symbols of Mazu's statues and pictorial art are the mapping of a religious concept, a way of belief, and some programmed behaviours and rituals. They are also emotional imagery used to arouse the cultural awareness of international Chinese, inspire them to help and trust each other, to encourage and to comfort each other, to share weal and woe, and to always forge ahead. From the perspectives of historical memory, visual signs, and cultural identity, this paper explores the construction of archetypal symbols for the statues and images of Mazu. In addition, this paper generalizes the foundation and methods of this construction by analyzing the artistic forms and characteristics of the surviving Mazu images and statues and comparing the rules and regulations for making statues of other religions. Moreover, we consider the function of artistic signs that refer to and symbolize broader religious concepts and beliefs. The purpose of this work is to make the image of Mazu more visually present and strengthen cultural identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tröger's-based polymeric membranes have received tremendous attention for their inherent high free volume and excellent gas permeability. However, its selectivity was still unable to meet their industrial demand. In effort to achieve an optimization comprehensive performance, a set of homogeneous polymer chains was synthesized to fine-tune the free volume. These membranes were designed by copolymerization diamine moiety of 3, 3′-dimethylbiphenyl-4, 4′-diamine and 2, 2-bis [4-(4-aminophenoxy)phenyl] hexafluoropropane. Significant characterizations of their physical properties and chemical structures were carried out by FTIR, TGA, XRD, and mechanical strength. The effects of variation diamine content ratio were studied. An available simulation was carried out to elucidate the influence of introduced diamine. The permselectivity of membranes was evaluated by H 2 , CO 2 , O 2 , N 2 , and CH 4. The objective performances of feed gas pressure, test temperature, and aging stability on membranes were further studied. The exciting results demonstrated that our membranes exhibit improved gas performance. Notably, for H 2 separation, the H 2 /N 2 and H 2 /CH 4 selectivity was significantly enhanced by 125.7% (from 27.20 to 61.40) and 126.9% (from 30.41 to 69.02) with the addition of 30 mol% fluorinated diamine moiety while without much-compromising gas permeability was observed. These findings enlighten a facile and effective strategy in Tröger's-based polymer design towards high-purity gas separation. • Composite Tröger's-based polymeric membrane was prepared for gas separation. • Fluorinated aryl ether moiety diamine was used to tuning the free volume of membranes. • The H 2 /N 2 and H 2 /CH 4 selectivity was enhanced by 125.7 % and 126.9 % with the addition of 30 mol% diamine. • The attracted H 2 /CH 4 performance was very approached to the 2008 Robeson's upper bound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemcial fertilizer as the main strategy for improving the vegetable yields was excessively applied in recent years which led to progressively serious soil problems such as the soil acidification. According the situation, five different biofertilizer treatments [no fertilizer (CK), inoculations of Bacillus subtilis (Bs, T1), combination of Bs and Bacillus mucilaginosus (Bs+Bm, T2), Bs and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (Bs+Ba, T3), and Bm+Ba (T4)] were conducted to investigate the effect of the growth, leaf physiological indices, and chlorophyll fluorescence of spinach seedlings in the growth chamber. The growth and physiological indices of the spinach seedlings attained a maximum under the T2 treatments. Under the T2 treatment, the ABS/RC (Absorption flux per RC), TR0/RC (Trapping flux per RC), and ET0/RC (Electron transport flux per RC) was significantly increased, while the DI0/RC [Dissipated energy flux per RC (at t = 0)] was decreased. The OJIP curve was improved under of the inoculations of fertilizers, and the increasing range was the largest under the T2 treatment. The leaf light response curve (LC) was also significantly increased under the T2 treatment. The plant growth characteristics [leaf length (LL), leaf weight (LW), plant height (PH)] were positively correlated with the J-I-P test chlorophyll fluorescence parameters [PIABS (Performance index for energy conservation from exciton to the reduction of intersystem electron acceptors), φP0 (Maximum quantum yield of primary photochemistry), φE0 (Quantum yield of electron transport), ψ0 (The probability that a trapped exciton moved an electron in electron transport chain further than QA-), TR0/RC, and ET0/RC] while negatively correlated with φD0 (Quantum yield of energy dissipation) and DI0/RC. The leaf physiological characteristics [SP (soluble protein concentrations), SC (soluble carbohydrate concentrations), Chl a (chlorophyll a), Chl b (chlorophyll b), Chl a+b, Chl a/b, and WP (water potential)] were positively correlated with the J-I-P test chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (PIABS, φP0, φE0, ψ0, ABS/RC, TR0/RC, and ET0/RC) while negatively correlated with φD0 and DI0/RC. These results indicated that the combination of Bs+Bm inoculations promoted the growth of the spinach and improved the adaptability of the vegetable to acid soil while Ba inoculation didn't have any effects to plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • An Z-scheme heterojunction has been successfully developed. • CPDs/ZIS heterostructure improves the light capture and charges life. • The CPDs highly promotes the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution of ZIS. • DFT calculations indicated a decrease in the H* adsorption's free energy. To effectively separate electron-hole pairs produced by light, a heterojunction arrangement can be employed, thereby improving photocatalytic efficiency. In this study, a simple hydrothermal process is used to manufacture carbonized polymer dots/ZnIn 2 S 4 (CPDs/ZIS) heterostructure, which enhances the light absorption and charge carrier lifetime in comparison to bare ZnIn 2 S 4 (ZIS). Upon irradiation with visible light, the 3-CPDs/ZIS composite generates hydrogen at a rate of 133 μmol g−1 h−1, which is 8.9 times faster than that of pure ZIS. The addition of CPDs can increase the range of light that can be absorbed, extend the service life of the optical charge, increase the specific surface area, and promote charge separation and transmission, which could effectively accelerate the photocatalytic reduction reaction. The presence of CPDs results in the introduction of multiple transition energy states and a decrease in the H* adsorption free energy, which enhances the hydrogen evolution activity according to the theoretical calculation findings of density functional theory (DFT) and Gibbs free energy of the hydrogen evolution process. Combining theoretical calculations and experimental results, a direct Z-type heterojunction mechanism is proposed for the hydrogen evolution promotion effectiveness of CPDs/ZIS under visible light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomedical Event Causal Relation Extraction (BECRE) is a challenging task in biological information extraction and plays a crucial role to serve for knowledge base and knowledge graph construction. Here a biomedical cause-effect relation is defined as an association between two events and requires that the cause-event must occur before the effect-event. Some current advances tend to apply deep learning for the BECRE task and have achieved comparable performances. However, because most of event causal relations are implicitly stated, the performances of these works based on contextual semantics and syntactics might be limited. This fact suggests that it is necessary to introduce external cues to improve the performance of the implicit BECRE especially in the low source scenario. To improve the potential of the designed model, an intuitive idea is to introduce hierarchical knowledge from biological knowledge bases to supplement domain cues for the contexts. Nevertheless, it is difficult to learn the hierarchy and cause-effect direction of knowledge in the model and also few works focus on this issue. Thus, to better fuse knowledge, we propose a Graph Edge-Cluster Attention Network (GECANet) for the BECRE task. Specifically, we introduce external knowledge and build hierarchical knowledge graphs for the contexts. Also, the proposed GECANet effectively aggregates the context and hierarchical knowledge semantics under the guidance of cause-effect direction. The experimental results confirm that fusing external knowledge can effectively guide the model to identify event causal relations and facilitate our approach to achieve state-of-the-art performances respectively on the Hpowell and BioCause datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Male infertility affects more than 20 million men worldwide and is a major public health concern. Male infertility has a strong genetic basis, particularly for those unexplained cases. Here, through genetic analysis of three Pakistani families having eight infertile men with normal parameters in routine semen analysis, we identified a novel ACTL7A variant (c.149_150del, p.E50Afs*6), recessively co‐segregating with infertility in these three families. This variant leads to the loss of ACTL7A proteins in spermatozoa from patients. Transmission EM analyses revealed acrosome detachment from nuclei in 98.9% spermatozoa of patients. Interestingly, this ACTL7A variant was frequently detected in our sequenced Pakistani Pashtuns with a minor allele frequency of ~0.021 and all the carriers shared a common haplotype of about 240 kb flanking ACTL7A, indicating that it is likely originated from a single founder. Our findings reveal that a founder ACTL7A pathogenic variant confers a high genetic susceptibility for male infertility with normal routine semen parameters but acrosomal ultrastructural defects in Pakistani Pashtun descendants, and highlight that variants not rare should also be considered when trying to identify disease‐causing variants in ethnic groups with the tradition of intra‐ethnic marriages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study a large deviation principle for a reflected stochastic partial differential equation on infinite spatial domain. A new sufficient condition for the weak convergence criterion proposed by Matoussi, Sabbagh and Zhang [A. Matoussi, W. Sabbagh and T.-S. Zhang, Large deviation principles of obstacle problems for quasilinear stochastic PDEs, Appl. Math. Optim. 83(2) (2021) 849–879] plays an important role in the proof. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tantalum nitride (Ta3N5) has emerged as a promising photoanode material for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. However, the inefficient electron‐hole separation remains a bottleneck that impedes its solar‐to‐hydrogen conversion efficiency. Herein, we demonstrate that a core–shell nanoarray photoanode of NbNx‐nanorod@Ta3N5 ultrathin layer enhances light harvesting and forms a spatial charge‐transfer channel, which leads to the efficient generation and extraction of charge carriers. Consequently, an impressive photocurrent density of 7 mA cm−2 at 1.23 VRHE is obtained with an ultrathin Ta3N5 shell thickness of less than 30 nm, accompanied by excellent stability and a low onset potential (0.46 VRHE). Mechanistic studies reveal the enhanced performance is attributed to the high‐conductivity NbNx core, high‐crystalline Ta3N5 mono‐grain shell, and the intimate Ta−N−Nb interface bonds, which accelerate the charge‐separation capability of the core–shell photoanode. This study demonstrates the key roles of nanostructure design in improving the efficiency of PEC devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tantalum nitride (Ta3N5) has emerged as a promising photoanode material for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. However, the inefficient electron‐hole separation remains a bottleneck that impedes its solar‐to‐hydrogen conversion efficiency. Herein, we demonstrate that a core–shell nanoarray photoanode of NbNx‐nanorod@Ta3N5 ultrathin layer enhances light harvesting and forms a spatial charge‐transfer channel, which leads to the efficient generation and extraction of charge carriers. Consequently, an impressive photocurrent density of 7 mA cm−2 at 1.23 VRHE is obtained with an ultrathin Ta3N5 shell thickness of less than 30 nm, accompanied by excellent stability and a low onset potential (0.46 VRHE). Mechanistic studies reveal the enhanced performance is attributed to the high‐conductivity NbNx core, high‐crystalline Ta3N5 mono‐grain shell, and the intimate Ta−N−Nb interface bonds, which accelerate the charge‐separation capability of the core–shell photoanode. This study demonstrates the key roles of nanostructure design in improving the efficiency of PEC devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Housing tenure has often been taken-for-granted as consisting of dichotomous tenure types of owning and renting. This article critiques the owning-renting dichotomy through the lens of housing finance. It critically engages with three housing research programs wherein the owning-renting dichotomy is deep-seated: (a) the bundle of rights thesis, (b) comparative housing and welfare research, and (c) the ideology of housing. For each of them, the article first provides a brief recapitulation of the literature. It then explicates how they are constrained by the owning-renting dichotomy and why abandoning this dichotomy is necessary to transcend their limitations. Based on this, the article reveals a dialectical relation between owning and renting - the binary-oppositional attributes of owning and renting can be resolved with the changing relation of the occupant to financial markets. The article further proposes to re-conceptualize housing tenure as a relation of the occupant to financial markets and discusses the implications for reframing housing studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High quality single-phase multicolor emission phosphor is a prerequisite for efficient luminescence devices, but the system design and quantity preparation are still facing substantial challenges. Herein, Gd 2 O 2 S-based phosphors with high crystallinity, good dispersibility, and relatively good size uniformity were obtained by optimizing the type and components of flux based on the conventional solid-state method. By single-doping system study, the emission properties of matrix and activated ions are expounded, meanwhile the composition and co-excitation wavelength of co-doping system are designed. In the co-doping system, we mainly realized adjustable emission, interionic energy transfer, and application performance analysis. Firstly, multicolor emission in the range of yellow, orange and white was achieved through the modulation of dopant type and concentration as well as excitation wavelength. Secondly, the phenomena of spectral overlap (between Dy3+ and Sm3+), fluorescence intensity change (606 nm of Sm3+) and the monotonically decreasing fluorescence lifetime (Dy3+ at 578 nm) were evidence of energy transfer in the co-doping system. The theoretical fitting demonstrates that the energy transfer process of Dy3+→Sm3+ is primarily based on the quadrupole-quadrupole interaction mechanism. In addition, the cathodoluminescence spectra, temperature-dependent emission spectra, and magnetic properties tests have demonstrated the characteristics of multicolor adjustable emission (electron-beam excitation), excellent thermal stability, and good paramagnetic properties of the co-doping phosphors, further indicating that the Gd 2 O 2 S:Dy3+/Sm3+ system phosphors have potential as an excellent optical-magnetic bifunctional material in the fields of luminescence and bioimaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As typical environmental endocrine disruptors and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, bisphenol A and ibuprofen in water supplies can cause great harm to the ecological environment and human health. In this study, magnetic covalent organic framework composites Fe3O4@COF-300 were synthesized by the hydrothermal method and used to remove bisphenol A and ibuprofen from water. Fe3O4@COF-300 could be rapidly separated from the matrix by external magnetic fields, and could selectively adsorb bisphenol A and ibuprofen in the presence of coexisting compounds such as phenol, Congo red, and amino black 10B. The removal efficiency of ibuprofen was 96.12–98.52% at pH in the range of 2–4 and that of bisphenol A was 92.18–95.62% at pH in the range of 2–10. The adsorption of bisphenol A and ibuprofen followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir model, and was a spontaneous endothermic process with the maximum adsorption amounts of 173.31 and 303.03 mg∙g−1, respectively. The material presented favorable stability and reusability, and the removal efficiency of bisphenol A and ibuprofen after 5 cycles was still over 92.15% and 89.29%, respectively. Therefore, the prepared composite Fe3O4@COF-300 exhibited good performance in the adsorption of bisphenol A and ibuprofen in water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strong contribution of RAS-related protein 1b (Rap1b) to cytoskeleton remodeling determines intracellular and extracellular physiological activities, including the successful infection of viruses in permissive cells, but its role in the HSV-1 life cycle is still unclear. Here, we demonstrated that the HSV-1 immediate early (IE) gene ICP4 inhibits protein kinase A (PKA) phosphorylation to induce Rap1b-activation-mediated viral infection. Rap1b activation and membrane enrichment begin at the early stage of HSV-1 infection and remain active during the proliferation period of the virus. Treating the cells with Rap1b small interfering RNA (siRNA) showed a dose-dependent decrease in viral infection levels, but no dose-dependent increase was observed after Rap1b overexpression. Further investigation indicated that the suppression of Rap1b activation derives from phosphorylated PKA and Rap1b mutants with partial or complete prenylation instead of phosphorylation, which promoted viral infection in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the PKA agonist Forskolin disturbed Rap1b activation in a dose-dependent manner, accompanied by a decreasing trend in viral infection. Moreover, the HSV-1 IE gene ICP4 induced PKA dephosphorylation, leading to continuous Rap1b activation, followed by cytoskeleton rearrangement induced by cell division control protein 42 (CDC42) and Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (RAC1). These further stimulated membrane-triggered physiological processes favoring virus infection. Altogether, we show the significance of Rap1b during HSV-1 infection and uncover the viral infection mechanism determined by the posttranslational regulation of the viral ICP4 gene and Rap1b host protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Event temporal relation extraction is an important task for information extraction. The existing methods usually rely on feature engineering and require post-process to achieve optimization, though inconsistent optimization may occur in the post-process module and main neural network due to their independence. Recently, a few works start to incorporate the temporal logic rules into the neural network and achieve joint optimization. However, these methods still suffer from two shortcomings: (1) Although the joint optimization is applied, the differences between rules are neglected in the unified design of rule losses and further the interpretability and flexibility of the design of model are reduced. (2) Because of lacking abundant syntactic connections between events and rule-match features, the performance of the model may be suppressed by the inefficient interaction in training between features and rules. To tackle these issues, this paper proposes PIPER, a logic-driven deep contrastive optimization pipeline for event temporal reasoning. Specifically, we apply joint optimization (including multi-stage and single-stage joint paradigms) by combining independent rule losses (i.e., flexibility) to make PIPER more interpretable. Also, by proposing a hierarchical graph distillation network to obtain more abundant syntactic information, the designed rule-match features can effectively aid in the interaction between low-level features and high-level rules during training. The final experiments on TB-Dense and MATRES demonstrate that the proposed model can achieve competitive performance compared with the recent advances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a biodegradable carboxymethyl cellulose–polyethylene glycol/montmorillonite (CMC–PEG/MMT) composite film is prepared with good mechanical properties and adsorption properties to remediate methylene blue (MB) from contaminated water. The morphology, composition and structure of the materials are analyzed by scanning electron microscope, thermogravimetric analysis, X‐ray diffraction, and Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy. The adsorption performance, swelling, and contact angle of the composite films are evaluated. The composite film shows a higher (≈98.5%) removal percentage for MB in ambient temperatures within 1.5 h. It is indicated in the results that the addition of CMC can enhance the adsorption capacity due to the effect of −NH2, −COOH, and −OH functional groups. Adsorption of MB by CMC–PEG/MMT composite film is an exothermic and spontaneous, which is fitted well in pseudo‐second‐order rate equation and Langmuir adsorption model. The adsorption mechanisms are studied in detail. It is strongly believed that this research enhances the application of clay mineral–based material as well as organic wastewater management in a wide range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic luminescent materials with high luminescence efficiency in both solution and solid states, namely dual-state emission (DSE), have attracted considerable attention due to their promising applications in various fields. In order to enrich the variety of DSE materials, carbazole, similar to triphenylamine (TPA), was utilized to construct a novel DSE luminogen named 2-(4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)phenyl)benzo[d]thiazole (CZ-BT). CZ-BT exhibited DSE characteristics with fluorescence quantum yields of 70, 38 and 75% in solution, amorphous and crystalline states, respectively. CZ-BT shows thermochromic and mechanochromic properties in solution and solids, respectively. Theoretical calculations show that there is a small conformational difference between the ground state and the lowest singly excited state of CZ-BT and that it exhibits a low non-radiative transition characteristic. The oscillator strength during the transition from the single excited state to the ground state reaches 1.0442. CZ-BT adopts a distorted molecular conformation with intramolecular hindrance effects. The excellent DSE properties of CZ-BT can be explained well using theoretical calculations and experimental results. In terms of application, the CZ-BT has a detection limit for the hazardous substance picric acid of 2.81 × 10−7 mol/L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modeling the effects and paths of systemic financial risk contagion is significant for financial stability. This paper focuses on China's systemic financial risk from the perspective of dynamic networks. First, we construct a high-dimensional dynamic financial network model to capture risk contagion effects. Second, considering the ripple effect of financial risk contagion, we introduce and improve the basic model of the ripple-spreading network. Finally, small- and medium-sized banks and economic policy uncertainty are selected as the internal and external contagion source, respectively, to simulate the risk of ripple-spreading paths. The results show that financial contagion is more likely to occur within the same industry. The contagion triggered by internal shock first spreads within the same industry, and then to other industries. The contagion triggered by external shock first spreads to banks, then to diversified financial institutions, securities and insurance institutions, successively. Moreover, some small- and medium-sized commercial banks show strong abilities to spread risk ripples. The securities industry is the intermediary layer of the ripple network and plays a leading role in the ripple-spreading process. Therefore, systemic financial risk regulation should focus not only on large financial institutions but also on financial institutions with strong ripple effects. During major risk events, isolating risk intermediary nodes can cut off the paths of risk contagion and mitigate the impact on the whole financial system effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate channel state information (CSI) is extremely crucial to realize high‐accurate hybrid precoding, in millimeter wave communication systems. In order to improve the CSI estimation performance, several traditional channel estimators have been developed by exploiting the sparse or low‐rank property, whilst they bring huge channel training overhead and computational complexity. In this work, based on jointly sparse and low‐rank property of massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) channel, one non‐convex mmWave channel estimation problem is formulated and a novel scheme to acquire one accurate CSI estimation result with greatly reduced training overhead is proposed. Specifically, the non‐convex problem is reformulated as two simple sub‐problems, by exploiting the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) technique. Based on the low‐rank characteristic, one fast gradient descent matrix completion algorithm is developed to accurately solve the first sub‐problem. On this basis, the compressed sensing (CS) technique to acquire the accurate CSI estimation matrix is further utilized. Numerical simulation validates that the method could achieve the much higher channel estimation accuracy, yet only incurs the lower overhead compared with the traditional scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to explore the determinants of preschool choice among middle-income parents in Shanghai, the city with the most adequate and diversified preschool services in China. We administer an online survey to 333 Shanghai middle-income parents and find that preschool quality, children's development, and parents' needs constitute the determinants of preschool choice. Furthermore, the parents are primarily concerned about program quality and the development of children's self-care abilities. Among them, 226 parents are very satisfied with the kindergarten they chose, 99 parents are satisfied, eight are generally satisfied, and none reports feeling dissatisfied. There are significant effects of preschool type, parental jobs, and parental education level on parental satisfaction. Those emerging middle-income parents can only send their children to second-level preschools, which are relatively below their expectations, they tended to have lower satisfaction. These findings imply that the educational authorities should adjust their policymaking to meet the varying needs of middle-income families in rapidly developing cities. Highlights: Preschool quality, children's development, and parents' needs are the main determinants of preschool choice. Middle-income parents' primary concerns are program quality and the development of children's self-care abilities. Three-way ANOVA showed that parental satisfaction differed significantly by preschool type, parental job, and educational level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bayer red mud (RM) is made from aluminum ore using the Bayer process and is considered an industrial waste. The storage of unused RM can cause environmental and geological problems. Although several studies have focused on RM geopolymers, the amount of RM consumed by these synthetic geopolymers is small (usually <50%). Therefore, in this study, a hybrid geopolymer material with more than 90% RM content was developed and made it possible to apply in engineering construction. The consumption of a considerable amount of RM would reduce the massive accumulation of RM and address the shortage of natural construction materials. Experiments were conducted with ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) as the activator. Two different active GGBSs were selected to stabilize the RM by geopolymerization. The effects of dosage and type of GGBS on the mechanical properties of RM were investigated by conducting unconfined compression tests and disintegration and compression experiments. The experimental results indicated that the type and dosage of GGBS had a significant effect on the mechanical behavior of RM. Based on the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) values and the results of the disintegration and compression experiments, the optimal RM-GGBS mixed geopolymer was determined by orthogonal analysis. Microscopic analysis showed that under optimal conditions, the amorphous phase participated in the geopolymerization process, forming an amorphous geopolymer that improved the mechanical properties of RM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with a reaction–diffusion system on a growing domain describing the spatial spreading of bacterial and viral diseases induced by fecal–oral transmission. We introduce a threshold parameter Θ 0 ρ by means of the eigenvalue problem to explore the stability of the disease-free and endemic equilibria. By overcoming the difficulty induced by the time-dependent diffusion rates, we are further able to investigate the asymptotic behavior of solutions to the reaction–diffusion system. Compared to the model counterpart with fixed domain, biological impacts of a growing domain on the spreading of infectious diseases are obtained. We conclude that the growth of the domain is detrimental to the prevention and control of infectious diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the ban on antibiotic growth promoters, the effects of nonantibiotic alternative growth promoter combinations (NAGPCs) on the growth performance, nutrient utilization, digestive enzyme activity, intestinal morphology, and cecal microflora of broilers were evaluated. All birds were fed pellets of two basal diets—starter (0–21 d) and grower (22–42 d)—with either enramycin (ENR) or NAGPC supplemented. 1) control + ENR; 2) control diet (CON, basal diet); 3) control + mannose oligosaccharide (MOS) + mannanase (MAN) + sodium butyrate (SB) (MMS); 4) control + MOS + MAN + Bacillus subtilis (BS) (MMB); 5) control + MOS + fruit oligosaccharide (FOS) + SB (MFS); 6) control + FOS + BS (MFB); 7) control + MOS + FOS + MAN (MFM); 8) control + MOS + BS + phytase (PT) (MBP). ENR, MOS, FOS, SB, MAN, PT, and BS were added at 100, 2,000, 9,000, 1,500, 300, 37, and 500 mg/kg, respectively. The experiment used a completely random block design with six replicates per group: 2400 Ross 308 broilers in the starter phase and 768 in the grower phase. All NAGPCs significantly improved body weight gain (P < 0.01), utilization of dry matter, organic matter, and crude protein (P < 0.05), villus height and villus height/crypt depth in the jejunum and ileum (P < 0.01), and decreased the feed conversion ratio (P < 0.01) at d 21 and 42. MMS, MMB, MFB, and MFM duodenum trypsin, lipase, and amylase activities increased significantly (P < 0.05) at d 21 and 42. On d 21 and 42, MMS, MMB, and MBP increased the abundance of Firmicutes and Bacteroides whereas MMB, MFB, and MBP decreased the abundance of Proteobacteria, compared to ENR and CON. Overall, the NAGPCs were found to have some beneficial effects and may be used as effective antibiotic replacements in broilers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MSX1 is an important member of the muscle segment homeobox gene (Msh) family and acts as a transcription factor to regulate tissue plasticity, yet its role in goat endometrium remodeling remains elusive. In this study, an immunohistochemical analysis showed that MSX1 was mainly expressed in the luminal and glandular epithelium of goat uterus, and the MSX1 expression was upregulated in pregnancy at days 15 and 18 compared with pregnancy at day 5. In order to explore its function, goat endometrial epithelial cells (gEECs) were treated with 17 β-estrogen (E2), progesterone (P4), and/or interferon-tau (IFNτ), which were used to mimic the physiological environment of early pregnancy. The results showed that MSX1 was significantly upregulated with E2- and P4-alone treatment, or their combined treatment, and IFNτ further enhanced its expression. The spheroid attachment and PGE2/PGF2α ratio were downregulated by the suppression of MSX1. The combination of E2, P4, and IFNτ treatment induced the plasma membrane transformation (PMT) of gEECs, which mainly showed the upregulation of N-cadherin (CDH2) and concomitant downregulation of the polarity-related genes (ZO-1, α-PKC, Par3, Lgl2, and SCRIB). The knockdown of MSX1 partly hindered the PMT induced by E2, P4, and IFNτ treatment, while the upregulation of CDH2 and the downregulation of the partly polarity-related genes were significantly enhanced when MSX1 was overexpressed. Moreover, MSX1 regulated the CDH2 expression by activating the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-mediated unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway. Collectively, these results suggest that MSX1 was involved in the PMT of the gEECs through the ER stress-mediated UPR pathway, which affects endometrial adhesion and secretion function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the anti-asthma effects of Ephedrae Herba polysaccharides (PE) and possible mechanisms related to immune inflammatory response. An asthma model was established in rats using ovalbumin (OVA). Seventy rats were randomly assigned to five groups: control, model, dexamethasone (DEX, 0.075 mg/kg), low dose polysaccharides (LPE, 137.71 mg/kg) and high dose polysaccharides (HPE, 275.42 mg/kg). The cough and asthma were used to evaluate the basic state of asthmatic rats. Histological studies were evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), Masson, and periodic acid-schiff (PAS) staining. The levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), interleukin (IL)-4, immunoglobulin E (IgE), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and IL-17A in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and the levels of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), IL-6, and IL-10 in serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The mRNA levels of Ifn-γ , Il-4 , Tgf-β1 , Il-6 , Il-10 , Tnf-α , Il-13 , and Il-17a were evaluated by quantitative real-time reverse transcription (qRT)-PCR. The dendritic cell (DCs), T helper cell (Th), natural killer cell (NK), regulatory T cell (Treg), and Th17 cells in blood, the lymphocytes, macrophages and neutrophils in spleen, and cell apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in lung were analysed by flow cytometry (FCM). Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to stain DCs (CD11c+, CD86+, and CD80+), macrophages (CD68+), and neutrophils (MPO+) in the spleen and lung. The protein levels of IL-17A, CD11c, CD86, and CD80 in lung were measured by western blot. Our study demonstrated that PE could effectively improve the symptoms of asthmatic rats, ameliorate the lung pathological injury, inhibit inflammation, apoptosis and oxidative stress, regulate the levels of macrophages, neutrophils, DCs, NK, Thc, Treg and Th17 cells. PE could collectively inhibit the inflammation, apoptosis and ROS in asthma rats induced by OVA via regulating Th1/Th2 and Th17/Treg cell immune imbalance. [Display omitted] • This paper is the first to explore the intervention effect and mechanism of polysaccharides in Ephedrae Herba on OVA-induced allergic asthma. • Ephedrae Herba polysaccharides may treat OVA-induced allergic asthma by modulating inflammation and immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the light of China's newly installed sanction laws recently being considered by Chinese court in a judicial review procedure for an arbitral award, this article examines two aspects of these laws that have been largely overlooked by previous research: their private international law nature and the impact they have on the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. In their function, the Chinese sanction laws should neither fulfil the role of rules established to utilize private persons to implement Chinese state policy, nor, in their application, contradict China's claimed role in the international legal and political framework. Accordingly, two routes are offered as to how these laws should be applied: first, the legal restrains on private enforcement of the sanction laws should be made available; and secondly, China should ensure that its sanction laws do not compromise the New York Convention's remit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the perspective of production technology, the god image usually has two manifestations: paintings and sculptures, while there are two main forms of paintings: murals and prints. In this paper, the engravings of gods named "Guan-yin-ma-lian" (觀音媽聯) were taken as the research object. The origin of "Guan-yin-ma-lian" is traced back. The form of plane composition of this type of engraving is analyzed from the perspective of iconology. The image of Mazu (媽祖) and its implied meaning in "Guan-yin-ma-lian" are discussed from the perspective of folk beliefs. As one of the plane images of Mazu, "Guan-yin-ma-lian" is not only a very important religious art in folk culture, but also an important link closely connecting Mazu belief circles at home and abroad. It is also an important cultural asset of Chinese people who worship Mazu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recent studies have revealed a role of the ligand for glucocorticoid-induced TNFR family-related protein (GITRL) in mediating functional dysregulations of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in the pathogenesis of primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS), but the underlying molecular mechanism is largely unclear. In this study, we aimed to elucidate GITRL-mediated signaling pathways in MDSCs during the development of experimental SS (ESS). Methods: MDSCs were stimulated with recombinant GITRL, the activation of PTEN, AKT and STAT3 in MDSCs was analyzed by Western blot. MDSCs with different treatment were adoptively transferred to ESS mice. ELISA was used to detect the level of autoantibodies. Proportions of Th1 and Th17 cells were examined by flow cytometry. Histological evaluation of glandular destruction was analyzed by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. The interaction of GITR, TRAF3 and PP2A was detected by CoIP. Results: Upon the engagement of GITR on MDSCs, PTEN was activated and led to the inhibition of downstream AKT/STAT3 signaling pathway, therefore, resulting in the impaired immunosuppressive function of MDSCs. In ESS mice, blocking the activity of PTEN could efficiently restore the immunomodulatory effect of MDSCs and alleviate the progression of ESS. Furthermore, TRAF3 was found to bind to GITR, and then recruited PP2A to dephosphorylate PTEN, thus enhancing the activity of PTEN. Conclusion: This study elucidated the molecular mechanism underlying the effect of GITRL in regulating the function of MDSCs, which may provide a new therapeutic target for the treatment of pSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The religious color of folk beliefs and customs, a concrete and ideal artistic presentation of the Mazu (媽祖) image reflected in ancient books, folk customs and myths, endows Mazu with its unique image and humanistic connotation. The visual image, which implies the meaning of the thought, serves as important material for historical research. Therefore, this paper refers to and draws on three changing images of Mazu summarized from the perspectives of state and society, social function, and region of belief, respectively, by anthropological researcher Mr. Bozhong Li in his study of Mazu. Based on the analysis of Mazu image data, three significant images of Mazu are proposed, namely, the initial image, the transformation image and the typical image, along with a comprehensive analysis of its evolution and relationship. The image of Mazu in the statue is not only an artificially constructed social and cultural symbol but also a folk art symbol with religious and folk characteristics, and secular and emotional characteristics. It is also the visual form of Mazu's intuitive concrete materialization, carrying a certain representative thought and concept, meaning and spirit, and the various pieces of information it contains is more intuitive than words, bringing the incomparable dissemination power of knowledge and information from the classics. Moreover, it can transcend language barriers and regional boundaries, stimulate personal inner original feelings, interact with Mazu's beliefs and customs, and serve as an important medium for spreading Mazu's beliefs and customs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Ecohydrological separation (ES) phenomenon, whereby two compartmentalized soil reservoirs supply either plant water uptake or stream/groundwater recharge, provides a novel mentality for hydrological model simulation and water resource management. However, it remains uncertain whether the ES phenomenon exists in subtropical forests, especially in different types of forests at the regional scale. Methods: We employed stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes (δD and δ18O) to explore the relationship between tree xylem water, soil water and groundwater in two types of forests (wetland and mountain forests, respectively) from six sites across subtropical China. Furthermore, we also calculated the precipitation offset and soil/xylem water δ source values to clarify whether the ES phenomenon exists in both wetland and mountain forests of subtropical China. Results: δD and δ18O of tree xylem water were similar to that in soil water rather than groundwater across six subtropical forests. Ulteriorly, precipitation offsets showed a significant difference between soil/tree xylem water and groundwater, whether in mountain forests or wetland forests. In addition, soil and tree xylem water δD/δ18O source values were significantly higher than groundwater δD/δ18O in these forests. Conclusion: Three lines of evidence indicated that the ES phenomenon existed in both wetland and mountain forests of subtropical China. The ES phenomenon should be further used to hydrological models for projecting runoff formation, surface water retention time and evaporation-transpiration partitioning in subtropical forests, which could largely improve the simulation accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current methods for detecting pathogenic bacteria in feed require high technique and take a long time. The Micro Biological Survey (MBS) rapid detection system is a simple, economical and rapid microbial detection method. The purpose of this experiment was to compare the detection of Escherichia coli (E. coli), Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Listeria monocytogenes (LM), coliform (COLI) and total viable count (TVC) in feed by the MBS rapid microbial detection system and plate counting method (PCM). The results showed that the limit of quantitation, recovery rate and coefficient of variation of the MBS microbial rapid detection system are better than the plate counting method. When detecting the pathogenic bacteria content in artificially contaminated feed, the MBS rapid microbial detection system was positively correlated with the PCM. When the MBS microbial rapid detection system and PCM were used to detect the collected real feed samples, there was no significant difference in the detection results of the two methods in most of the feed samples. In summary, the MBS microbial rapid detection system is the most convenient and rapid detection method and is suitable for promotion and application in production lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Schistosomiasis, with 250 million people affected, is characterized by its serious hepatic inflammatory response and fibrosis formation, which could lead to dangerous complications, such as portal hypertension, splenomegaly and even ascites. But until now, the pathogenesis of schistosomiasis remains largely unknown. Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR), a bile acid-activated nuclear transcription factor mainly expresses in hepatocytes in the liver, can regulate liver diseases by controlling bile acid metabolism. Methodology/Principal findings: In this study, we found that the expression of FXR was decreased in the liver of infected mice as shown by western blot and RT-qPCR assays. Furthermore, hepatocyte-specific FXR-deficient mice (FXRflox/floxAlbCre, FXR-HKO) were generated and infected with ~16 cercariae of S. japonicum for five weeks. We found that FXR deficiency in hepatocytes promoted the progression of liver injury, aggravated weight loss and death caused by infection, and promoted inflammatory cytokines production, such as IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-4, IL-10, and IL-13. Surprisingly, hepatic granulomas and fibrosis were not affected. In addition, using UPLC-MS/MS spectrometry, it was found that S. japonicum infection resulted in elevated bile acids in the liver of mice, which was more obvious in FXR-deficient mice. Meanwhile, autophagy was induced in littermate control mice due to the infection, but it was significantly decreased in FXR-HKO mice. Conclusions/Significance: All these findings suggest that FXR deficiency in hepatocytes disrupts bile acid homeostasis and inhibits autophagy, which may aggravate the damages of hepatocytes caused by S. japonicum infection. It highlights that FXR in hepatocytes plays a regulatory role in the progression of schistosomiasis. Author summary: The liver, a critical metabolic organ, consists of approximately 80% parenchymal hepatocytes. Hepatic schistosomiasis results in inflammatory granulomas response and fibrosis formation that inevitably affects hepatocytes. However, whether and how hepatocytes involved in the progression of liver injury caused by S. japonicum is not clear. Here, we found that, the level of FXR, a key regulator of bile acid metabolism in hepatocytes, was clearly decreased in the liver of mice with this worm infection. Further, we found that FXR specifically deficient in hepatocytes increased bile acids toxicity and inhibited hepatocellular autophagy induced by worm infection, which therefore accelerated the progression of schistosomiasis by promoting hepatocyte injuries but not the formation of egg granulomas and hepatic fibrosis. Our work provides a regulatory loop of FXR/bile acids-autophagy in schistosomiasis, which suggests a role of hepatic FXR in the protection from hepatic damages caused by infection with S. japonicum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the semicrystalline PEEK was irradiated in the atmosphere by gamma rays with a dose up to 20 MGy. The influence of the surface degradation and the internal structural changes on the tribological behavior of PEEK was investigated. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis shows an increase in the percentage of C=O and O–C=O functional groups on the surface of irradiated PEEK samples. It reveals that irradiation-induced oxidation is the primary form of degradation on the PEEK surface. Scanning electron microscopy results indicate that the surface morphology defects such as micropores and microcracks appear when the irradiation dose exceeds 10 MGy. The friction experiments show that the static friction coefficient of the irradiated PEEK surface increases due to the existence of the surface oxide layer, and the appearance of a shorter run-in period attributes to the formation of uniform and stable transfer film in the initial stage of friction. In addition, when the dose is more than 1 MGy, the steady-state dynamic friction coefficient of the irradiated PEEK surface gradually decreases. The surface oxidation products play a rolling effect of three bodies, resulting in the fall of the dynamic friction coefficient. However, the corresponding wear rate increases by one order of magnitude compared to that of the unirradiated sample. The surface microdefects proliferation and the abrasive wear caused by oxidized clusters during the friction process lead to wear deterioration of the irradiated PEEK at high doses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Species mixing improved the water absorption of Pinus massoniana from shallow soils. • Species mixing reduced the water uptake proportion of P. massoniana from deep soils. • Plant rather than soil properties mainly regulated P. massoniana water uptake in well-watered conditions. Tree species mixtures have been identified as an effective strategy to cope with global climate change. Global climate change not only triggers extreme drought, but also stimulates extreme precipitation, resulting in frequent floods and subsequent tree mortality. However, previous studies concentrated primarily on the response of mixed species to extreme drought, with limited studies involving their response to extreme precipitation, especially at the regional scale. Here, we used δ D and δ 18O coupled with the MixSIAR model to analyze the water use pattern of Pinus massoniana between pure and mixed stands following different magnitudes of rainfall events across southern, central, and northern subtropical China. We further employed partial correlation analysis, variation partitioning analysis and a random forest model to discern the dominant factor affecting plant water absorption. Our results indicated that the proportion of water uptake by P. massoniana from the 0–40 cm soil layers in the mixed stand was significantly higher than that in the pure stand (56.5–81.4 % vs. 44.3–61.7 %), while the proportion of water uptake from the 60–100 cm soil layers exhibited the opposite pattern (9.0–25.0 % vs. 24.1–32.2 %), whether in light, moderate or heavy precipitation. Furthermore, our results revealed that the difference in P. massoniana water absorption between pure and mixed stands was mainly due to the shifts in plant attributes (i.e., root biomass, leaf biomass and predawn leaf water potential). These findings imply that mixed tree species distributions could optimize water uptake patterns by altering plant properties for interspecific niche complementarity, which could effectively increase forest water conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) causes severe degeneration of the meniscus and cartilage layer in the knee and endangers joint integrity and function. In this study, we utilized tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) to establish in vitro OA models and analyzed the effects of dehydrocorydaline (DHC) on cell proliferation and extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis in human chondrocytes with TNFα treatment. We found that TNFα treatment significantly reduced cell proliferation and mRNA and protein expression levels of aggrecan and type II collagen, but caused an increase in mRNA and protein expression levels of type I collagen, matrix metalloproteinase 1/13 (MMP1/13), and prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2, also known as Cox2) in human chondrocytes. DHC significantly promoted the cell activity of normal human chondrocytes without showing cytotoxity. Moreover, 10 and 20 μM DHC clearly restored cell proliferation, inhibited mRNA and protein expression levels of type I collagen, MMP 1/13, and Cox2, and further increased those of aggrecan and type II collagen in the TNFα-treated human chondrocytes. RNA transcriptome sequencing indicated that DHC could improve TNFα-induced metabolic abnormalities and inflammation reactions and inhibit the expression of TNFα-induced inflammatory factors. Furthermore, we found that the JAK1-STAT3 signaling pathway was confirmed to be involved in the regulatory effects of DHC on cell proliferation and ECM metabolism of the TNFα-treated human chondrocytes. Lastly, to explore the effects of DHC in vivo, we established an anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT)-stimulated rat OA model and found that DHC administration significantly attenuated OA development, inhibited the enzymatic hydrolysis of ECM, and reduced phosphorylated JAK1 and STAT3 protein expression in vivo after ACLT for 6 weeks. These results suggest that DHC can effectively relieve OA progression, and it has a potential to be utilized for the clinical prevention and therapy of OA as a natural small molecular drug. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. The purpose of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effect of orthodontic treatment on anterior tooth displacement caused by periodontal disease. Methods. A prospective study was performed in 86 patients with anterior tooth displacement caused by periodontal disease. These patients were divided into the experimental group and the control group according to the intervention methods. For the control group, patients were treated with conventional therapy. The experimental group used straight wire orthodontic technique for orthodontic treatment on the basis of conventional treatment. Comparisons were performed between two groups in term of bleeding index, alveolar bone height, anterior tooth coverage, periodontal pocket depth, probing depth, clinical crown length, tooth root length, inflammatory cytokines levels, and orthodontic satisfaction. Results. Comparison of bleeding index, alveolar bone height, anterior tooth coverage, periodontal pocket depth, probing depth, clinical crown length, tooth root length, and inflammatory cytokines levels between two groups before treatment indicated that there were no statistical differences (all P > 0.05). After treatment, bleeding index, alveolar bone height, anterior tooth coverage, periodontal pocket depth, probing depth, clinical crown length, and serum levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in the experimental group were lower than those in the control group (all P < 0.05), while the serum level of IL-2 in the experimental group was more than that in the control group (P < 0.05). Also, there was no difference for tooth root length between two groups. Moreover, compared with the control group, orthodontic satisfaction in the experimental group was significantly increased. Conclusion. The efficacy of orthodontic treatment in patients with anterior tooth displacement caused by periodontal disease is higher than that of only using conventional therapy, as it helps improve their periodontal health, alveolar bone height, clinical crown length, inflammatory factor levels, and orthodontic satisfaction of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The molecular genetic mechanism of Turner syndrome (TS) still leaves much to be discovered. Methods: TS (45X0) patients and age-matched controls (46XX and 46XY) were selected. The nanopore sequencing combined with trio-whole exome sequencing (trio-WES) were used for the first time to investigate TS. Results: Thirteen TS (45X0) patients and eight controls were enrolled. Trio-WES analysis did not find any pathogenetic or likely pathogenic variants except X chromosome (chrX) deletion. The average methylation levels and patterns of chrX in 45X0 and 46XY were similar, and significantly higher than in 46XX (p = 2.22 × 10−16). Both hyper-methylation and hypo-methylation were detected in the CpG island (CGI), CGI_shore, promoter, genebody, and PAR1-region, while in the transposon element inactivation regions of the chrX and hypermethylation were predominant. A total of 125 differentially methylated genes were identified in 45X0 compared to 46XX, including 8 and 117 hypermethylated and hypomethylated genes, respectively, with the enrichment terms of mitophagy, regulation of DNA-binding transcription factor activity, etc. Conclusions: The results suggest that the methylation profile in patients with TS might be determined by the number of X chromosomes; the patterns of methylation in TS were precisely associated with the maintenance of genomic stability and improvement of gene expression. Differentially methylated genes/pathways might reveal the potential epigenetic modulation and lead to better understanding of TS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visible light photocatalysis has been paid a lot of attention because of its green and lower energy consuming. To trigger a reaction via energy transfer, a potential visible light photocatalyst not only has absorption under visible light but also needs a high triplet excitation energy. In this scene, the density functional theory B3LYP methods were used to investigate the properties of transition metal complex photocatalysts and design new potential visible light photocatalysts. The calculation result shows that the studied Ir complexes have a relatively high ET values (energy gap between the triplet excited state and ground state). The introduction of electron‐donating groups to Ir complexes causes a slight redshift in the absorption spectrum. Moreover, the electronic structure and atomic radius of the central metal atom have a great influence on the properties of those complexes of "fac‐M(ppy)3" (transition metal complexes with facial structure and three ppy ligands, M = Pt, Ni, Rh, Ru, Fe). Based on the study of transition metal complexes, new visible light Pt complex photocatalysts that have both good absorption under visible light and high ET value have been designed here. The designed new Pt complexes are expected to be potential candidates as visible light photocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomass, as a green and renewable energy source, can be procured from a broad range of sources and is low in cost. The full exploitation of biomass could reduce the dependence on and consumption of fossil fuels, and is conducive to the protection of the environment. The prevention of corrosion of metals is an issue considered problematic in many fields, including in industrial production among others. Many anticorrosion materials are expensive and are noxious to the environment. This is an important issue that anticorrosion workers cannot ignore. This study proposes the use of biochar epoxy to boost the barrier properties of the coating, which is both economical and eco‐friendly. The incorporation of biochar can reduce the porosity of the coating and complicate the path of the corrosive media towards the steel substrate. Additionally, it can also reinforce the anticorrosion performance of the coatings. First, this article introduces the effect of biochars with different ultrasonic durations on the anticorrosion performance of anticorrosion coatings. After finding the biochar with the optimal ultrasonic duration, the effects of biochar on the anticorrosion performance of the coatings at different temperatures are assessed and the changes in its anticorrosion performance following soaking are discussed. The discussion concludes that applying biochar to anticorrosion coatings provides a feasible type of coating for anticorrosion work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exceeded mechanical stress leads to a sublethal injury to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) fibroblasts, and it will hinder cell mobility and ACL regeneration, and even induce osteoarthritis. The mechano growth factor (MGF) could be responsible for mechanical stress and weakening its negative effects on cell physiological behaviors. In this study, effects of MGF on cell mobility and relevant molecules expression in injured ACL fibroblasts were detected. After an injurious mechanical stretch, the analysis carried out, at 0 and 24 h, respectively, showed that the cell area, roundness, migration, and adhesion of ACL fibroblasts were reduced. MGF (10, 100 ng/mL) treatment could improve cell area, roundness and promote cell migration and adhesion capacity compared with the injured group without MGF. Further study indicated that cell mobility-relevant molecules (PAK1/2, Cdc42, Rac1, RhoA, and ROCK1) expression in ACL fibroblasts was down-regulated at 0 or 24 h after injurious stretch (except Rac1 and RhoA at 0 h). Similarly, MGF improved cell mobility-relevant molecule expression, especially the ROCK1 expression level in ACL fibroblasts at 0 or 24 h after injurious stretch. Protein expression of ROCK1 in injured ACL fibroblasts was also reduced and could be recovered by MGF treatment. In a rabbit partial ACL transection (ACLT) model, ACL exhibited poor regenerative capacity in collagen and extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis after partial ACLT for 2 or 4 weeks, and MGF remarkably accelerated ACL regeneration and restored its mechanical loading capacity after partial ACLT for four weeks. Our findings suggest that MGF weakens the effects of pathological stress on cell mobility of ACL fibroblasts and accelerates ACL repair, and might be applied as a future treatment approach to ACL rupture in the clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The selective synthesis of 3‐halogenated quinolin‐2‐ones from N‐arylpropynamides was realized via umpolung process mediated by phenyliodine(III) diacetate (PIDA) and MX (LiCl, LiBr, CuI). Differing from most previous electrophilic cyclization/halogenation processes that afforded spiro[4,5]trienones, 3‐halogenated quinolin‐2‐ones were obtained through this method with high selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reaction of N -arylpropynamides with (dichloroiodo)benzene (PhICl2) and diselenides/disulfides resulted in a divergent synthesis of chalcogenylated quinolinones and spiro[4.5]trienes through intramolecular electrophilic cyclization and chalcogenylation. The chalcogenyl functional group was introduced by an electrophilic reactive organosulfenyl chloride or selenenyl chloride species, generated in situ from the reaction of disulfides/diselenides and PhICl2. Notably, the divergent cyclization pathways were determined by the substituent type on the aniline ring in N -arylpropynamide substrates. Substrates bearing a fluoro, methoxy or trifluoromethoxy group at the para -position of the aniline underwent an alternative spiralization pathway to give the 3-chalcogenylated spiro[4,5]trienones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon emission reduction has been accepted as a common concern all over the world. Currently, CO2 emission is mainly derived from the consumption of fossil fuels. To solve this issue, there is an urgent need to develop technologies for CO2 capture. The utilization of membrane technology to remove CO2 from a mixture gas attracts great interest. In the present work, poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-vinylamine) was synthesized by polymerization (n-vinyl formamide and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate), hydrolysis, and ion exchange. The surface function of graphene oxide was carried out by aerobic self-polymerization of dopamine. The mixed matrix membranes were fabricated by adding the nanofiller (before and after modification) into the polymeric matrix. The membrane properties and its structure were characterized by FTIR, TGA, XRD, and SEM. The effect of nanofiller content and operation conditions on membrane performance was investigated. Results showed that the additions of nanofiller could decrease the crystallization of these membranes and effectively improve gas permeance. Remarkably, for the addition of 2.0 wt% dopamine-modified graphene oxide, the CO2 permeance of the membrane was increased by 30.9% while achieving a CO2/N2 selectivity of 83.5. The CO2 permeation for CO2/CH4 was also increased by 16.77%. These were surpassed over the 2008 Robeson’s upper bound. These resultant membranes demonstrated attractive potential for low-pressure post-combustion CO2 capture. Besides, the stability of longtime tests on membranes was studied, and it was observed that membranes exhibited excellent stabilization with continuously operated for 220 h. The excellent properties of these membranes provide new opportunities for gas separation applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polysaccharides are biomolecules composed of monosaccharides that are widely found in animals, plants and microorganisms and are of interest for their various health benefits. Cumulative studies have shown that the modulation of radiation-induced apoptosis by polysaccharides can be effective in preventing and treating a wide range of radiation injuries with safety and few side effects. Therefore, this paper summarizes the monosaccharide compositions, molecular weights, and structure-activity relationships of natural polysaccharides that regulate radiation-induced apoptosis, and also reviews the molecular mechanisms by which these polysaccharides modulate radiation-induced apoptosis, primarily focusing on promoting cancer cell apoptosis to enhance radiotherapy efficacy, reducing radiation damage to normal tissues, and inhibiting apoptosis in normal cells. Additionally, the role of gut microbiota in mediating the interaction between polysaccharides and radiation is discussed, providing innovative ideas for various radiation injuries, including hematopoiesis, immunity, and organ damage. This review will contribute to a better understanding of the value of natural polysaccharides in the field of radiation and provide guidance for the development of natural radioprotective agents and radiosensitizers. [Display omitted] • Radiation-induced apoptosis has dramatic effects on the human body. • Polysaccharides can act as radioprotective agents and radiosensitizers. • Polysaccharides regulate radiation-induced apoptosis through different pathways. • Polysaccharides' bioactivities are closely tied to their structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • VSCs and terpenes were main VOCs and crucial biomarkers in TSB and TSM. • VSCs biosynthesis pathways in T. sinensis were expounded by key precursors and genes. • Most VSCs in T. sinensis were synthesized from S-(trans - l -propenyl)- l -cysteine. • Cysteine was primarily synthesized by serine transformation in TSM. • Higher expression levels of LFS consumed more precursors of VSCs in TSB. Toona sinensis is renowned for its unique aroma, but the formation mechanism remains unclear. In this study, volatile and non-volatile metabolites were combined with transcriptomes to investigate the potential mechanism of aroma formation in T. sinensis buds (TSB) and microgreens (TSM). Volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) and terpenes were the main volatiles of TSM and TSB, respectively. 20 volatiles were identified as potential biomarkers, mainly VSCs and terpenes. In VSC biosynthesis pathways, cysteine was primarily synthesized from serine transformation in TSM. S-(trans - l -propenyl)- l -cysteine was likely to be the main precursor of VSC biosynthesis in T. sinensis. Higher expression of lachrymatory-factor synthase (LFS) consuming more precursor (1-propenyl sulfenic acid) in TSB led to reduced accumulation of VSCs. Isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase (IDI) and mevalonate diphosphate decarboxylase (MPDC) might play crucial roles in T. sinensis terpene biosynthesis. This study provided valuable insights into the formation of characteristic aromas in T. sinensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatitis E, a significant global public health issue in China, is caused by sporadic infections with regional hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotypes 1, 3, and 4. To date, most immunoassays currently used to test human sera for the presence of anti-HEV antibodies cannot identify HEV at the genotype level. However, such information would be useful for identifying the source of infecting virus. Therefore, here we describe the development of a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detecting anti-genotype 1 HEV antibodies in human sera. Using recombinant genotype 1 HEV ORF3 protein as immunogen, traditional hybridoma technology was employed to generate seven monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), of which two mAbs specifically reacted with the immunogen. One of these two mAbs, 1D2, was labeled with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) for use in competitive ELISA (cELISA). After cELISA optimization using a checkerboard assay design, the amount of ORF3SAR−55 as coating antigen (100 ng/well), HRP-1D2 mAb concentration (1 μg/mL), and test serum dilution (1:10) were selected and a result ≥ 19.5 was used as the cutoff for a positive result. Importantly, cross-genotype cELISA results indicated that the cELISA could not detect anti-genotype 3 rabbit and 4 swine HEV antibodies. Moreover, human sera confirmed as negative for anti-HEV antibodies using the commercial ELISA kit were all negative via cELISA. However, because the commercial ELISA kit detects anti-all genotypes HEV antibodies and the cELISA only detects anti-genotype 1 HEV antibodies, the consistence rate of two assays detecting positive sera is low. In summary, here a cELISA for detecting anti-genotype 1 HEV antibodies was developed for use in epidemiological investigations of genotype 1 HEV infections in humans. Key points: • Seven mAbs were produced using genotype 1 HEV ORF3 protein as immunogen. • One mAb that specifically bound to genotype 1 HEV ORF3 protein was selected and labeled for use in a cELISA to detect anti-genotype 1 HEV antibodies. • The competitive ELISA developed here will aid clinical diagnosis of HEV infections and will be useful for large-scale serological testing of genotype 1 HEV infections in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was to explore the effect of computed tomography (CT) images processed by image edge detection technology based on the improved Canny algorithm in the diagnosis of stroke patients with mobility dysfunction and to evaluate the clinical application value of early rehabilitation nursing (ERN). 114 patients who were diagnosed and treated in hospital and were suspected of having stroke movement dysfunction were selected as the research objects, and they were randomly divided into two groups, each with 57 patients. Patients in the control group were diagnosed with conventional CT examination, and the patients in observation group were diagnosed based on the CT images processed by the image edge detection technology based on the improved Canny algorithm. Patients in the observation group were divided into a group C and a group O. Patients (27 cases) in group O received rehabilitation training within 3 days after their vital signs were stabilized, and patients (30 cases) in group C received rehabilitation training within 3∼7 days after their condition was stabilized. The CT image diagnosis effects on patients of the control group and the observation group were analyzed, and the ERN effect on patients of the C group and the O group was compared. The results showed that the mean square error (MSE) of the improved Canny algorithm (233.78) was smaller than that of the traditional Canny algorithm and Sobel and Prewitt algorithm, and the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) (27.89) was greater than that of the traditional Canny algorithm and Sobel and Prewitt algorithm (P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, the sensitivity (85.00% vs. 62.12%), specificity (70.59% vs. 36.36%), and accuracy (80.70% vs. 54.39%) of the examination method of the observation group were much higher (P < 0.05). In addition, the total effective rate of patients in group O was 89.47%, which was greatly higher than that of group C (70.18%), and the scores of Meyer index and Barthel index were also higher in contrast to those of group C (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the improved Canny algorithm showed a clearer display on the edge detection of CT images and good application effect. It showed the effect of making conventional CT more accurate in the examination and diagnosis of stroke patients, and it was worthy of clinical application and promotion. The research showed that the timelier rehabilitation training, the better the treatment effect of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hepatic schistosomiasis, a chronic liver injury induced by long-term Schistosoma japonicum (S. japonicum) infection, is characterized by egg granulomas and fibrotic pathology. Hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs), which are nearly absent or quiescent in normal liver, play vital roles in chronic and severe liver injury. But their role in the progression of liver injury during infection remains unknown. Methods: In this study, the hepatic egg granulomas, fibrosis and proliferation of HPCs were analyzed in the mice model of S. japonicum infection at different infectious stages. For validating the role of HPCs in hepatic injury, tumor necrosis factor-like-weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) and TWEAK blocking antibody were used to manipulate the proliferation of HPCs in wild-type and IL-33−/− mice infected with S. japonicum. Results: We found that the proliferation of HPCs was accompanied by inflammatory granulomas and fibrosis formation. HPCs expansion promoted liver regeneration and inhibited inflammatory egg granulomas, as well as the deposition of fibrotic collagen. Interestingly, the expression of IL-33 was negatively associated with HPCs' expansion. There were no obvious differences of liver injury caused by infection between wild-type and IL-33−/− mice with HPCs' expansion. However, liver injury was more attenuated in IL-33−/− mice than wild-type mice when the proliferation of HPCs was inhibited by anti-TWEAK. Conclusions: Our data uncovered a protective role of HPCs in hepatic schistosomiasis in an IL-33-dependent manner, which might provide a promising progenitor cell therapy for hepatic schistosomiasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Mixed-species plantations are generally thought to increase soil carbon stocks, but it is unclear whether they can enhance soil water-holding capacity. By quantifying the contribution of rainwater to soil water (CRSW) following three different scales of rainfall events in Pinus massoniana and Schima superba monoculture plantations and a mixed P. massoniana and S. superba plantation, we aimed to examine the variations in CRSW and influencing factors for different plantations. Methods: Stable hydrogen isotope compositions of rainwater, soil water and groundwater were analyzed to assess the CRSW of three plantations following three rainfall events in a subtropical monsoon region in China. We further used regression analysis to quantify the relative importance of canopy openness, litter characteristics, soil physical properties and root biomass to the CRSW. Results: The CRSW in the P. massoniana monoculture plantation and mixed plantation was higher than that in the S. superba monoculture plantation following the three rainfall events. No significant difference in the CRSW was found between the P. massoniana plantation and the mixed plantation within nine days following the 8.7 mm rainfall event. Furthermore, the CRSW was significantly higher in the mixed plantation than in the two monoculture plantations within 11 days following the 15.3 mm and 36.9 mm rainfall events. The most important factors affecting the CRSW were canopy openness and root biomass after the 8.7 mm rainfall event, whereas root biomass and litter characteristics acted as the primary regulatory factors after the 15.3 mm rainfall event. Under the 36.9 mm rainfall event, dry weight and saturation moisture capacity within the semi-decomposed litter layer had the greatest influence on the CRSW. Conclusion: Mixed-species plantations in humid subtropical regions have a higher capacity to intercept and maintain heavy rainfall than their respective monoculture plantations, and thus can enhance their adaptation to extreme rainfall events, as well as after frequent droughts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Main observation and conclusion: The intramolecular cyclization of 2‐alkynylanilines mediated by DMSO/SOCl2 was found to afford biologically interesting 3‐methylthioindoles, which are rarely obtained by the exiting methods. DMSO could also be replaced with its deuterated counterpart, enabling the method applicable to the construction of indole skeleton bearing a SCD3 moiety at its 3‐position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]