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Designing effective nanomedicines to induce durable anti-tumor immunity represents a promising strategy for improving moderate immune stimulation. In this study, we engineered a multifunctional nanoreactor (named SCGFP NPs) for remodeling the tumor microenvironment (TME) to improve the therapeutic efficacy of immunotherapy. The core of SCGFP NPs consists of CaCO 3 loaded with SN38, prepared by the gas diffusion method, and coated with a significant amount of gallic acid-Fe3+-PEG coordination polymer on the surface. In the acidic TME, SCGFP NPs explosively release exogenous Ca2+ and SN38. The SN38-induced intracellular Ca2+ accumulation and exogenous Ca2+ synergistically trigger immunogenic cell death (ICD) through sustained Ca2+ overload. The ablation of tumors with high-intensity photothermal therapy (PTT) by near-infrared (NIR) irradiation of GA-Fe3+ induces tumor cell necrosis, further enhancing ICD activation. Additionally, SN38 upregulates PD-L1, amplifying tumor responsiveness to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). This study indicates that SCGFP NPs, through the integration of a trimodal therapeutic strategy, hold enormous potential for various types of tumor immunotherapy through distinct mechanisms or synergistic effects. The multifunctional CaCO 3 -bioreactor SCGFP NPs for tumor immunotherapy elicited substantial anti-tumor immune responses and immunological memory through synergistically driving Ca2+ overload, inducing immunogenic cell death, as well as enhancing the responsiveness to immune checkpoint inhibitors. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seed aging is a common physiological phenomenon during storage which has a great impact on seed quality. An in-depth analysis of the physiological and molecular mechanisms of wheat seed aging is of great significance for cultivating high-vigor wheat varieties. This study reveals the physiological mechanisms of wheat seed aging in two cultivars differing in seed vigor, combining metabolome and transcriptome analyses. Differences between cultivars were examined based on metabolomic differential analysis. Artificial aging had a significant impact on the metabolism of wheat seeds. A total of 7470 (3641 upregulated and 3829 downregulated) DEGs were detected between non-aging HT and LT seeds; however, 10,648 (4506 up and 6142 down) were detected between the two cultivars after aging treatment. Eleven, eight, and four key metabolic-related gene families were identified in the glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and TCA cycle pathways, starch and sucrose metabolism pathways, and galactose metabolism pathways, respectively. In addition, 111 up-regulated transcription factor genes and 85 down-regulated transcription factor genes were identified in the LT 48h group. A total of 548 metabolites were detected across all samples. Cultivar comparisons between the non-aged groups and aged groups revealed 46 (30 upregulated and 16 downregulated) and 62 (38 upregulated and 24 downregulated) DIMs, respectively. Network analysis of the metabolites indicated that glucarate O-phosphoric acid, L-methionine sulfoxide, isocitric acid, and Gln-Gly might be the most crucial DIMs between HT and LT. The main related metabolites were enriched in pathways such as glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, fatty acid degradation, etc. However, metabolites that exhibited differences between cultivars were mainly enriched in carbon metabolism, the TCA cycle, etc. Through combined metabolome and transcriptome analyses, it was found that artificial aging significantly affected glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, pyruvate metabolism, and glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, which involved key genes such as ACS, F16P2, and PPDK1. We thus speculate that these genes may be crucial in regulating physiological changes in seeds during artificial aging. In addition, an analysis of cultivar differences identified pathways related to amino acid and polypeptide metabolism, such as cysteine and methionine metabolism, glutathione metabolism, and amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, involving key genes such as BCAT3, CHI1, GAUT1, and GAUT4, which may play pivotal roles in vigor differences between cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, superinfections of avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J) and infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) have been frequently observed in nature, which has led to the increasing virulence in infected chickens. However, the reason for the enhanced pathogenicity has remained unclear. In this study, we demonstrated an effective candidate model for studying the outcome of superinfections with ALV-J and IBDV in cells and specific-pathogen-free (SPF) chicks. Through in vitro experiments, we found that ALV-J and IBDV can establish the superinfection models and synergistically promote the expression of IL-6, IL-10, IFN-α, and IFN-γ in DF-1 and CEF cells. In vivo, the weight loss, survival rate, and histopathological observations showed that more severe pathogenicity was present in the superinfected chickens. In addition, we found that superinfections of ALV-J and IBDV synergistically increased the viral replication of the two viruses and inflammatory mediator secretions in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, by measuring the immune organ indexes and blood proportions of CD3+, CD4+, and CD8α+ cells, our results showed that the more severe instances of immunosuppression were observed in the superinfected chickens. In the present study, we concluded that the more severe immunosuppression induced by the synergistic viral replication of ALV-J and IBDV is responsible for the enhanced pathogenicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior knowledge of textile fiber colors in blends is useful for color recipe assessment. There have been various methods to improve the accuracy of color recognition from the dataset of colored textile fibers in recent years. However, numerical assessments based on spectral feature and color difference is insufficient, in which the accuracy of color recognition can be affected by morphology and the uneven coloration on a single fiber. This paper proposes a novel 3D convolutional neural network model (3D‐CNN) with supervised spectral regression for the color recognition of hyperspectral images (HSI) of colored textile fiber. The proposed method obtained spatial‐spectral features based on 3D‐CNN, and the true spectrum of each class was used for supervised spectral regression to improve the accuracy. The loss function used was the sum of the supervised classification loss function and the spectral regression loss function model are optimized by mini‐batch‐based backpropagation. The proposed method was trained and tested on the HSI dataset composed of 100 colors of wool fibers acquired through a microscopic hyperspectral imaging system at a ×3.375 optical magnification. The experimental results showed that the proposed method exhibited better performance compared to numerical assessments and other deep learning models, except for efficiency. Specifically, it achieved better recognition performance on sub‐datasets of similar colored and light‐colored wool fiber where subtle inter‐class and large intra‐class variance existed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The excellent proton-scavenging ability of CEL/ACC-LP NPs could alleviate tumor acidity. • ACC-mediated chemical regulation of tumor acidity and Ca2+ could potentiate chemoimmunotherapy. • CEL exacerbates Ca2+ overload and induces immunogenic cell death. • CEL/ACC-LP NPs trigger strong immunogenic cell death and antitumor immune response. Developing efficient nanomedicines to modulate the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) is a highly sought-after method for improving the adverse clinical outcomes of immunotherapy. In this study, we designed a novel tumor immune stimulatory nanomedicine to regulate the immunosuppressive TME in multiple directions. This nanomedicine is liposome-modified amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) nanoparticles (referred to as CEL/ACC-LP NPs) loaded with chemotherapeutic medication celastrol (CEL). CEL/ACC-LP NPs explosively release calcium ions (Ca2+) and CEL in the tumor acidic microenvironment, and rapidly deplete H+ to alleviate the tumor acidic microenvironment, exhibiting intrinsic immune regulatory activity in synergistic tumor chemoimmunotherapy. CEL induces reactive oxygen species (ROS) to promote Ca2+ influx, exacerbating cellular Ca2+ overload. In addition, CEL/ACC-LP NPs can cause unique immunogenic cell death (ICD) effects. Therefore, the multi-directional regulation of tumor cells through simple nano preparation will offer a potent approach to improve the efficacy of chemoimmunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to make a color assessment for micron‐grade materials such as a single fiber, a non‐destructive and push‐broom microscopic hyperspectral imaging system (MHIS) was set up consisting of a stereomicroscope, an imaging spectrograph, and a digital detector. The performance of this system for acquiring accurate and repeatable information, such as spectral and colorimetric values, was investigated. The experimental results show that the system has an excellent spatial resolution, repeatability, and accuracy. The spatial resolution with a ×1.5 auxiliary objective lens was down to 90.244 lp mm−1 (5.54 μm). The average ΔE00 of the tested patches in the ColorChecker Mini chart was between 0.15 and 0.40, and the color measurement repeatability was acceptable. Color difference ΔE00 and the standard variation of spectral wavelength between ×2.5 and ×4.5 magnification were larger than those at lower magnifications. It can be concluded that the MHIS can identify colorimetric values of the materials and detect the color changes sensitively with a high spatial resolution at micron‐grade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The complex physiological barriers impose extremely conflicting demands on systemic drug delivery, so both particle size and surface charge of the nanoplatforms become vital factors. As a carbon-based nanomaterial with excellent optical properties, carbon dots are not suitable for direct systemic transport in vivo, which limits their application in the field of biomedical imaging, especially in the areas of diagnosis and cancer treatment. Liposomes have been developed as universal nanocarriers for various drugs. In this study, we aimed to build a highly precise and penetrative drug delivery system (DDS) using carbon dots encapsulated by liposomes. Methods: Carbon dots (CDs) were synthesized by the hydrothermal method using citric acid and ethylenediamine. Furthermore, simian virus 40 large T-antigen derived the nuclear targeting sequence (NLS) was bonded on the surface of CDs to obtain CDs-NLS. The antitumor drug doxorubicin was loaded onto the CDs-NLS through an acid-labile hydrazine bond to obtain DOX@CDs. Finally, DOX@CDs were encapsulated in aqueous centers of folate-coated and pH-sensitive liposomes, named pHSL-FA. Results: In this paper, a nucleus-targeted nanocomposite (DOX@CDs), which bonds with the nuclear targeting sequence (NLS) and the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX), has physicochemical properties of particle size of about 3.8 nm, zeta potential of +31.8 mV and high quantum yield of 64.53%. The negatively charged folate-coated and pH-sensitive liposomes (pHSL-FA) are used as a carrier to reverse the surface charge of DOX@CDs. Compared to free DOX@CDs, pHSL-FA show higher tumor accumulation in 4 T1 tumor-bearing mice and further improve cytotoxicity to tumor cells. Conclusions: This work proposes a unique nanomedical approach that enables the precise delivery of chemotherapy drugs and significantly reduces side effects, which is promising for clinical translation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Human demand for wheat will continue to increase together with the continuous global population growth. Agronomic traits in wheat are susceptible to environmental conditions. Therefore, in breeding practice, priority is given to QTLs of agronomic traits that can be stably detected across multiple environments and over many years. Results: In this study, QTL analysis was conducted for eight agronomic traits using an introgression line population across eight environments (drought stressed and well-watered) for 5 years. In total, 44 additive QTLs for the above agronomic traits were detected on 15 chromosomes. Among these, qPH-6A, qHD-1A, qSL-2A, qHD-2D and qSL-6A were detected across seven, six, five, five and four environments, respectively. The means in the phenotypic variation explained by these five QTLs were 12.26, 9.51, 7.77, 7.23, and 8.49%, respectively. Conclusions: We identified five stable QTLs, which includes qPH-6A, qHD-1A, qSL-2A, qHD-2D and qSL-6A. They play a critical role in wheat agronomic traits. One of the dwarf genes Rht14, Rht16, Rht18 and Rht25 on chromosome 6A might be the candidate gene for qPH-6A. The qHD-1A and qHD-2D were novel stable QTLs for heading date and they differed from known vernalization genes, photoperiod genes and earliness per se genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Ni-Fe (hydr)oxides/PMS system removes 96.8 % of TCE after 40 min under neutral conditions. • Ni active sites of Ni-Fe (hydr)oxides play a key role for PMS activation. • O 2 generation-consumption-cycling indirectly causes the continuous activation of PMS. • Ni-Fe (hydr)oxides/PMS system shows high TCE degradation efficiency in four times recycling of catalysts. Peroxymonosulfate (PMS)-based advanced oxidation processes have become promising water treatment technologies in recent years. The redox cycle between transitional metals in heterogeneous catalysis is essential for continuous activation of PMS and efficient removal of pollutants. In this work, we prepared Fe 3 O 4 using precipitation method and subsequently added Ni aqueous solution to synthesize Ni-Fe (hydr)oxides. Ni-Fe (hydr)oxides show efficient PMS activation ability, causing the degradation of 96.8 % trichloroethylene (TCE) after 40 min with the dosage of Fe, Ni and PMS at 0.2, 0.1 and 0.2 mM, respectively. The catalyst concentration normalized TCE degradation rate constant of Ni-Fe (hydr)oxides/PMS system reaches 1.48 L g−1 min−1. Nonradical pathway is dominant at the initial stage of the reaction which generates high-valent metals, SO 5 •− and indirectly produces 1O 2. 1O 2 and dissolved O 2 together participate in the O 2 cycling, •OH generation, and electron transfer involving the reduction of trivalent metals. Divalent metals react with PMS to generate strong oxidative •OH and SO 4 •− through radical pathway in later stage. TCE is degraded and dechlorinated by multiple reactive species in Ni-Fe (hydr)oxides/PMS system. The optimum Ni/Fe ratio of catalysts under the studied conditions was 0.50. Ni-Fe (hydr)oxides show high reactivity and stability in real water matrices, demonstrating Ni-Fe (hydr)oxides are promising catalysts for PMS activation to degrade pollutants in contaminated water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical modification of silk fibroin is a useful method for improving its performance. There are many existing methods of protein modification, some of which are limited for application to silk by the disadvantages of severe reaction conditions, poor reaction selectivity and problems with characterization of the product. In this paper, a series of dyes containing aromatic primary amine groups was designed and synthesized for modification of silk fibroin via the Mannich reaction. This three-component Mannich modification showed several advantages, such as mild reaction conditions, good selectivity, easy characterization and high fastness. In particular, the degree of modification could be established visually according to the color yield and the color fixation on silk fibroin. Therefore, the Mannich reaction of silk with dyes containing aromatic primary amine groups may become a novel reactive dyeing method. Studies of structure-performance relationships showed that suitable dyes for dyeing of silk should meet the following criteria: (1) High nucleophilicity of the aromatic primary amine group. (2) No high electron cloud density center around the amino group. • The first study to apply Mannich reaction modification and reactive coloration in fibrous proteins. • The degree of modification could be simply evaluated by visual characterization according to the color yield and the color fixation on silk fibroin. • Some criteria that suitable dyes for both coloration characterization of protein modification and dyeing of silk were revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a severe clinical condition marked by acute respiratory failure and dysregulated inflammation. Pulmonary vascular endothelial cells (PVECs) function as an important pro-inflammatory source in ARDS, suggesting that modulation of inflammatory events at the endothelial level may have a therapeutic benefit. Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) inhibitors, widely used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, have been reported to have possible anti-inflammatory effects. However, the potential anti-inflammatory effects of DPP4 inhibition on PVEC function and ARDS pathophysiology are unknown. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of sitagliptin, a DPP4 inhibitor in wide clinical use, on LPS-induced lung injury in mice and in human lung ECs in vitro. In vivo, sitagliptin reduced serum DPP4 activity, bronchoalveolar lavage protein concentration, cell number, and proinflammatory cytokine levels after LPS and alleviated histological findings of lung injury. LPS decreased the expression levels of CD26/DPP4 on pulmonary epithelial cells and PVECs isolated from mouse lungs, and the effect was partially reversed by sitagliptin. In vitro, human lung microvascular ECs (HLMVECs) expressed higher levels of CD26/DPP4 than human pulmonary arterial ECs. LPS induced the release of TNF, IL-6, and IL-8 by HLMVECs that were inhibited by sitagliptin. LPS promoted the proliferation of HLMVECs, and sitagliptin suppressed this response. However, sitagliptin failed to reverse LPS-induced permeability in cultured ECs or lung epithelial cells in vitro. In summary, sitagliptin attenuates LPS-induced lung injury in mice and exerts anti-inflammatory effects on HLMVECs. These novel observations indicate DPP4 inhibitors may have potential as therapeutic drugs for ARDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The CS combination induced an enhanced immunogenic cellular response. • Hypoxia-degradable CS@TAP nanoparticles for initiating tumor immunotherapy. • CS@TAP nanoparticles reversed the tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment. • The combination of CS@TAP and αPD-L1 significantly improved the therapeutic effect. Inducing cell death while simultaneously enhancing antitumor immune responses is a promising therapeutic approach for multiple cancers. Celastrol (Cel) and 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN38) have contrasting physicochemical properties, but strong synergy in immunogenic cell death induction and anticancer activity. Herein, a hypoxia-sensitive nanosystem (CS@TAP) was designed to demonstrate effective immunotherapy for colorectal cancer by systemic delivery of an immunostimulatory chemotherapeutic combination. Furthermore, the combination of CS@TAP with anti-PD-L1 mAb (αPD-L1) exhibited a significant therapeutic benefit of delaying tumor growth and increased local doses of immunogenic signaling and T -cell infiltration, ultimately extending survival. We conclude that CS@TAP is an effective inducer of immunogenic cell death (ICD) in cancer immunotherapy. Therefore, this study provides an encouraging strategy to synergistically induce immunogenic cell death to enhance tumor cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) infiltration for anticancer immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The covalent coupling reaction between the tyrosine residues on silk fibroin and a hydroxyphenyl benzotriazole UV absorber containing a diazonium group caused a decrease in UV–visible transmittance through silk fabric together with yellowing due to the presence of the conjugated azo-benzotriazole chromophore. After exposure to UV irradiation, untreated silk was yellowed due to photooxidation of the aromatic amino acid residues in the fibroin protein, whereas the modified silk concurrently experienced some photoyellowing of the protein, together with photobleaching of the covalently bonded conjugated chromophore. Although application of the UV absorber caused a decrease in tensile strength, modification of silk with a higher amount led to a very low color change and less decrease in tensile strength than untreated silk fabric following UV irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GADD45a is a gene we previously reported as a mediator of responses to acute lung injury. GADD45a−/− mice express decreased Akt and increased Akt ubiquitination due to the reduced expression of UCHL1 (ubiquitin c-terminal hydrolase L1), a deubiquitinating enzyme, while GADD45a−/− mice have increased their susceptibility to radiation-induced lung injury (RILI). Separately, we have reported a role for sphingolipids in RILI, evidenced by the increased RILI susceptibility of SphK1−/− (sphingosine kinase 1) mice. A mechanistic link between UCHL1 and sphingolipid signaling in RILI is suggested by the known polyubiquitination of SphK1. Thus, we hypothesized that the regulation of SphK1 ubiquitination by UCHL1 mediates RILI. Initially, human lung endothelial cells (EC) subjected to radiation demonstrated a significant upregulation of UCHL1 and SphK1. The ubiquitination of EC SphK1 after radiation was confirmed via the immunoprecipitation of SphK1 and Western blotting for ubiquitin. Further, EC transfected with siRNA specifically for UCHL1 or pretreated with LDN-5744, as a UCHL1 inhibitor, prior to radiation were noted to have decreased ubiquitinated SphK1 in both conditions. Further, the inhibition of UCHL1 attenuated sphingolipid-mediated EC barrier enhancement was measured by transendothelial electrical resistance. Finally, LDN pretreatment significantly augmented murine RILI severity. Our data support the fact that the regulation of SphK1 expression after radiation is mediated by UCHL1. The modulation of UCHL1 affecting sphingolipid signaling may represent a novel RILI therapeutic strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microscopic hyperspectral imaging technology is a potential non‐destructive and non‐contact method for colour measurement of micrometre‐sized textile fibres. However, specularity on the fibre surface can distort the accurate colour information and affect the accuracy of the colour measurement. This paper proposed a specular‐constrained sparse approximation (SCSA) for specular‐diffuse reflection separation from hyperspectral images of wool fibres. First, a specular prior map is generated based on the lightness dissimilarity. Then the SCSA model is used to decompose the processed hyperspectral image A into low‐rank data L, sparse specularity data S constrained by the specular prior map, sparse noise E, and Gaussian noise N. A non‐linear logistic sigmoid function and a sparse approximation of A – L – N to S are used to improve the performance of specularity removal during iterative optimization. The experimental results show that the proposed method significantly preserves diffuse reflectance and texture details in the specular highlight regions to obtain actual spectral reflectance and chromatic values from hyperspectral images of wool fibres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The colouration of silk fibroin through a Mannich-type reaction with aromatic primary amine-containing dyes (APAD s), named Mannich-type dyeing, is a novel dyeing method with the advantages of moderate conditions, high selectivity, and high wet fastness. In this study, three novel APAD s, including an H acid structure, D1 - D3 , were designed and synthesized. A similar dye, C1 , without an aromatic primary amine group, was selected as the control. Their spectral and colour fastness properties in aqueous solutions and on silk fabrics were measured and evaluated. In addition, their Mannich-type reactivity to silk fabric was evaluated via experiments and simulated calculations. It was revealed that for the H acid-containing dye with the same chromosome structure, the electron accepting/donating properties of the diazo and coupling components affect the colour of the dye after the Mannich-type dyeing. The substituent effect of dyes C1 – D3 demonstrated that with the changing properties of electron donation and acceptance in the case of the diazonium component, the absorption spectrum (λ max) of the neutral aqueous dye solution changed from reddish-orange (505 nm) to bluish-violet (541 nm). The λ max of Mannich-type dyed fabrics was generally red-shifted in comparison with that of dyed fabrics by acidic dyeing, which implied the formation of a reactive bond between the dye and the silk fibroin. The presence of aromatic primary amine groups in dyes is the prerequisite for Mannich-type reactivity. The primary amine groups on both benzene and naphthalene rings have Mannich-type reactivity, which is related to the electron cloud density of amino N atoms. With the increase in electron cloud density of the amino N atom, the colour fixation of the dye and the fibre was improved. After the Mannich-type dyeing, the colour fastness of the dyed fabrics and DMF stripping resistance significantly improved, also indicating the formation of a covalent bond between the dye and the fibre. The simulated calculation predicted the colour of APAD in an aqueous solution and on dyed silk fabric after Mannich-type dyeing, which guides the design and enrichment of APAD s' chromatography. • The relationship between the electron cloud density of primary amino group on naphthalene ring and Mannich reaction efficiency was revealed. • The presence of tautomerism in azo dyes can affect the color and Mannich reactivity of aromatic amine dyes. • The color of silk fabric after Mannich-type dyeing with azo dye containing H acid structure can be predicted by simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method is proposed to focus azimuthally polarized beam into an ultra-small or ultra-big dark spot under high numerical aperture lens system. Manipulated by proper designed binary 0-π phase plate, an ultra small dark spot regardless of side-lobe intensity is generated with main-lobe peak to peak distance shrunk to 0.24λ, which is 46% of the case without phase plate. For potential applications, shrinking the dark spot and suppressing the side-lobe intensity are analyzed, and several cases of squeezed dark spots with different levels of side-lobe intensities are presented. Additionally, using a two-zone phase plate to enlarge the dark spot is investigated in this paper, and an enlarged dark spot is readily acquired with the main-lobe peak to peak distance in a range of 100%–200%. The advantages of this method are its large scale manipulation of the dark spot size and its high performance in suppressing side-lobe intensity, which is of great worth in enhancing the performance of many systems such as optical tweezers and stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Avian leukosis virus subgroup E (ALVE) is a family of endogenous retroviruses in the chicken genome. To investigate the genetic consequences of chicken domestication, we analyzed 18 ALVE loci in red jungle fowls, layers, broilers, and Chinese indigenous chickens. None of the ALVE loci tested were found in red jungle fowls, but 12 were present in domestic chickens. ALVE1 and ALVE16 are found in regions of the genome that harbor quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting egg production traits. ALVE1 was fixed and ALVE16 was detected only in layers. By contrast, ALVE-b1, ALVE-b5, ALVE-b6, and ALVE-b8 integrated into regions of the genome that harbor QTL affecting meat production traits. Carrier frequencies of these four ALVE loci were high in broilers and low in Chinese local chickens; the loci were not found in the layers. This study demonstrated that insertionally polymorphic ALVE loci can illustrate the selective footprints in the chicken genome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is a multifunctional enzyme with roles in diverse cellular processes including angiogenesis, tissue remodeling, and the maintenance of vascular tone. Monomeric and dimeric forms of eNOS exist in various tissues. The dimeric form of eNOS is considered the active form and the monomeric form is considered inactive. The activity of eNOS is also regulated by many other mechanisms, including amino acid phosphorylation and interactions with other proteins. However, the precise mechanisms regulating eNOS dimerization, phosphorylation, and activity remain incompletely characterized. We utilized purified eNOS and bovine aorta endothelial cells (BAECs) to investigate the mechanisms regulating eNOS degradation. Both eNOS monomer and dimer existed in purified bovine eNOS. Incubation of purified bovine eNOS with protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) resulted in dephosphorylation at Serine 1179 (Ser1179) in both dimer and monomer and decrease in eNOS activity. However, the eNOS dimer∶monomer ratio was unchanged. Similarly, protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) induced dephosphorylation of eNOS at Threonine 497 (Thr497), without altering the eNOS dimer∶monomer ratio. Different from purified eNOS, in cultured BAECs eNOS existed predominantly as dimers. However, eNOS monomers accumulated following treatment with the proteasome inhibitor lactacystin. Additionally, treatment of BAECs with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) resulted in phosphorylation of Ser1179 in eNOS dimers without altering the phosphorylation status of Thr497 in either form. Inhibition of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) or Hsp90 silencing destabilized eNOS dimers and was accompanied by dephosphorylation both of Ser1179 and Thr497. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that eNOS monomers, but not eNOS dimers, are degraded by ubiquitination. Additionally, the dimeric eNOS structure is the predominant condition for eNOS amino acid modification and activity regulation. Finally, destabilization of eNOS dimers not only results in eNOS degradation, but also causes changes in eNOS amino acid modifications that further affect eNOS activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the gas emission characteristics of natural gas purification plant and concentration distribution prediction in atmosphere during the development process of high sour gas filed, insulation performance analysis of acid gases on the 220 kV line was conducted, taking Puguang gas field as example. Insulating property of polluted insulator and the air under simulated cid mist environment were measured respectively. The results showed that flashover voltage of insulator dropped about 20% under the action of salt mist. Insulating strength of the air dropped about 15.1% when the pH value of mist was 3. After the combination of acid mist (pH = 3) and lass II air pollution, insulating strength of the air dropped about 23.2%. Lightning withstand level of electric transmission line decreased 20% approximately under acid rain and acid mist environment with pH value of 3. Combined the laboratory analysis results and practical situation in Puguang gas field, the protective measures of electric transmission line in acid gas field were analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A switchable multi-wavelength fiber ring laser is proposed and experimentally demonstrated with a novel side-leakage photonic crystal fiber (SLPCF) based filter incorporated into the ring cavity at room temperature. Stable multi-wavelength laser operations can be achieved due to the spatial mode beating, polarization hole burning and spectral hole burning effects. By adjusting the polarization controller appropriately, the laser can be switched among the single-, dual- and triple-wavelength lasing oscillations whose signal-to-noise ratio is up to 50dB. In addition, the lasing wavelength can be also tuned and switched by applying the strain to the filter. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An in-fiber modal interferometer is demonstrated by splicing a section of homemade dual-concentric-core photonic crystal fiber (DCCPCF) and two segments of single-mode fibers (SMFs) with collapsing the air holes in the splice regions. By analyzing the transmission spectra and the spatial frequency spectra of the interferometers, it''s observed that the main interfering modes are the high-order ring modes, which are different from the previously reported interferometers using the single-, few- or multi-mode fibers. The influences of the lengths of DCCPCF and the first collapsed region on the interferometers were investigated experimentally. The strain, temperature and refractive index characteristics of the interferometer were analyzed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Background: Total mesorectal excision is considered the gold standard for rectal cancer surgery, but the anatomic descriptions and nomenclatures that are used are hardly clear and sometimes are contradictory. The aim of this study was to clarify the delimitation of the mesorectum and anatomic landmarks of the correct surgical plane for total mesorectal excision. Methods: Cadaveric dissections were performed on 32 pelvises. Results: The pelvic fasciae around the rectum can be divided into visceral fascia, vesicohypogastric fascia, and parietal fascia. The lateral ligament is the dense connective tissue between the rectum and visceral fascia instead of the pelvic sidewall. There are 2 different fascial envelopes around the rectum. The diffusion type of pelvic plexus is difficult to separate from the visceral fascia. Conclusions: The autonomic nerves and lateral rectal ligament can be distinguished as the landmark to judge the different planes. The correct surgical plane of posterior dissection is conducted between the visceral fascia and parietal fascia, and anterolateral dissection is conducted between the vesicohypogastric fascia and parietal fascia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objectives: All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) has been shown to inhibit the growth of many malignancies by altering gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) and the expression of connexin (Cx) 43. Here, we report that the alteration of GJIC by ATRA may directly enhance the bystander effect (BE) of suicide gene therapy against prostate cancer in vitro and in vivo. Methods: PC-3 cells were exposed to different concentrations of ATRA for varying lengths of time in culture. Flow cytometry was performed to measure Cx43-positive cells and the GJIC function of the cells was examined with the scrape-loading dye transfer assay. Cells were treated with ATRA in combination with an adenovirus/ganciclovir (Ad-TK/GCV) system encoding herpes simplex virus-thymidine kinase, and the BE was assessed in the treatment of androgen-independent prostate cancer both in vitro and in vivo. Semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry were performed to assess the expression of Cx43 mRNA and protein in tumor tissues. Results: ATRA significantly increased the amount of Cx43-positive cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05). GJIC functions were enhanced 3- to 5-fold in the presence of ATRA, although ATRA did not augment GCV toxicity of PC-3 cells. In the mixing assay, ATRA significantly increased cell killing when the ratio of TK-positive cells in the coculture ranged from 30% to 60% compared with ATRA-untreated cell (P < 0.05), and attained 50% cell killing cells when the ratio of TK-positive cell was 30%, but the same result did not appear until the ratio of TK-positive cell was up to 60% in the ATRA-untreated cell. Mice treated with a combination of ATRA and GCV had significantly smaller Ad-TK infected tumors than those treated with GCV or ATRA alone after 3-weeks of therapy (P < 0.05). However, from the fourth-week of therapy, there was no difference in tumor growth inhibition between GCV treatment and GCV + ATRA treatment (P > 0.05), as two tumors in the latter group started to grow more quickly than tumors in the control group. This phenomenon was not found in other groups. Conclusions: ATRA could enhance the efficiency of cell killing in suicide gene therapy against prostate cancer by strengthening the BE in vitro and in vivo. Induction of Cxs and GJIC by ATRA might provide an element of selectivity to suicide gene therapy. Future studies should focus on safety and tailoring this cooperative therapy to the patient. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We report cloning a cDNA that encodes a novel short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase, SDR-O, conserved in mouse, human and rat. Human and mouse liver express SDR-O (short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase-orphan) mRNA intensely. The mouse embryo expresses SDR-O mRNA as early as day seven. Human SDR-O localizes on chromosome 12; mouse SDR-O localizes on chromosome 10 with CRAD1, CRAD2 and RDH4. SDR-O shares highest amino acid similarity with rat RoDH1 and mouse RDH1 (69–70%), but does not have the retinol and 3α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity of either, nor is it active as a 17β- or 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. Short-chain dehydrogenase/reductases catalyse the metabolism of ligands that bind with nuclear receptors: the occurrence of ‘orphan’ nuclear receptors may imply existence of ‘orphan’ SDR, suggesting that SDR-O may catalyse the metabolism of another class of nuclear receptor ligand. Alternatively, SDR-O may not have a catalytic function, but may regulate metabolism by binding substrates/products and/or by serving as a regulatory factor. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • Pd-Fe hydroxides catalyst with iron hydroxides and Pd cluster structure is successfully synthesized. • CT with 26 µM concentration is fast removed within 5 min, and 43.3 % of CH 4 and 11.6 % of C 2 H 6 were generated after 110 min. • Pd(0) sites provide the binding site of CT and generate H ads • to attack carbon-chlorine bonds. • Pd-Fe hydroxides show high CT removal efficiency in real groundwater. Carbon tetrachloride (CT), a common persistent pollutant in groundwater, has attracted widespread attention from environmental researchers. The dechlorination from CT to combustible hydrocarbons not only represents the removal of contaminants, but also offers the possibility of recovering carbon resources from water. In this work, we used the coprecipitation of Fe(II) and Pd(II) to synthesize Pd-Fe hydroxides for the dechlorination of CT. When Pd and Fe dosages were 0.4 and 5 mM respectively, CT with 26 µM concentration can be fast removed within 5 min, and 43.3 % of CH 4 and 11.6 % of C 2 H 6 (mol%) were generated after 110 min. The alkaline condition was more conducive to the complete dechlorination of CT comparing with acidic and neutral conditions. During the olation process, Fe(II) as electron donor transferred electrons to Pd(II) to form Pd(0) clusters. Pd(0) active sites act on the binding of CT and transfer electron to H+/H 2 O to form adsorbed atomic hydrogen (H ads •). The adsorbed CT molecules on the surface of Pd-Fe hydroxides undergo continuous dechlorination to form CH 4 and C 2 H 6 through the attack of H ads • and direct electron transfer. In real groundwater applications, CT was rapidly removed, with CH 4 and C 2 H 6 yields reaching 24.5 % and 4.6 % (mol%), respectively. Encouragingly, incomplete dechlorinated products, including chloroform and dichloromethane, did not show signs of subsequent rebound even after 60 min. Furthermore, Pd-Fe hydroxides also exhibit resistance to the oxidation effects of dissolved oxygen, which demonstrates the promising application prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enhance the efficiency and reduce the environmental footprint of silk dyeing, this study introduces a novel method that synthesizes azo dyes directly on silk fibroin (SF) using a three-step chemical modification at room temperature. Initially, SF undergoes modification with isatoic anhydride to yield aromatic primary amino-modified silk fibroin (SF–NH 2). Subsequently, SF-NH 2 is treated with nitrous acid to produce diazotized silk fibroin (SF–N 2 + ). In the final step, SF-N 2 + is combined with coupling components to directly form azo chromophores on the SF , culminating in the creation of coloured silk fibroin (SF–N N-CC). The efficacy of the three-step dyeing method was validated using infrared spectroscopy and colour development analysis. The modification sites on SF-NH 2 were identified as the hydroxyl and amino groups of amino acid residues, confirmed through simulated reactions. SF-N 2 + demonstrated excellent storage and thermal stability under dry conditions; however, its stability decreased in wet environments. Various coupling components were then reacted with SF-N 2 + to synthesize in situ yellow, red, crimson, and green azo dyes on SF. The formation of covalent bonds between the dyes and SF was verified using DMF stripping methods. The dyed SF-N N-CC fabrics underwent testing for fastness, revealing wet fastness rating above grade 4. These findings demonstrate that the three-step modification process represents an innovative, energy-efficient, and fast-reacting dyeing method for SF. • A novel dyeing method which synthesizes azo dyes directly on SF by a three-step chemical modification is provided. • The three-step modification process represents an innovative, energy-efficient, and fast-reactive dyeing method for SF. • The SF-N=N-CC fabrics show great colour fastness properties as well as those dyed SF fabrics by reactive dyes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the rapidly evolving Metaverse, enhancing user immersion through clear, lifelike, and ergonomic near‐eye displays is crucial. However, existing rigid near‐eye displays encounter challenges such as insufficient resolution, limited adaptability, and suboptimal visual experiences. To address these issues, a strategic shift is proposed to flexible ultrahigh‐resolution (FUR) displays, which combine ultrahigh resolution with the ability to conform to individual eye curvature for a more realistic field of view. FUR quantum dot light‐emitting diodes (FUR‐QLEDs) featuring 9072 pixels per inch (PPI), a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 15.7%, and peak brightness of 15 163 cd m−2 are achieved through the integration of nanoimprinting and surface modification technologies. The degradation mechanism of FUR‐QLEDs under bending fatigue tests is investigated, identifying the high elastic modulus of the insulating patterned film as the primary cause through theoretical analysis, simulation, and experimental characterizations. Optimizing the elastic modulus of the patterned film enabled to maintain 91% of its initial brightness after 400 bending cycles, demonstrating exceptional bending stability and durability of FUR‐QLEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: In recent years, an increasing number of clinical prediction models have been developed to serve clinical care. Establishing a data-driven prediction model based on large-scale electronic health record (EHR) data can provide a more empirical basis for clinical decision making. However, research on model generalization and continuous improvement is insufficiently focused, which also hinders the application and evaluation of prediction models in real clinical environments. Therefore, this study proposes a multicenter collaborative prediction model construction framework to build a prediction model with greater generalizability and continuous improvement capabilities while preserving patient data security and privacy.Materials and Methods: Based on a multicenter collaborative research network, such as the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI), a multicenter collaborative prediction model construction framework is proposed. Based on the idea of multi-source transfer learning, in each source hospital, a base classifier was trained according to the model research setting. Then, in the target hospital with missing calibration data, a prediction model was established through weighted integration of base classifiers from source hospitals based on the smoothness assumption. Moreover, a passive-aggressive online learning algorithm was used for continuous improvement of the prediction model, which can help to maintain a high predictive performance to provide reliable clinical decision-making abilities. To evaluate the proposed prediction model construction framework, a prototype system for colorectal cancer prognosis prediction was developed. To evaluate the performance of models, 70,906 patients were screened, including 70,090 from 5 US hospital-specific datasets and 816 from a Chinese hospital-specific dataset. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and the estimated calibration index (ECI) were used to evaluate the discrimination and calibration of models.Results: Regarding the colorectal cancer prognosis prediction in our prototype system, compared with the reference models, our model achieved a better performance in model calibration (ECI = 9.294 [9.146, 9.441]) and a similar ability in model discrimination (AUC = 0.783 [0.780, 0.786]). Furthermore, the online learning process provided in this study can continuously improve the performance of the prediction model when patient data with specified labels arrive (the AUC value increased from 0.709 to 0.715 and the ECI value decreased from 13.013 to 9.634 after 650 patient instances with specified labels from the Chinese hospital arrived), enabling the prediction model to maintain a good predictive performance during clinical application.Conclusions: This study proposes and evaluates a multicenter collaborative prediction model construction framework that can support the construction of prediction models with better generalizability and continuous improvement capabilities without the need to aggregate multicenter patient-level data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to assess the CT and MRI features of calvarium and skull base osteosarcoma (CSBO). The CT and MRI features and pathological characteristics of 12 cases of pathologically confirmed CSBO were analyzed retrospectively. 12 patients (age range 9–67 years; 3 male, 9 female) were included in the study. Tumours occurred in skull base (7, 58.3%), temporal (4, 33.3%) and frontal (1, 8.3%). Among all, six patients received radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma. According to pathology, 11 out of 12 tumours were high-grade (91.7%). On CT, all the tumours had soft tissue mass penetrated into cortical bone with invasion of surrounding soft tissue. Six tumours were shown to have lytic density and six were mixed density. Matrix mineralization was present in 10 cases (83.3%). On MRI, tumours presented as soft-tissue masses measuring 5.9 ± 2.4 (3.9–8.0) cm. Five tumours showed low signal intensities on T1 weighted imaging with seven having heterogeneous signal intensities. One showed low signal intensity on T2 weighted imaging, two showed high signal intensities and nine heterogeneous signal intensities. All the tumours showed low signal intensities on diffusion-weighted imaging. On contrast enhanced images, seven cases showed heterogeneous enhancement, three showed peripheral enhancementand and two showed homogeneous enhancement. Dural tail sign were detected in nine cases. CSBO is rare, and is commonly associated with previous radiation exposure. A presumptive diagnosis for osteosarcoma should be considered when calvarium and skull base tumours with osteoid matrix and duraltail sign are found. CT and MR features of CSBO have not been reported. The study helps to identify CSBO and other sarcomas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To investigate the imaging characteristics and clinicopathological features of rim enhancement of breast masses demonstrated on contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM). Methods 67 cases of breast lesions confirmed by pathology and showing rim enhancement on CEM examinations were analyzed. The lesions were divided into benign and malignant groups, and the morphological and enhanced features were described. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated separately for each morphology descriptor to evaluate the diagnostic ability of each indicator. Results There were 35 (52.2%) malignant and 32 (47.8%) benign lesions. There are significant differences in the morphological and enhanced features between benign and malignant lesions. 29/35 (82.9%) malignant lesions exhibited irregular shapes, and 31/35 (88.6%) showed indistinct margins. 28/35 (80%) malignant lesions displayed strong enhancement on CEM, while 12/32 (37.5%) benign lesions exhibited weak enhancement (P  = 0.001). Malignant lesions showed a higher incidence of unsmooth inner walls than benign lesions (28/35 vs 7/32; P  <.001). Lesion margins showed high sensitivity of 88.57% and NPV of 81.8%. The presence of suspicious calcifications had the highest specificity of 100% and PPV of 100%. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of the combined parameters were 97.14%, 93.15%, 94.44%, and 96.77%, respectively. Conclusions The assessment of morphological and enhanced features of breast lesions exhibiting rim enhancement on CEM can improve the differentiation between benign and malignant breast lesions. Advances in knowledge This article provides a reference for the differential diagnosis of ring enhanced lesions on CEM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: There is still limited knowledge regarding the dynamics of soil microbial community structures and functional groups during forest secondary succession after rubber monocultures (RP) abandonment. Methods: Bacterial and fungal communities and functions were investigated for the soil from six forest stands with three replicate plots. Selected stands included an RP, four spontaneous secondary forest stands that formed after RP abandonment at 1 (SF_1), 10 (SF_10), 20 (SF_20), and 40 (SF_40) years, as well as a primary forest (PF, approximately 100 years). Results: After RP abandonment, the alpha-diversity metrics of soil microbial communities increased during the first 40 years of succession but decreased in PF. The biomarkers Proteobacteria and Mortierellomycota increased significantly (P < 0.05) by 84% and 633% in PF, respectively, while Firmicutes showed a significant decrease of 89% in comparison with SF_1. Secondary succession increased the relative abundance of bacterial functional groups related to carbon cycling and fungal functional groups (especially ericoid mycorrhizal). Soil pH was the main edaphic factor in shaping microbial communities and functions. In addition, soil moisture and seasonal variations had direct impacts on fungal communities and bacterial functions. Conclusions: Collectively, these findings suggest that different successional trajectories occur in bacteria and fungi, owing to their divergent responses to the changes in season, soil moisture, and nutrients. Specifically, the frequent shifts in bacterial dominant phyla during succession, as well as the increased susceptibility of diversity and functional groups to season, indicate that bacteria respond more quickly to disturbances compared to fungi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The three genetic populations used in this study included a doubled-haploid (DH) population derived from 'Hanxuan 10' × 'Lumai 14', a BC3F6 population from 'Lumai 14' × 'Jing 411' [introgression line (IL) population 1], and a BC3F6 population from 'Lumai 14' × 'Shaanhan 8675' (IL population 2). The genetic characters underpinning kernel morphological traits, such as kernel length, kernel width, kernel thickness, kernel length/width ratio, kernel length/thickness ratio, and kernel width/thickness ratio were analyzed. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) for all the above traits were mapped in the three populations across six, three, and three environments, respectively. The genetic effects of qKW-6A, which was detected in all three populations, were analyzed. Forty six additive QTLs for kernel morphological traits were detected in the DH population, and 20 additive QTLs were detected in each of the IL populations. A kernel-width QTL, qKW-6A, was located within the same interval in all three populations. qKT-7A-3, qLTR-4A, and qWTR-7A-1 mapped in the DH population were located in the same marker intervals as qKT-7A-1, qLTR-4A, and qWTR-7A-1, respectively, in IL population 2. qLWR-5A-2, qWTR-5A-2, and qWTR-5A-1 from the DH population were detected in five, four, and three environments, and explained 14.72, 25.11, and 25.91%, respectively, of the phenotypic variation. qLTR-7A from IL population 1 and qLWR-5B from IL population 2, detected in all three environments, explained 6.10 and 10.66% of the phenotypic variation, respectively. On the other hand, negative alleles of qKW-6A for kernel width detected in all three populations were derived from 'Lumai 14'. Donor segments including this QTL were introgressed into 18 lines of IL population 1 and 44 lines of IL population 2. The mean kernel width in these lines was greater than the recurrent parent 'Lumai 14' under drought-stress conditions in 2 years, indicating that qKW-6A played an important role in determination of kernel width. Line 157 from IL population 2 contained only five chromosomal segments from the donor parent, and these donor segments harbored no QTL for kernel width other than qKW-6A. However, kernel width in this line was significantly greater than that of 'Lumai 14' in all three environments. Thus, Line 157 can be regarded as a near-isogenic line for fine mapping and map-based cloning of qKW-6A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The three genetic populations used in this study included a doubled-haploid (DH) population derived from 'Hanxuan 10' × 'Lumai 14', a BC3F6 population from 'Lumai 14' × 'Jing 411' [introgression line (IL) population 1], and a BC3F6 population from 'Lumai 14' × 'Shaanhan 8675' (IL population 2). The genetic characters underpinning kernel morphological traits, such as kernel length, kernel width, kernel thickness, kernel length/width ratio, kernel length/thickness ratio, and kernel width/thickness ratio were analyzed. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) for all the above traits were mapped in the three populations across six, three, and three environments, respectively. The genetic effects of qKW-6A, which was detected in all three populations, were analyzed. Forty six additive QTLs for kernel morphological traits were detected in the DH population, and 20 additive QTLs were detected in each of the IL populations. A kernel-width QTL, qKW-6A, was located within the same interval in all three populations. qKT-7A-3, qLTR-4A, and qWTR-7A-1 mapped in the DH population were located in the same marker intervals as qKT-7A-1, qLTR-4A, and qWTR-7A-1, respectively, in IL population 2. qLWR-5A-2, qWTR-5A-2, and qWTR-5A-1 from the DH population were detected in five, four, and three environments, and explained 14.72, 25.11, and 25.91%, respectively, of the phenotypic variation. qLTR-7A from IL population 1 and qLWR-5B from IL population 2, detected in all three environments, explained 6.10 and 10.66% of the phenotypic variation, respectively. On the other hand, negative alleles of qKW-6A for kernel width detected in all three populations were derived from 'Lumai 14'. Donor segments including this QTL were introgressed into 18 lines of IL population 1 and 44 lines of IL population 2. The mean kernel width in these lines was greater than the recurrent parent 'Lumai 14' under drought-stress conditions in 2 years, indicating that qKW-6A played an important role in determination of kernel width. Line 157 from IL population 2 contained only five chromosomal segments from the donor parent, and these donor segments harbored no QTL for kernel width other than qKW-6A. However, kernel width in this line was significantly greater than that of 'Lumai 14' in all three environments. Thus, Line 157 can be regarded as a near-isogenic line for fine mapping and map-based cloning of qKW-6A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Acute lung injury (ALI) is mediated by the upregulation of endothelial cell integrin β4 (ITGB4). However, the mechanisms underlying these effects are unknown. Hypothesis: Both epigenetic regulation and promoter regulation involve in ITGB4 expression Methods: To explore this further, we investigated ITGB4 promoter regulation and epigenetic modifications by simvastatin. Human pulmonary artery EC were transfected with luciferase reporter promoter deletion constructs prior to treatment with simvastatin (5 μM) to identify specific 5' regions within the ITGB4 gene responsible for statin-mediated ITGB4 expression. Regions of interest were then subjected to chromatin immuoprecipitation (ChIP) to identify candidate transcription factors (TFs). Subsequently, EC were transfected with siRNA specific for TFs of interest prior to simvastatin treatment and Western blotting for ITGB4. In separate experiments, EC were pretreated with either a trichostain (TSA, 5 μM, 2h), or 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-Aza, 5 μM, 2h) prior to treatment with simvastatin (5 μM, 16 h) followed by RT-PCR and Western blotting for ITGB4 mRNA and protein levels, respectively. Finally, ChIP-qPCR assays were conducted to assess simvastatin effects on ITGB4 promoter methylation as well as specific histone modifications including H3K9 acetylation and H3K4 trimethylation associated with transcription activation. Results: ChIP assays identified simvastatin-induced NF-kB binding to the ITGB4 promoter. Subsequently, we confirmed that silencing of NF-kB2 specifically inhibits ITGB4 upregulation by simvastatin. Using CHIP-qPCR, we identified H3K9 acetylation and H3K4 trimethylation of ITGB4 promoter target regions by simvastatin. In addition, Inhibition of histone deacetylation (TSA) resulted in increased simvastatin-induced ITGB4 expression while inhibition of histone methylation (5-Aza) was associated with increased ITGB4 expression in response to simvastatin. Conclusions: These data confirm ITGB4 upregulation by simvastatin is mediated by both NF-kB activation of the ITGB4 promoter as well as specific epigenetic changes including DNA methylation and histone modifications. Our findings identify mechanisms of ITGB4 expression regulation which may ultimately lead to novel therapeutic strategies in patients with ALI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Accurately distinguishing between pulmonary infection and colonization in patients with Acinetobacter baumannii is of utmost importance to optimize treatment and prevent antibiotic abuse or inadequate therapy. An efficient automated sorting tool could prompt individualized interventions and enhance overall patient outcomes. This study aims to develop a robust machine learning classification model using a combination of time-series chest radiographs and laboratory data to accurately classify pulmonary status caused by Acinetobacter baumannii. Methods: We proposed nested logistic regression models based on different time-series data to automatically classify the pulmonary status of patients with Acinetobacter baumannii. Advanced features were extracted from the time-series data of hospitalized patients, encompassing dynamic pneumonia indicators observed on chest radiographs and laboratory indicator values recorded at three specific time points. Results: Data of 152 patients with Acinetobacter baumannii cultured from sputum or alveolar lavage fluid were retrospectively analyzed. Our model with multiple time-series data demonstrated a higher performance of AUC (0.850, with a 95% confidence interval of [0.638–0.873]), an accuracy of 0.761, a sensitivity of 0.833. The model, which only incorporated a single time point feature, achieved an AUC of 0.741. The influential model variables included difference in the chest radiograph pneumonia score. Conclusion: Dynamic assessment of time-series chest radiographs and laboratory data using machine learning allowed for accurate classification of colonization and infection with Acinetobacter baumannii. This demonstrates the potential to help clinicians provide individualized treatment through early detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the study concerrning testicular teratoma. The author mentions that the rarity of struma testist makes it difficult for prospective trials to validate the optimal treatment choices. Moreover, he adds that sequential thyroglobulin levels are fundamental to early detection of possible recurrence of malignancy wherein relapses most commonly present at the primary site of the tumor.

Abstract Acute lung injury (ALI) is characterized by endothelial barrier disruption resulting in increased vascular permeability. As focal adhesion kinase (FAK), a non-receptor protein tyrosine kinase, is involved in endothelial cell (EC) barrier regulation, we hypothesized that FAK inhibition could attenuate agonist-induced EC barrier disruption relevant to ALI. Human lung EC were pretreated with one of three pharmacologic FAK inhibitors, PF-573,228 (PF-228, 10 μM), PF-562,271 (PF-271, 5 μM) or NVP-TAE226 (TAE226, 5 μM) for 30 min prior to treatment with thrombin (1 U/ml, 30 min). Western blotting confirmed attenuated thrombin-induced FAK phosphorylation associated with all three inhibitors. Subsequently, EC were pretreated with either PF-228 (10 μM), TAE226 (5 μM) or PF-271 (5 μM) for 30 min prior to thrombin stimulation (1 U/ml) followed by measurements of barrier integrity by transendothelial electrical resistance (TER). Separately, EC grown in transwell inserts prior to thrombin (1 U/ml) with measurements of FITC-dextran flux after 30 min confirmed a significant attenuation of thrombin-induced EC barrier disruption by PF-228 alone. Finally, in a murine ALI model induced by LPS (1.25 mg/ml, IT), rescue treatment with PF-228 was associated with significantly reduced lung injury. Our findings PF-228, currently being studied in clinical trials, may serve as a novel and effective therapeutic agent for ALI. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simvastatin, an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, has lung vascular-protective effects that are associated with decreased agonist-induced integrin β4 (ITGB4) tyrosine phosphorylation. Accordingly, we hypothesized that endothelial cell (EC) protection by simvastatin is dependent on these effects and sought to further characterize the functional role of ITGB4 as a mediator of EC protection in the setting of excessive mechanical stretch at levels relevant to ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI). Initially, early ITGB4 tyrosine phosphorylation was confirmed in human pulmonary artery EC subjected to excessive cyclic stretch (18% CS). EC overexpression of mutant ITGB4 with specific tyrosines mutated to phenylalanine (Y1440, Y1526 Y1640, or Y1422) resulted in significantly attenuated CS-induced cytokine expression (IL6, IL-8, MCP-1, and RANTES). In addition, EC overexpression of ITGB4 constructs with specific structural deletions also resulted in significantly attenuated CS-induced inflammatory cytokine expression compared to overexpression of wildtype ITGB4. Finally, mice expressing a mutant ITGB4 lacking a cytoplasmic signaling domain were found to have attenuated lung injury after VILI-challenge (VT = 40 ml/kg, 4 h). Our results provide mechanistic insights into the anti-inflammatory properties of statins and may ultimately lead to novel strategies targeted at ITGB4 signaling to treat VILI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The group of avian sarcoma and leukosis virus (ASLV) in chickens contains six highly related subgroups, A to E and J. Four genetic loci, tva, tvb, tvc and tvj, encode for corresponding receptors that determine the susceptibility to the ASLV subgroups. The prevalence of ASLV in hosts may have imposed strong selection pressure toward resistance to ASLV infection, and the resistant alleles in all four receptor genes have been identified. In this study, two new alleles of the tva receptor gene, tvar5 and tvar6, with similar intronic deletions were identified in Chinese commercial broilers. These natural mutations delete the deduced branch point signal within the first intron, disrupting mRNA splicing of the tva receptor gene and leading to the retention of intron 1 and introduction of premature TGA stop codons in both the longer and shorter tva isoforms. As a result, decreased susceptibility to subgroup A ASLV in vitro and in vivo was observed in the subsequent analysis. In addition, we identified two groups of heterozygous allele pairs which exhibited quantitative differences in host susceptibility to ASLV-A. This study demonstrated that defective splicing of the tva receptor gene can confer genetic resistance to ASLV subgroup A in the host. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the difficulty of distinguishing the color component in top dyed melange yarn due to the spectral overlap of the component colors, a novel color component analysis method based on support vector machine is presented. With this method, spectra data can be distinguished more accurately and effectively than with the traditional method-human-eye detection-and therefore, the method will be very helpful for accurate color matching. In our work, the core idea was to convert the overlapped spectra data into linearly separable ones in a high dimension space, followed by recognition and determination of the composition of melange yarn by trained support vector machine classifier. The effects of four kernel functions, i.e., linear, radial basis kernel, sigmoid, and polynomial, as well as five spectral preprocessing methods, including amplification, first derivative, second derivative, principal components analysis, and L*a*b* values were studied. The results demonstrated that with the amplification factor of 100 of reflectance spectra coupled with L*a*b* as input data, and using radial basis kernel as kernel function, the highest recognition rate was achieved, with an average recognition rate of eight colors of 96.5%, indicating that it was a better color component analysis method for top dyed melange yarn. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 41, 636-641, 2016 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Anatidae contains numerous waterfowl species with great economic value, but the genetic diversity basis remains insufficiently investigated. Here, we report a chromosome-level genome assembly of Lion-head goose (Anser cygnoides), a native breed in South China, through the combination of PacBio, Bionano, and Hi-C technologies. Findings The assembly had a total genome size of 1.19 Gb, consisting of 1,859 contigs with an N50 length of 20.59 Mb, generating 40 pseudochromosomes, representing 97.27% of the assembled genome, and identifying 21,208 protein-coding genes. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that geese and ducks diverged approximately 28.42 million years ago, and geese have undergone massive gene family expansion and contraction. To identify genetic markers associated with body weight in different geese breeds, including Wuzong goose, Huangzong goose, Magang goose, and Lion-head goose, a genome-wide association study was performed, yielding an average of 1,520.6 Mb of raw data that detected 44,858 single-mucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Genome-wide association study showed that 6 SNPs were significantly associated with body weight and 25 were potentially associated. The significantly associated SNPs were annotated as LDLRAD4, GPR180 , and OR , enriching in growth factor receptor regulation pathways. Conclusions We present the first chromosome-level assembly of the Lion-head goose genome, which will expand the genomic resources of the Anatidae family, providing a basis for adaptation and evolution. Candidate genes significantly associated with different goose breeds may serve to understand the underlying mechanisms of weight differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The transition from fertilized egg to embryo in chicken requires activation of hundreds of genes that were mostly inactivated before fertilization, which is accompanied with various biological processes. Undoubtedly, transcription factors (TFs) play important roles in regulating the changes in gene expression pattern observed at early development. However, the contribution of TFs during early embryo development of chicken still remains largely unknown that need to be investigated. Therefore, an understanding of the development of vertebrates would be greatly facilitated by study of the dynamic changes in transcription factors during early chicken embryo. Results: In the current study, we selected five early developmental stages in White Leghorn chicken, gallus gallus, for transcriptome analysis, cover 17,478 genes with about 807 million clean reads of RNA-sequencing. We have compared global gene expression patterns of consecutive stages and noted the differences. Comparative analysis of differentially expressed TFs (FDR < 0.05) profiles between neighboring developmental timepoints revealed significantly enriched biological categories associated with differentiation, development and morphogenesis. We also found that Zf-C2H2, Homeobox and bHLH were three dominant transcription factor families that appeared in early embryogenesis. More importantly, a TFs co-expression network was constructed and 16 critical TFs were identified. Conclusion: Our findings provide a comprehensive regulatory framework of TFs in chicken early embryo, revealing new insights into alterations of chicken embryonic TF expression and broadening better understanding of TF function in chicken embryogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To investigate the efficacy of subhypothermia in the treatment of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) combined with myocardial damage. Methods. 136 children with HIE and myocardial damage admitted to our hospital from October 2019 to October 2021 were included in the study and were divided into study group and control group of 68 cases each according to the random number table method. The control group was given conventional treatment, and the study group was treated with subhypothermia therapy on top of the control group. Comparing the effects of treatment between the two groups. The serum levels of S-100 β protein, Tau protein, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase isoenzyme MB (CK-MB), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alpha-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (ɑ -HBDH), myoglobin (Myo), cardiac trophic factor-1 (CT-1), cardiac troponin I (cTnI), superoxide dismutase (SOD), reactive oxygen species (ROS), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), interleukin-1 β (IL-1 β), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and tumor necrosis factor- ɑ (TNF- ɑ) were measured in both groups before and after treatment, respectively. Results. The total effective rate was higher in the study group (88.24%) than in the control group (72.06%) (P < 0.05). After treatment, the serum levels of S-100 β protein, Tau protein, NSE, CK, CK-MB, LDH, ɑ -HBDH, Myo, CT-1, cTnI, ROS, IL-1 β, IL-8, and TNF- ɑ were reduced in both groups, and the study group was lower than the control group (P < 0.05). The serum levels of SOD and GSH-Px were higher in both groups after treatment than before treatment and were higher in the study group than in the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion. Subhypothermia treatment of children with HIE combined with myocardial injury can further improve the hypoxic-ischemic state; reduce myocardial damage, oxidative stress, and inflammatory response; and has a good overall efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The association between oral dysbiosis and chronic kidney disease (CKD) has gained increasing attention in recent years. Diabetes and hypertension are the most common conditions in CKD. However, a case-control study with matched confounding variables on the salivary microbiome in CKD and the influence of diabetes and hypertension on the microbiome has never been reported.Methods: In our study, we compared the salivary microbiome profile between patients with CKD and healthy controls (HC) using 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing and examine its association with diabetes, hypertension, and immunity.Results: We observed that the bacterial community was skewed in the saliva of CKD, with increased Lautropia and Pseudomonas, and decreased Actinomyces, Prevotella, Prevotella 7, and Trichococcus. No difference in the bacterial community between the CKD patients complicated with and without diabetes, and between those with and without hypertension. Prevotella 7 declined in CKD patients with/without hypertension with respect to HC, while Pseudomonas increased in CKD patients with/without hypertension. Pseudomonas was negatively associated with immunoglobin G in CKD patients. Both CKD patients with positive and negative antistreptolysin O had declined Prevotella 7 and Trichococcus compared to HC, whereas increased Pseudomonas.Conclusions: Our study identifies a distinct bacterial saliva microbiome in CKD patients characterized by alteration in composition. We unravel here that the co-occurrence diseases of diabetes and hypertension are not associated with specific bacterial alterations, suggesting that bacterial dysbiosis in saliva plays a role in renal damage regardless of the occurrence of diabetes and hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies suggest that deficits in cognition may increase the risk of suicide. Our study aims to develop a machine learning (ML) algorithm-based suicide risk prediction model using cognition in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods: Participants comprised 52 depressed suicide attempters (DSA) and 61 depressed non-suicide attempters (DNS), and 98 healthy controls (HC). All participants were required to complete a series of questionnaires, the Suicide Stroop Task (SST) and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). The performance in IGT was analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA. ML with extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) classification algorithm and locally explanatory techniques assessed performance and relative importance of characteristics for predicting suicide attempts. Prediction performances were compared with the area under the curve (AUC), decision curve analysis (DCA), and net reclassification improvement (NRI). Results: DSA and DNS preferred to select the card from disadvantageous decks (decks "A" + "B") under risky situation (p = 0.023) and showed a significantly poorer learning effect during the IGT (F = 2.331, p = 0.019) compared with HC. Performance of XGBoost model based on demographic and clinical characteristics was compared with that of the model created after adding cognition data (AUC, 0.779 vs. 0.819, p > 0.05). The net benefit of model was improved and cognition resulted in continuous reclassification improvement with NRI of 5.3%. Several clinical dimensions were significant predictors in the XGBoost classification algorithm. Limitations: A limited sample size and failure to include sufficient suicide risk factors in the predictive model. Conclusion: This study demonstrate that cognitive deficits may serve as an important risk factor to predict suicide attempts in patients with MDD. Combined with other demographic characteristics and attributes drawn from clinical questionnaires, cognitive function can improve the predictive effectiveness of the ML model. Additionally, explanatory ML models can help clinicians detect specific risk factors for each suicide attempter within MDD patients. These findings may be helpful for clinicians to detect those at high risk of suicide attempts quickly and accurately, and help them make proactive treatment decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On a single-cylinder gasoline engine test bench, the experimental study of the effects of polishing the combustion chamber wall and piston top surface on the indicated thermal efficiency and combustion characteristics were carried out, and the mutual influence of combustion phase, combustion duration and indicated thermal efficiency before and after polishing the wall of combustion system was systematically analyzed. The results show that when the single-cylinder gasoline engine operates at stoichiometric air-fuel ratio, low load and low compression ratio, the heat transfer loss of the polished combustion chamber is reduced and the fuel economy is improved, and the indicated thermal efficiency is increased from 40.8 to 42.2 %. With the increasing of load and compression ratio, the knock effect caused by the reduction of heat transfer loss after polishing is enhanced, and the combustion phase is delayed and the combustion duration is prolonged, which eventually leads to the decrease of the indicated thermal efficiency. After combustion chamber polishing, HC and NOx decrease by up to 70 %. With the increase of compression ratio, HC emission gradually increases, while NOx emission gradually decreases. There is no obvious change trend of CO emission before and after polishing. When the gasoline engine operates in lean combustion mode, the indicated thermal efficiency increases effectively, and the highest thermal efficiency exceeds 45 %; When the gasoline engine operates at indicated mean effective pressure of 1.05 MPa, the reduction of heat transfer loss in the combustion chamber after polishing enhances the knocking tendency, resulting in the overall decrease of the gross indicated thermal efficiency compared with that before polishing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waterfowl parvovirus (WPFs) has multiple effects on the intestinal tract, but the effects of recombinant Muscovy duck parvovirus (rMDPV) have not been elucidated. In this study, 48 one-day-old Muscovy ducklings were divided into an infected group and a control group. Plasma and ileal samples were collected from both groups at 2, 4, 6, and 8 days post-infection (dpi), both six ducklings at a time. Next, we analyzed the genomic sequence of the rMDPV strain. Results showed that the ileal villus structure was destroyed seriously at 4, 6, 8 dpi, and the expression of ZO-1, Occludin, and Claudin-1 decreased at 4, 6 dpi; 4, 6, 8 dpi; and 2, 6 dpi, respectively. Intestinal cytokines IFN-α, IL-1β and IL-6 increased at 6 dpi; 8 dpi; and 6, 8 dpi, respectively, whereas IL-2 decreased at 6, 8 dpi. The diversity of ileal flora increased significantly at 4 dpi and decreased at 8 dpi. The bacteria Ochrobactrum and Enterococcus increased and decreased at 4, 8 dpi; 2, 4 dpi, respectively. Plasma MDA increased at 2 dpi, SOD, CAT, and T-AOC decreased at 2, 4, 8 dpi; 4, 8 dpi; and 4, 6, 8 dpi, respectively. These results suggest that rMDPV infection led to early intestinal barrier dysfunction, inflammation, ileac microbiota disruption, and oxidative stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Anthracycline and taxane-based chemotherapy are the cornerstone of adjuvant therapy for early breast cancer. In recent years, several trials explored the efficacy of the anthracycline-free regimens, especially for HER2-negative breast cancer patients, which turned out to be a feasible alternative. However, there is no comparison between epirubicin and cyclophosphamide versus docetaxel and cyclophosphamide about their safety and efficacy to date. ELEGANT is the first phase III randomized trial comparing the safety and efficacy of EC versus TC, and it reports comprehensive safety profiles of both regimens with a primary endpoint of grade 3 to 4 neutropenia rate. Background: In adjuvant settings, epirubicin and cyclophosphamide (EC) and docetaxel and cyclophosphamide (TC) are both optional chemotherapy regimens for lymph node-negative, hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal receptor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer patients. Neutropenia is one of the most common adverse events (AEs) of these regimens. The rate of grade 3–4 neutropenia varies in different studies, and direct comparisons of safety profiles between EC and TC are lacking. Method: ELEGANT (NCT02549677) is a prospective, randomized, open-label, noninferior hematological safety trial. Eligible patients with lymph node-negative HR+/HER2-tumors (1:1) were randomly assigned to received four cycles of EC (90/600 mg/m2) or TC (75/600 mg/m2) every three weeks as adjuvant chemotherapy. The primary endpoint was the incidence of grade 3 or 4 neutropenia defined by National Cancer Institute-Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI-CTCAE) version 4.0 on an intention-to-treat basis. Noninferiority was defined as an upper 95% CI less than a noninferiority margin of 15%. Results: In the intention-to-treat population, 140 and 135 patients were randomized into the EC and TC arms, respectively. For the primary endpoint, the rate of grade 3 or 4 neutropenia is 50.71% (95% CI: 42.18%, 59.21%) in the EC arm and 48.15% (95% CI: 39.53%, 56.87%) in the TC arm (95%CI risk difference: −0.100, 0.151), showing the noninferiority of the EC arm. For secondary endpoints, the rate of all-grade anemia is higher in the EC arm (EC 42.86% versus TC 22.96%, p = 0.0007), and more patients suffer from nausea/vomiting, hair loss, and nail changes (p < 0.01) in the EC arm. No statistically different disease-free survival was observed between the two arms (p = 0.13). Conclusion: EC is not inferior to TC in the rate of grade 3 or 4 neutropenia, but more other AEs were observed in the EC group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 2020, breast cancer becomes the most leading diagnosed cancer all over the world. The burden is increasing in the prevention and treatment of breast cancer. Accurately detecting breast lesions in screening images is important for early detection of cancer. Architectural distortion (AD) is one of the breast lesions that need to be detected. Purpose: To develop a deep‐learning‐based computer‐aided detection (CADe) model for AD in digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT). This model uses the superior–inferior directional context of DBT and anatomic prior knowledge to reduce false positive (FP). It can identify some negative samples that cannot be distinguished by deep learning features. Methods: The proposed CADe model consists of three steps. In the first step, a deep learning detection network detects two‐dimensional (2D) candidates of ADs in DBT slices with the inputs preprocessed by Gabor filters and convergence measure. In the second step, three‐dimensional (3D) candidates are obtained by stacking 2D candidates along superior–inferior direction. In the last step, FP reduction for 3D candidates is implemented based on superior–inferior directional context and anatomic prior knowledge of breast. DBT data from 99 cases with AD were used as the training set to train the CADe model, and data from 208 cases were used as an independent test set (including 108 cases with AD and 100 cases without AD as the control group). The free‐response receiver operating characteristic and mean true positive fraction (MTPF) in the range of 0.05–2.0 FPs per volume are used to evaluate the model. Results: Compared with the baseline model based on convergence measure, our proposed method demonstrates significant improvement (MTPF: 0.2826 ± 0.0321 vs. 0.6640 ± 0.0399). Results of an ablation study show that our proposed context‐ and anatomy‐based FP reduction methods improve the detection performance. The number of FPs per DBT volume reduces from 2.47 to 1.66 at 80% sensitivity after employing these two schemes. Conclusions: The deep learning model demonstrates practical value for AD detection. The results indicate that introducing superior–inferior directional context and anatomic prior knowledge into model can indeed reduce FPs and improve the performance of CADe model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]