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Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is an established human lung carcinogen, but the carcinogenesis mechanism is poorly understood. Chromosome instability, a hallmark of lung cancer, is considered a major driver of Cr(VI)-induced lung cancer. Unrepaired DNA double-strand breaks are the underlying cause, and homologous recombination repair is the primary mechanism preventing Cr(VI)-induced DNA breaks from causing chromosome instability. Cell culture studies show acute Cr(VI) exposure causes DNA double-strand breaks and increases homologous recombination repair activity. However, the ability of Cr(VI)-induced DNA breaks and repair impact has only been reported in cell culture studies. Therefore, we investigated whether acute Cr(VI) exposure could induce breaks and homologous recombination repair in rat lungs. Male and female Wistar rats were acutely exposed to either zinc chromate particles in a saline solution or saline alone by oropharyngeal aspiration. This exposure route resulted in increased Cr levels in each lobe of the lung. We found Cr(VI) induced DNA double-strand breaks in a concentration-dependent manner, with females being more susceptible than males, and induced homologous recombination repair at similar levels in both sexes. Thus, these data show this driving mechanism discovered in cell culture indeed translates to lung tissue in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chromosome instability, a hallmark of lung cancer, is a driving mechanism for hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] carcinogenesis in humans. Cr(VI) induces structural and numerical chromosome instability in human lung cells by inducing DNA double-strand breaks and inhibiting homologous recombination repair and causing spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) bypass and centrosome amplification. Great whales are long-lived species with long-term exposures to Cr(VI) and accumulate Cr in their tissue, but exhibit a low incidence of cancer. Data show Cr(VI) induces fewer chromosome aberrations in whale cells after acute Cr(VI) exposure suggesting whale cells can evade Cr(VI)-induced chromosome instability. However, it is unknown if whales can evade Cr(VI)-induced chromosome instability. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that whale cells resist Cr(VI)-induced loss of homologous recombination repair activity and increased SAC bypass and centrosome amplification. We found Cr(VI) induces similar amounts of DNA double-strand breaks after acute (24 h) and prolonged (120 h) exposures in whale lung cells, but does not inhibit homologous recombination repair, SAC bypass, or centrosome amplification, and does not induce chromosome instability. These data indicate whale lung cells resist Cr(VI)-induced chromosome instability, the major driver for Cr(VI) carcinogenesis at a cellular level, consistent with observations that whales are resistant to cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-cell (SC) analysis offers new insights into the study of fundamental biological phenomena and cellular heterogeneity. The superior sensitivity, high throughput, and rich chemical information provided by mass spectrometry (MS) allow MS to emerge as a leading technology for molecular profiling of SC omics, including the SC metabolome, lipidome, and proteome. However, issues such as ionization suppression, low concentration, and huge span of dynamic concentrations of SC components lead to poor MS response for certain types of molecules. It is noted that chemical tagging/derivatization has been adopted in SCMS analysis, and this strategy has been proven an effective solution to circumvent these issues in SCMS analysis. Herein, we review the basic principle and general strategies of chemical tagging/derivatization in SCMS analysis, along with recent applications of chemical derivatization to single-cell metabolomics and multiplexed proteomics, as well as SCMS imaging. Furthermore, the challenges and opportunities for the improvement of chemical derivatization strategies in SCMS analysis are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Histologic evaluation of the mucosal changes associated with celiac disease is important for establishing an accurate diagnosis and monitoring the impact of investigational therapies. While the Marsh-Oberhuber classification has been used to categorize the histologic findings into discrete stages (i.e., Type 0-3c), significant variability has been documented between observers using this ordinal scoring system. Therefore, we evaluated whether pathologist-trained machine learning classifiers can be developed to objectively quantitate the pathological changes of villus blunting, intraepithelial lymphocytosis, and crypt hyperplasia in small intestine endoscopic biopsies. Methods: A convolutional neural network (CNN) was trained and combined with a secondary algorithm to quantitate intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) with 5 classes on CD3 immunohistochemistry whole slide images (WSI) and used to correlate feature outputs with ground truth modified Marsh scores in a total of 116 small intestine biopsies. Results: Across all samples, median %CD3 counts (positive cells/enterocytes) from villous epithelium (VE) increased with higher Marsh scores (Type 0%CD3 VE = 13.4; Type 1–3%CD3 VE = 41.9, p < 0.0001). Indicators of villus blunting and crypt hyperplasia were also observed (Type 0–2 villous epithelium/lamina propria area ratio = 0.81; Type 3a-3c villous epithelium/lamina propria area ratio = 0.29, p < 0.0001), and Type 0–1 crypt/villous epithelial area ratio = 0.59; Type 2–3 crypt/villous epithelial area ratio = 1.64, p < 0.0001). Using these individual features, a combined feature machine learning score (MLS) was created to evaluate a set of 28 matched pre- and post-intervention biopsies captured before and after dietary gluten restriction. The disposition of the continuous MLS paired biopsy result aligned with the Marsh score in 96.4% (27/28) of the cohort. Conclusions: Machine learning classifiers can be developed to objectively quantify histologic features and capture additional data not achievable with manual scoring. Such approaches should be further investigated to improve biopsy evaluation, especially for clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, many cities have launched low-carbon pilot schemes to explore feasible local policies and actions that can be replicated on a larger scale to reduce the intensity of carbon emissions. This synthesis analysis reviews the global literature to analyse the interplay of prescriptive visions, practical responses, and evaluation methods of low-carbon urban experiments. Before 2015, low-carbon urban experiments were regarded as a sub-branch of sustainable development, and prescriptive visions were influenced by sustainability. Low-carbon urban experiments were used as an urban planning tool, and such urban planning concepts impacted the practical response and evaluation methods. After 2015, low-carbon urban experiments were influenced by many more disciplines. Planning still occupies the largest proportion of low-carbon practices, but more advanced technologies – in energy and other fields – have also been adopted and influence the evolution of low-carbon urban experiments. We find several driving factors, including political events and developments, technology change, and contributions from various disciplines including academic research. As carbon neutrality is the long-term target of many nations, achieving net-zero carbon dioxide emissions through prescriptive visions, practical responses, and evaluation methods in urban experiments demands further investigation, especially in developing countries. Key policy insights Low-carbon initiatives on a small scale are frequently practiced by local and national governments, which has reshaped the low-carbon agenda worldwide. Low-carbon development also demands efforts and commitment on the part of local urban governments to promote low-carbon development in its multiple dimensions. Policymakers at different levels of government and governance should focus on how to build on policy instruments in experimental pilots to take action at broader scales. Policymakers also need to adopt relevant indicators from social science in evaluation methods to reflect social sustainability and inclusiveness concerns in the evaluation of low-carbon urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the background of regional development, this article analyses the rise and fall of 'thin identities', which tend to be utilitarian and deployed to promote regional development. We focus on two constructed regional identities in the Greater Pearl River Delta (GPRD) in China: Pearl River Delta (PRD) and Guangdong‐Hong Kong‐Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA). We analyse the adoption of these identities through news items published in newspapers in both China's Mainland and Hong Kong. The results show that both economic and political events influence the adoption of thin identities, first PRD and then GBA. In the content analysis of news items, we investigate the pathways to their adoption and possible evolution towards thickness (broader social and cultural embeddedness) by distinguishing economic, political, social, and cultural topics. The wish of policymakers to adopt new thin identities, however, does affect the credibility of existing thick ones, a point deserving of serious consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Countries have invested in transport infrastructure and public service in recent years to reduce rural poverty and income inequality. However, the effects of transport infrastructure on the residents with economic and educational disadvantages in rural areas are still under debate. In this paper, we investigate the impact of road infrastructure on the income of rural residents at the municipal level using data from the China Family Panel Survey (CFPS) from 2010 to 2018. By using the instrumental variable regression model, we found that rural residents' household incomes benefit from road infrastructure. Within income components, road infrastructure plays a role in improving rural residents' wage and business income. Further comparing different rural resident groups, we found that rural residents with lower initial farming and business income benefit more from improved road infrastructure in terms of their farming and business income from 2010 to 2018. In addition, in poverty-stricken areas, rural residents with lower initial farming and business income benefit more from road infrastructure in improving their farming and business income. However, the household incomes of rural residents with low formal education improve less as a result of road infrastructure. Policymakers should thus consider combining transport infrastructure provision with other policy packages, such as education program or skill training, to target different groups of rural residents in China. • Explaining the relationship between road infrastructure and rural residents' income. • Rural residents with lower initial farming and business income benefit more from improved road infrastructure. • In poverty-stricken areas, rural residents with lower initial farming and business income benefit more from road infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing 3D skeleton-based action recognition approaches reach impressive performance by encoding handcrafted action features to image format and decoding by CNNs. However, such methods are limited in two ways: a) the handcrafted action features are difficult to handle challenging actions, and b) they generally require complex CNN models to improve action recognition accuracy, which usually occur heavy computational burden. To overcome these limitations, we introduce a novel AFE-CNN , which devotes to enhance the features of 3D skeleton-based actions to adapt to challenging actions. We propose feature enhance modules from key joint, bone vector, key frame and temporal perspectives, thus the AFE-CNN is more robust to camera views and body sizes variation, and significantly improve the recognition accuracy on challenging actions. Moreover, our AFE-CNN adopts a light-weight CNN model to decode images with action feature enhanced, which ensures a much lower computational burden than the state-of-the-art methods. We evaluate the AFE-CNN on three benchmark skeleton-based action datasets: NTU RGB + D, NTU RGB + D 120, and UTKinect-Action3D, with extensive experimental results demonstrate our outstanding performance of AFE-CNN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the associations between traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes and driver gene mutations as well as the clinical characteristics of patients with lung adenocarcinoma. We performed a cross-sectional study in patients with lung adenocarcinoma between June 2020 and October 2021. The patient characteristics, such as age, sex, smoking history, clinical stage, metastasis, driver gene mutations, and the type of traditional Chinese medicine syndrome/element, were collected. The associations between each TCM syndrome and sex, smoking history, clinical stage, metastasis, and driver gene mutations were analyzed. The present study included 127 patients. The most frequent TCM syndromes were Qi and Yin deficiency (39, 30.7%) and lung-spleen Qi deficiency (32, 25.2%). Eighty-one (63.8%) patients had mutations in driver genes, especially in the EGFR gene (64, 79.0%). There was a statistically significant association between a driver gene mutation and TCM syndrome (P < 0.05). Genetic mutations presented more frequently in patients with Qi and Yin deficiency (37.0%), lung-spleen Qi deficiency (30.0%), or the cold element (59.3%). Male patients were more likely to have Qi stagnation and blood stasis, whereas female patients were more likely to have lung-spleen Qi deficiency or Qi and Yin deficiency. The patients with lung-spleen Qi deficiency were usually younger than those with Qi and Yin deficiency or Qi stagnation and blood stasis (P < 0.05). Compared with the patients with other TCM syndromes, the patients with Yin and Yang deficiency were more likely to have bone metastasis. TCM syndromes were associated with driver gene mutations, sex, age, and bone metastasis in patients with lung adenocarcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arithmetic optimization algorithm (AOA) is a recently proposed algorithm inspired by mathematical operations. It has been used to solve a variety of optimization problems due to its simplicity of parameters and ease of implementation. However, it has been found that AOA encounters challenges such as poor exploration and premature convergence. To solve these issues, this paper proposes a self-adaptive AOA with hybrid search modes, named AOAHSM. In this algorithm, two hybrid search modes, i.e., the parallel search mode and the serial search mode, are established by combining AOA and differential evolution (DE) in different ways to enhance the exploration and exploitation abilities, respectively. In the parallel search mode, AOA and DE independently implement on their respective subpopulations to maintain a high distribution of the population. In the serial search mode, DE is embedded into AOA to provide more diversified solutions and thereby help the population jump out of local optima. Then, a self-adaptive conversion strategy is employed to dynamically switch between the two modes so as to achieve a better balance between exploration and exploitation. Additionally, a Levy flight strategy is used to perturb and update the best solution obtained in each iteration to further prevent premature convergence. Lastly, a binary version of AOAHSM is proposed to tackle the 0–1 knapsack problem. The proposed algorithms are evaluated on CEC2019, CEC2020 test functions, two typical engineering design problems and 45 instances of the 0–1 knapsack problem and compared with a number of state-of-the-art meta-heuristic algorithms. The obtained results demonstrate that AOAHSM and its binary version not only significantly outperform the original AOA but also achieve superior performance to the comparison algorithms in most cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct profiling of endogenous biomolecules in tissue samples is considered as a promising approach to investigate metabolic-related toxicity in organisms induced by emerging pollutants. Herein, we report the application of internal extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (iEESI-MS) to direct phospholipid profiling in the liver and spleen tissues of Nile tilapia exposed to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Combining positive and negative ion detection modes, 130 phospholipid signals were directly detected and identified by iEESI-MS in the tissues of Nile tilapia, including phosphatidyl cholines (PCs), sphingomyelins (SMs), phosphatidic acids (PAs), phosphatidyl ethanolamines (PEs), phosphatidyl glycerols (PGs), phosphatidyl inositols (PIs) and phosphatidyl serines (PSs). With the help of partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), several phospholipid signals showed a significant difference in the tissue of Nile tilapia between the control group and PFOA exposure groups. In addition, pathway analysis revealed that PFOA has a significant metabolic impact on the glycerophospholipid metabolism in Nile tilapia. Without complex sample preparation, iEESI-MS was applied to direct phospholipid profiling in the liver and spleen tissues of Nile tilapia treated with PFOA, which provided a promising methodology for investigating environmental toxicity and phospholipid-dysregulation caused by emerging pollutants in aquatic organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• CVC1302, a complex of PRRs agonist, induced improved type I immunity. • CVC1302 in oil formulation elicited marked repositioning of cDC2s to the interfollicular region (IFR) of the lymph node. • CVC1302 in oil formulation led to increased number of CXCL10-producing monocytes (Mo) in the IFR and attract antigen-specific CD4+ T cells. Multifunctional CD4+ T helper 1 (Th1) cells, producing IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-2, define a correlate of vaccine-mediated protection against intracellular infection. In our previous study, we found that CVC1302 in oil formulation promoted the differentiation of IFN-γ+/TNF-α+/IL-2+Th1 cells. In order to extend the application of CVC1302 in oil formulation, this study aimed to elucidate the mechanism of action in improving the Th1 immune response. Considering the signals required for the differentiation of CD4+ T cells to Th1 cells, we detected the distribution of innate immune cells and the model antigen OVA-FITC in lymph node (LN), as well as the quantity of cytokines produced by the innate immune cells. The results of these experiments show that, cDC2 and OVA-FITC localized to interfollicular region (IFR) of the draining lymph nodes, inflammatory monocytes localized to both IFR and T cell zone, which mainly infiltrate from the blood. In this inflammatory niche within LN, CD4+ T cells were attracted into IFR by CXCL10, secreted by inflammatory monocytes, then activated by cDC2, secreting IL-12. Above all, CVC1302 in oil formulation, on the one hand, targeted antigen and inflammatory monocytes into the LN IFR in order to attract CD4+ T cells, on the other hand, targeted cDC2 to produce IL-12 in order to promote optimal Th1 differentiation. The new finding will provide a blueprint for application of immunopotentiators in optimal formulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Immunoglobulin M plasma cell myeloma (IgMPCM) is a rare entity that is difficult to distinguish from other IgM-related neoplasms. The study aims to characterize the clinicopathologic features of IgMPCM, including MYD88 L265P and CXCR4 mutations.Methods: From our institutional archives, bone marrow biopsy specimens from January 1, 2008, to December 1, 2018, with monotypic plasma cells (PCs) expressing IgM that met current International Myeloma Working Group/World Health Organization criteria for PCM were included. Sanger sequencing was used to test for MYD88 L265P and WHIM-like CXCR4 mutations.Results: Nine cases of IgMPCM were identified. Serum IgM paraproteins were detected in eight cases. CD138-positive PC burden averaged 41.9% (5%-80%). In four cases, PCs had lymphoplasmacytic morphology with cyclin D1 expression by immunohistochemistry. Three of four tested cases were positive for t(11;14) by fluorescence in situ hybridization, one with monosomy 13. The remaining case was positive for del13q14. All were negative for MYD88 L265P and WHIM-like CXCR4 mutations. Eight patients received immunochemotherapy, with four receiving autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Median follow-up was 61 months (range, 11-120). All patients were alive except one.Conclusions: Distinguishing IgMPCM from other IgM-related disorders requires correlation with clinical, laboratory, and radiologic findings. Exclusion of MYD88 L265P and WHIM-like CXCR4 mutations may be useful to diagnose IgMPCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wide application of nano-particles (NPs) has raised a serious concern over their impact on plants. However, evaluation of the effects of NPs on plant metabolism by direct detection of chemicals inside solid tissues presents a challenge. In this study, we report on a direct ionization method in mass spectrometry, internal extractive electrospray ionization (iEESI), for the direct evaluation of phytotoxicity of three different NPs (including CdTe quantum dots (CdTe QDs), gold nano-particles (Au NPs), and silver nano-particles (Ag NPs)) both on surfaces and inside solid tissues from the mung bean seeds (Vigna radiata) that were cultured in aqueous solutions of three NPs at 50 μg mL−1. The results showed that NPs could stimulate the biological accumulation of trigonelline and the decomposition of polysaccharides/oligosaccharides to glucose and maltose within 21 h of culture. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to apply internal extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (iEESI-MS) for the direct measurement of solid tissue samples to evaluate the phytotoxicity of NPs on mung bean sprouts. Our study lays a solid foundation for further examination of other NPs-induced damaging effects such as apoptosis/necrosis, helping us to understand the phytotoxicity of NPs on plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because negative electrode of the neutral lead-carbon hybrid capacitor is composed by the active carbon and graphite, it is general believe that only the absorption-desorption process occurs in the negative electrode. However, in this work, we find that there is a second reaction going on the negative electrode: During charging, lead ions diffused from the positive electrode can be reduced to lead crystals when the charging cut-off voltage of the negative electrode is negative to the reduction potential of lead ions. These electrodeposited lead crystals can be converted into lead sulfate crystals during discharging, and these lead sulfate crystals cannot be completely dissolved in the next charging process. When lead sulfate crystals are accumulated on the surface of the carbon material gradually, the performance of the negative electrode is inhibited. Current densities have a great influence on this phenomenon because the charging cut-off voltage of the negative electrode is negatively shifted with the decrease of current density. The anion exchange membrane can completely inhibit this phenomenon by preventing the free diffusion of lead ions. After cycling at 2 A g−1 for 3400 times, the energy retention rate of the neutral lead-carbon hybrid capacitor increases from 34% to 81%. [Display omitted] • Sulfation can occur on carbon materials in neutral lead-carbon hybrid capacitor. • This sulfation is related to the current density applied during cycling. • The edge of the negative electrode is more likely to be sulfated. • Anion exchange membrane can inhibit the sulfation on the negative electrode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the metabolic disturbance of fipronil and its derivatives in aquatic organisms may provide a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of fipronil on the ecological environment. In this work, internal extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (iEESI-MS) was used to directly analyze metabolites in the liver tissue of zebrafish exposed to fipronil and its three derivatives. Partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) revealed that 32 signals were considered as differential signals in zebrafish after the exposure treatment of fipronil and its derivatives, including phosphatidylcholines (PCs), lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs), phosphatidylethanolamines (PEs), fatty acids and so on. The pathway analysis result showed that both fipronil and its derivatives have a significant impact on the glycerophospholipid metabolism of zebrafish. Besides, the intensities of PC signals in the liver samples of each group showed such a trend: mixed fiprole exposed group > fipronil sulfone exposed group ≈ fipronil sulfide exposed group > fipronil exposed group > fipronil desulfinyl exposed group > control group, indicating that mixed exposure of fipronil and its derivatives exhibited more significant metabolic disturbance in zebrafish. Taken together, iEESI-MS is applied to environmental toxicology and investigating the metabolic disturbance induced by fipronil and its derivatives in aquatic organisms, providing a new analytical method for this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To maximize renewable energy usage to combat climate change, the penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) has increased significantly in developed countries. This can cause serious power quality issues, such as increased voltage imbalance and neutral currents, which severely impact the operation of power systems. Although the power quality issue is not a new problem, it requires an improved strategy for the growing penetration of photovoltaic solar energy and EVs in low-voltage distribution grids and their uncoordinated operation. This article presents a new control strategy to reduce the number of coordinated EVs to mitigate voltage unbalance and compensate for the neutral current. The proposed control strategy consists of two controllers arranged in a hierarchical structure with the central controller at the top layer and the local controller at the bottom layer. It is evident that the proposed control strategy reduces the number of EVs that need to be coordinated, and further, EV coordination is not required if the grid imbalance is less. This new hierarchical control strategy can improve power quality and reduce data processing overhead and computational complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phospholipids in microvolume biofluid samples (≤0.5 μL), including human plasma and single cells, were selectively captured by dispersed magnetic Fe3O4@TiO2 nanocomposite particles (40 μg). A suspension containing Fe3O4@TiO2 nanoparticles was loaded into a glass capillary (i.d. 0.75 mm) by capillary force. The supernatant solution was discarded, while the Fe3O4@TiO2 particles were retained inside the capillary by using an external magnetic field (ca. 1.3 T). The phospholipids on the surface of Fe3O4@TiO2 nanoparticles were directly analyzed using internal extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (iEESI-MS) by pumping ≤1 μL of extraction solution of methanol containing 1.5% ammonia (w/w) through the capillary tube toward the ESI tip. A single sample analysis was accomplished within 4 min. Phospholipids in blood plasma samples from 59 patients with ovarian cancer and 43 healthy controls, and 28 patients with pancreatic cancer and 23 healthy controls were studied. Based on the orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), the cancer patients were confidently discriminated from the healthy controls. Phospholipids in single human cells (MV4–11 and NB4) were determined, showing the sensitivity for single cell analysis. Therefore the results demonstrated that rapid cancer differentiation is achieved using this approach through the detection of trace phospholipids in microvolume blood and cell samples with high sensitivity, high specificity, low sample consumption, and high throughput. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparative studies of molecular alterations upon cancer between mice and humans are of great importance in order to determine the relevance of research involving mouse cancer models to the development of diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in clinical practice as well as for the mechanistic studies of pathology in humans. Herein, using molecular fingerprinting by internal extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (iEESI-MS), we identified 50 differential signals in mouse liver tissue and 62 differential signals in human liver tissue that undergo significant intensity alterations (variable importance in the project (VIP) >1.0) upon liver cancer, out of which only 27 were common in both mouse and human tissues. Out of the 27 common differential signals, six types of phospholipids were also identified to undergo significant alterations in human serum upon liver cancer, including PC(34:2), PC(36:4), PC(38:6), PC(36:2), PC(38:4) and PC(42:9). Statistical analysis of the relative intensity distribution of these six identified phospholipids in serum allowed confident determination of liver cancer in humans (sensitivity 91.0%, specificity 88.0%, and accuracy 90.0%). Our results indicate that, despite the significant difference in the overall alterations of phospholipid profiles upon liver cancer between humans and mice, the six identified 'core' differential phospholipids of liver cancer found in the liver tissues of both humans and mice as well as in human serum show high potential as a minimal panel for the rapid targeted diagnosis of liver cancer with high accuracy, sensitivity and specificity using direct mass spectrometry (MS) analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy density of carbon microtube bundles (CMTBs) is usually low and the preparation process is complex. After carbonization, washing and activation, the prepared metaplexis shell-based carbon microtube bundles (MS-CMTBs) not only have an open structure, but also a rich porous structure on the tube wall. The pulsed electrooxidation technology can promote the formation of functional groups on the tube wall and further enhance the energy density of the material. After assembling the electrooxidized material into an all-solid-state supercapacitor, the capacitor has a capacity of 15.1 Wh kg−1 at 0.5 A g−1 and a capacity retention rate of 95.9% after 10 000 cycles at 10 A g−1, indicating that these functional groups are relatively stable. The result shows that the MS-CMTBs before pulsed electrooxidation are more suitable as positive electrode materials, while the electrooxidized material can be either a positive or negative electrode material. This work provides an idea for the design and development of electrode materials in high-performance all-solid-state supercapacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing penetration of distributed energy sources (DES), such as photovoltaic (PV) solar power, battery energy systems and electric vehicles (EVs) into low voltage distribution networks is creating serious challenges for distribution network operators. Uncertain nature of these DES and EV charging is a key factor to cause unbalance, which degrade network performance in terms of energy loss, voltage unbalance, and voltage profile of the distribution network, etc. Some methods were proposed to mitigate such negative impact of these uncertain DES and EV charging from both centralized and decentralized approaches by controlling charging or discharging power of EVs. However, these methods involve all active EVs to participate in coordination and this causes significant inconvenience to EV owners along with requirements of complex communication infrastructure and huge data processing overhead. This article proposes an Internet of Things -based centralized control strategy to coordinate EV and DES distribution by using the differential evolution (DE) optimization algorithm. The obtained results show that the proposed control strategy can improve network performance (voltage imbalance, neutral current, energy loss, and node voltage) significantly. In addition, the control strategy is less demanding on communication infrastructure and convenient for EV owners as well as having a lighter data processing overhead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lung cancer is one of the most common malignancies and the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Among the technologies suitable for the rapid and accurate molecular diagnosis of lung cancer, ambient mass spectrometry (AMS) has gained increasing interest as it allows the direct profiling of molecular information from various biological samples (e.g., tissue, serum, urine and sputum) in real-time and with minimal or no sample pretreatment. This minireview summarizes the applications of AMS in lung cancer studies (including tissue molecular identification, the discovery of potential biomarkers, and surgical margin assessment), and discusses the challenges and perspectives of AMS in the clinical precision molecular diagnosis of lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is the most common biliary tract malignancy and has a poor prognosis. The clinical significance of focal vs diffuse GBC remains unclear. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted on all patients with non-metastatic GBC at a quaternary care center. Pathology was reviewed, and gallbladder cancer pattern was defined based on the extent of mucosal involvement; "diffuse" if the tumor was multicentric or "focal" if the tumor was only in a single location. Patients undergoing liver resection and portal lymphadenectomy were considered to have definitive surgery. The primary outcome was overall survival and assessed by Kaplan-Meier curves. Results: 63 patients met study criteria with 32 (50.7%) having diffuse cancer. No difference was observed in utilization of definitive surgery between the groups (14 [43.8%] with focal and 12 [38.7%] with diffuse, P =.88). Lymphovascular invasion (P =.04) and higher nodal stage (P =.04) were more common with diffuse GBC. Median overall survival was significantly improved in those with focal cancer (5.1 vs 1.2 years, P =.02). Although not statistically significant, this difference in overall survival persisted in patients who underwent definitive surgery (4.3 vs 2.4 years, P =.70). Discussion: Patients with diffuse involvement of the gallbladder mucosa likely represent a subset with aggressive biology and worse overall survival compared to focal disease. These findings may aid surgeons in subsequent surgical and medical decision-making for patients with GBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Permanent magnet motors (PMMs) have emerged as key components in numerous industrial applications due to their high efficiency, compact size, and robust performance characteristics. However, to attain optimal performance in PMM drives, accurately predicting and mitigating core losses is paramount. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of advancements and methodologies for enhancing the performance of PMM drives by integrating equivalent circuit models (ECMs) that account for core losses. Firstly, the significance of core losses in motor drives is underscored, alongside a survey of research endeavors dedicated to core loss reduction. Notably, emphasis is placed on mathematical models offering both swift computation and reasonable accuracy. Subsequently, the paper delves into the development of ECMs, focusing on approaches adept at capturing core loss effects across diverse operating conditions. Moreover, this paper explores the utilization of these improved ECMs in the design and control of PMMs to achieve enhanced performance. By integrating core loss considerations into design and control strategies, PMM drives can optimize efficiency, torque production, and overall system performance. In summary, this paper may consolidate the current state-of-the-art techniques for enhancing PMM performance through the integration of core-loss-aware ECMs. It highlights key research directions and opportunities for further advancements in this critical area, aiming to foster the development of more efficient and reliable PMM-based systems for a wide range of industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid economic growth of regions, cities have adopted various city branding strategies in competitive and occasionally cooperative relationships with other cities. Intercity connections or regional context influence city branding strategy adoption, a topic that has been neglected by previous research on city branding. The spatial relationships of city branding strategy adoption is a worthy topic due to preliminary signs of the relevance of such connections or relationships. This paper explores the spatial relationship of city branding strategy adoption in megacity regions from two perspectives: patterns and its influencing factors. Regarding patterns, megacities regions have shown spatial relationships in different city branding strategy adoption in both within and cross-regional comparisons. Considering influencing factors, this study finds that city branding strategy adoption in the three megacity regions has spatial correlations by using the spatial analysis method, while city branding strategy adoption in the same region tend to be influenced by economic or urban factors in similar ways. Thus, policymakers need to consider these spatial relationships in city branding designs and pay attention to the factors influencing city branding strategy adoption in their own regions. • City branding strategy adoption involves spatial relationships between cities in megacity regions. • The cities in megacity regions learn from each other within their city branding strategy adoption. • Megacity regions have unique features in their city branding strategy adoption. • The economic level, urban size, and industrial structure are important factors for city branding adoption in mega regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the resonance Raman spectroscopy of the heteronuclear dimers VCo and VFe, using a mass-selected cluster source. Cluster cations are produced in a sputtering source and mass filtered with a Wien filter, then neutralized and deposited in an Ar matrix at low temperatures. For VCo we obtain the resonance Raman spectra in Ar matrix excited with 457.9, 488.0, 496.5, 501.7, and 514.5 nm laser lines. We observe Raman shifts of 459 and 916 cm[SUP-1], and we assign these lines to the fundamental and first overtone of the ground state. The resulting force constant is k[SUBe] = 3.42 mdyne/Å. Resonance Raman spectra of VFe, obtained at the same five excitation wavelengths, display Raman shifts at 423 and 836 cm[SUP-1], and we assign these to the fundamental and first overtone of the ground-state vibration. The resulting force constant is k[SUBe] = 2.94 mdyne/Å. We compare these observed force constants and configurations with those of other V-X dimers (X=Ti-Ni), as well as related isoelectronic species. The value for VFe, with 13 valence electrons, is considerably lower than its neighbors. This molecule most likely has a [SUP2]σ[SUP+] ground state, stemming from a (3dσ)[SUP2](3dπ)[SUP4](3dδ)[SUP4](4sσ)[SUP2](4s&sigm a;*)[SUP1] configuration. The higher force constant for VCo with 14 valence electrons indicates either a (3dσ)[SUP2](3dπ)[SUP4](3dδ)[SUP4](3dδ*)[SUP2](4s&sig ma;*)[SUP2] configuration with a [SUP3]σ state, or a (3dσ)[SUP2](3dπ)[SUP4](3dδ)[SUP4](3dδ*)[SUP1](4s&sig ma;*)[SUP2](4sσ*)[SUP1] configuration with a 3&Delata; state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Place branding is a growing academic field, and the number of studies about place branding has proliferated in the literature in recent years. However, how the organizational environment around Chinese cities affects city branding strategies is still understudied. This contribution examines how the use of city labels has evolved in the Pearl River Delta since 2000 and explains the changes by three possible propositions: (1) self-reflection based on a city's economic and regional position, (2) vertical inspiration from the national and provincial level governments, and (3) horizontal imitation from fellow municipal governments. It appears that cities in the Pearl River Delta encouraged the tertiary sector and pursued green images in their labelling choices until 2015. Municipalities tended to follow policies formulated by higher level governments and practices of pioneer cities, while since 2015 their strategies have become more self-reflective, mature and consistent. Compared with Western cities, municipal branding is more sensitive to influence from higher level government policies. Highlights • This article investigates the evolution of city labels in the Pearl River Delta since 2000. • It explains city branding label change by self-reflection, vertical inspiration and horizontal imitation propositions. • Cities encouraged the growth of the tertiary sector through divulging green self-images until 2015. • The branding strategies of municipalities have become more self-reflective, mature and consistent since 2015. • Compared with Western cities, municipal branding is more influenced by policies from higher levels of government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Polyaniline hollow nanofibers (PANI-HNFs) are successfully synthesized by using poly (methyl methacrylate) nanofibers as a sacrifice-template via an in-situ polymerization with a subsequent dissolution process. The polyaniline hollow nanofibers as cathode material for sodium-ion batteries exhibit a high reversible capacity of 153 mA h g−1 at 0.3 C (1C = 150 mA g−1), high cycling stability (73.3% capacity retention after 1000 cycles) and rate capability (70 mA h g−1 at 8 C). The high electrochemical performance of the polyaniline hollow nanofibers originates from the one dimension hollow nanostructures with unique morphologies and highly reversible doping/dedoping property of the conducting polymer, so as to ensure well structural stability and good electrical/ionic conducting connectivity. Furthermore, this strategy can controllably prepare various hollow one dimension structures with different tube diameters and wall sizes, which has potential application for energy storage materials, catalysts, drug-delivered materials and chemical microreactors. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • PANI-HNFs are synthesized via a sacrifice-template method. • PANI-HNFs exhibits a high reversible capacity, cycling stability and rate capability. • The unique hollow fiber structure can be widely applied in other fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Against the background of globalization, city branding has become a useful strategy utilized by decision-makers in cities to promote their cities in the race for limited resources. Urban transformation factors, i.e., economic development stage and geographic position play an important role in city branding choices. We argue that city branding choices of a city can be affected by other cities through city interactions and networking. The effects of city interactions can spread across cities either through spatial proximity-referring physical or geographic connections, or logical proximity-representing city interconnectivity caused by collaboration activities. To test our argument, we develop a two-layer network model using the generalized modeling framework (GEMF) to model city branding choices, based on empirical data of sustainable brand developmental pathways from the three economic regions in China. We examine the general evolution pattern of city branding practices and construct different scenarios to analyze the impact of city interactions. The results indicate that taking city interactions as an additional factor to urban transformation allows for a better prediction on city branding choices. Policy-makers and urban planners need to consider infrastructure and economic development policies in designing city branding strategies. Highlights • Offers a novel approach to model city branding development in China. • Explains city branding choices by factors in urban transformation and city interactions through a two-layer network model. • Examines this approach using intense empirical data from all cities in the three Chinese economic regions. • Models potential future scenarios with infrastructure improvement and policy changes. • City brand choices is more sensitive to infrastructure development within a region than that between the regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Ambient mass spectrometry (AMS) allows direct molecular characterization of various raw food samples with minimal or no sample pretreatment. Because of the excellent sensitivity and specificity of analysis, AMS has been increasingly applied in food science and industry. In virtually, any type of food samples including solid, liquid, viscous, and bulk food samples could be directly analyzed using mass spectrometry powered by versatile ambient ionization techniques. Moreover, mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) offers a unique opportunity to explore the spatial-chemical information from numerous food samples. Herein, the principle of AMS, typical instrumental setup, and applications in different type of food samples are systematically reviewed, the advantages and shortages of AMS for food analysis are mentioned, and the impact and challenge of AMS on food science are briefly discussed. Highlights • Chemical diversity and complexity of food samples makes the control of food safety a great challenge in modern society. • Research and industry seek analytical methods for the direct and high-throughput analysis of various real food samples. • AMS allows direct molecular characterization of various raw/well-done food samples with no/minimal sample pretreatment. • Benefitting readers, particularly those involved in MS, AMS, food science, food industry and other food-related fields. • Highlighting the future development trends of AMS in food science and food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, low carbon urban experimentations have received increasing attention in dealing with climate change. As low carbon urban experimentations are the pilots to test low carbon practices, it is necessary to examine the factors influencing the case-selection mechanism in the low carbon urban experimentation literature and its impact on cases' carbon emission performance. We developed hypotheses about the case-selection mechanism using economic, urban and other factors. We observed that the scholar proximity and population size of cities are positively related to their frequency to be selected as cases. The case frequency of low carbon urban experimentations in the literature is positively associated with their carbon emission performance. Thus, policymakers should pay attention to the lessons from frequently selected cases in the low carbon urban experimentation literature. As scholar promixty is positively associated with case selection in low carbon urban experimentation literature. Practitioners can promote the development of low carbon research institutions and scholars, which can help cities gain more low carbon development knowledge and increase their carbon emission efficiency in the end. • Cases selected in the low-carbon urban experimentation literature are mainly in Asia, Europe, and North America. • Scholar proximity and population size are positively related to case selection of low-carbon urban experimentations. • Case frequency of low-carbon urban experimentations is positively associated with their carbon emission performance. • Policymakers should learn from lessons in frequently selected cases in low-carbon urban experimentation literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pearl River Delta (PRD) is one of the largest and fastest growing urbanized deltas in China and the world. Its municipalities hope to attract investors, firms, high-quality labour force and residents in line with ecological modernization. They do so by using a variety of attractive city labels, such as eco city, low carbon city, and smart city. The physical shape these city labels take is best exemplified in the emergence of large new towns at the fringes of existing urban areas. Few studies to date unearth empirical evidence as to how municipal governments in China implement their smart eco city ambitions. This study does precisely that by examining how concrete policy networks at the local level develop new towns in the Pearl River Delta. The Policy Network Theory is used to map the positions actors have in three different new town projects in Shenzhen, Foshan, and Zhuhai respectively. It explains project progress or lack thereof by studying the organizational constellations that structure the interactions among actors and how the constellations affect their resources exchange. Our analysis suggests that in the various arenas where policy actors meet each other and are supposed to exchange resources and work out viable policy packages, blockades exist preventing such exchanges from happening. This creates impasses to which different cities have found different institutional and organizational answers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Hard carbon is regarded as the most promising anode material for commercialization of Na ion batteries because of its high capacity and low cost. At present, the practical utilization of hard carbon anodes is largely limited by the low initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE). Na ions have been found to adopt an adsorption–insertion storage mechanism. In this paper a systematic way to control the defect concentration and porosity of hard carbon with similar overall architectures is shown. This study elucidates that the defects in the graphite layers are directly related to the ICE as they would trap Na ions and create a repulsive electric field for other Na ions so as to shorten the low‐voltage intercalation capacity. The obtained low defect and porosity hard carbon electrode has achieved the highest ICE of 86.1% (94.5% for pure hard carbon material by subtracting that of the conductive carbon black), reversible capacity of 361 mA h g−1, and excellent cycle stability (93.4% of capacity retention over 100 cycles). This result sheds light on feasible design principles for high performance Na storage hard carbon: suitable carbon layer distance and defect free graphitic layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A green approach of achieving stable aqueous dispersion of graphene by noncovalent functionalization using hydrolyzed styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer has been successfully accomplished. The alkaline solution of hydrolyzed styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer was used as the electrolyte during the electrochemical exfoliation of graphite and simultaneously functionalized the exfoliated graphene sheets. The formation of single-layer graphene was confirmed by X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy analyses. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analyses confirm the existence of hydrolyzed styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer on the surface of graphene via noncovalent interaction. The results of electrochemical measurements performed in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution indicated that the addition of well-dispersed hydrolyzed styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer functionalized graphene (SMA-graphene) into waterborne organic silicone resin system remarkably improved anticorrosion performance compared with pure waterborne organic silicone resin coating. This significantly enhanced corrosion protection is mainly due to the longer and circuitous diffusion pathway of the corrosive medium derived from highly dispersed SMA-graphene sheets in the composite coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 80-kVp and DLIR algorithm reduces 45% of radiation dose and 43% contrast dose in CCTA for overweight patients. • CCTA of overweight patients acquired at 1 mSv and 34 mL through the combination of 80-kVp and DLIR algorithm. • DLIR algorithm shows higher capacity of significantly reducing image noise and improving image quality in CCTA. To investigate the use of an 80-kVp tube voltage combined with a deep learning image reconstruction (DLIR) algorithm in coronary CT angiography (CCTA) for overweight patients to reduce radiation and contrast doses in comparison with the 120-kVp protocol and adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR-V). One hundred consecutive CCTA patients were prospectively enrolled and randomly divided into a low-dose group (n = 50) with 80-kVp, smart mA for noise index (NI) of 36 HU, contrast dose rate of 18 mgI/kg/s and DLIR and 60 % ASIR-V and a standard-dose group (n = 50) with 120-kVp, smart mA for NI of 25 HU, contrast dose rate of 32 mgI/kg/s and 60 % ASIR-V. The radiation and contrast dose, subjective image quality score, attenuation values, noise, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were compared. The low-dose group achieved a significant reduction in the effective radiation dose (1.01 ± 0.45 mSv vs 1.85 ± 0.40 mSv, P < 0.001) and contrast dose (33.69 ± 3.87 mL vs 59.11 ± 5.60 mL, P < 0.001) compared to the standard-dose group. The low-dose group with DLIR presented similar enhancement but lower noise, higher SNR and CNR and higher subjective quality scores than the standard-dose group. Moreover, the same patient comparison in the low-dose group between different reconstructions showed that DLIR images had slightly and consistently higher CT values in small vessels, indicating better defined vessels, much lower image noise, higher SNR and CNR and higher subjective quality scores than ASIR-V images (all P < 0.001). The application of 80-kVp and DLIR allows for significant radiation and dose reduction while further improving image quality in CCTA for overweight patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation and migration energies for various point defects, including vacancies and self-interstitials, in aluminium are systematically reinvestigated using the supercell approximation in the framework of orbital-free density functional theory. In particular, the finite-size effects and the accuracy of various kinetic energy density functionals are examined. It is demonstrated that as the supercell sizeincreases, the finite-size errors asymptotically decrease as. Notably, the formation energies of self-interstitials converge much more slowly than that of vacancies. With carefully chosen kinetic energy density functionals, the calculated results agree quite well with the available experimental data and those obtained through Kohn–Sham density functional theory, which has an exact kinetic term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new thioimide-based fluorescent 'turn-on' and chromogenic chemodosimeter for highly selective and sensitive detection of Hg2+ has been developed. The chemodosimeter showed not only marked color change of the solution from dark green to colorless upon the addition of Hg2+ ion, but also 100-fold enhancement of the fluorescent intensity in aqueous acetonitrile. The detection mechanism resulted from the Hg2+ induced desulfurization of the thioimide to its imide precursor. When the chemodosimeter was assembled into nanoparticles, it could also exhibit remarkably dual response of color change, fluorescence enhancement, and highly selective and sensitive detection of Hg2+. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural, electronic, mechanical, optical, thermodynamic properties of plutonium monoxide monohydride (PuOH) are studied by density-functional calculations within the framework of LDA/GGA and LDA/GGA+U. From the total energy calculation, the lowest-energy crystal structure of PuOH is predicted to have space group F 4 ¯ 3 m (No. 216). Within the LDA+U framework, the calculated lattice parameter of F 4 ¯ 3 m -PuOH is in good agreement with the experimental value and the corresponding ground state is predicted to be an antiferromagnetic charge-transfer insulator. Furthermore, we investigate the bonding character of PuOH by analyzing the electron structure and find that there are a stronger Pu-O bond and a weaker Pu-H bond. The mechanical properties including the elastic constants, elastic moduli and Debye's temperature, and the optical properties including the reflectivity and absorption coefficient are also calculated. We then compute the phonon spectrum which verified the dynamical stability of F 4 ¯ 3 m -PuOH. Some thermodynamic quantities such as the specific heat are evaluated. Finally we calculate the formation energy of PuOH, and the reaction energies for the oxidation of PuOH and PuOH-coated Pu, which are in reasonable agreement with the experimental values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyalomma asiaticum , a hematophagous ectoparasite, causes severe economic losses. We studied the acute toxicity of five pesticides (three single-agent and two combination preparations) to this organism. Engorged larval ticks were immersed in ten serial concentrations of each insecticide and observed for 20 days. The LC 50 values of the five insecticides and the cotoxicity coefficients (CTCs) of the two mixtures were estimated for H. asiaticum. The CTCs of lambda-cyhalothrin + etoxazole and lambda-cyhalothrin + fipronil were 128.83 and 331.58, respectively, each demonstrating synergism. The results indicated that these two mixtures were more effective than individual insecticides, and this study suggests a substitutional approach to the control of ticks. [Display omitted] • We evaluated the toxicity of five pesticides (three single-agent and two combination preparations) against Hyalomma asiaticum by the immersion test. • The results demonstrate that these two combinations (lambda-cyhalothrin + etoxazole and lambda-cyhalothrin + fipronil) are more effective than individual insecticides against H. asiaticum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a traditional energy and carbon intensive sector, it becomes imperative for the global paper industry to realize green development. This paper aims to provide guidance for the green transformation of global paper industry by evaluating the global paper industry green development level in a systematic and dynamic way. This paper employs text-mining method to develop paper industry green development evaluation indicator system and adopts market-extended LCA model and entropy-TOPSIS method to calculate the paper industry green development level of 48 countries/regions. The results show that during 2000–2030 the paper industry green development level of developing countries improves faster than developed countries, where those of developing and developed countries increase from 0.3369 to 0.3938 and from 0.5120 to 0.5517 respectively and the gap between them narrows from 0.1751 to 0.1579. The comparative analysis reveals that the paper industries of developed and developing countries are in different green development stages. Developing countries, represented by China, improve greatly in economic and social dimensions, but decline seriously in ecological dimension due to enlarging resource consumption and environmental damages. On the contrary, developed countries tend to saturate in economic and social dimensions and have been improving fast in ecological dimension, gradually realizing the decoupling of industrial economic development and environmental damages. To further promote the global paper industry green development, developing countries should focus on promoting the coordinated development between economic growth and environment protection and developed countries should play a leading role in the global green transformation by promoting optimal allocation of resources and cross-regional communications of green technologies. • A paper industry green development indicator system is developed based on text mining. • A global paper industry green development model is built with market-extended LCA. • Complex interactions among the indicators are internalized in the evaluation. • A spatial-temporal analysis is performed on global paper industry green development level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a traditional energy and carbon intensive sector, it becomes imperative for the global paper industry to realize green development. This paper aims to provide guidance for the green transformation of global paper industry by evaluating the global paper industry green development level in a systematic and dynamic way. This paper employs text-mining method to develop paper industry green development evaluation indicator system and adopts market-extended LCA model and entropy-TOPSIS method to calculate the paper industry green development level of 48 countries/regions. The results show that during 2000–2030 the paper industry green development level of developing countries improves faster than developed countries, where those of developing and developed countries increase from 0.3369 to 0.3938 and from 0.5120 to 0.5517 respectively and the gap between them narrows from 0.1751 to 0.1579. The comparative analysis reveals that the paper industries of developed and developing countries are in different green development stages. Developing countries, represented by China, improve greatly in economic and social dimensions, but decline seriously in ecological dimension due to enlarging resource consumption and environmental damages. On the contrary, developed countries tend to saturate in economic and social dimensions and have been improving fast in ecological dimension, gradually realizing the decoupling of industrial economic development and environmental damages. To further promote the global paper industry green development, developing countries should focus on promoting the coordinated development between economic growth and environment protection and developed countries should play a leading role in the global green transformation by promoting optimal allocation of resources and cross-regional communications of green technologies. • A paper industry green development indicator system is developed based on text mining. • A global paper industry green development model is built with market-extended LCA. • Complex interactions among the indicators are internalized in the evaluation. • A spatial-temporal analysis is performed on global paper industry green development level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is a well-known and widespread environmental contaminant associated with a variety of adverse health effects, in particular lung cancer. The primary route of exposure in humans is through inhalation. Particulate forms of Cr(VI) are the most potent but in vivo studies are difficult. Intratracheal instillation requires highly trained surgical procedures which also limits the number of repeated exposures possible and thus requires high doses. Inhalation studies can deliver lower more chronic doses but are expensive and generate dangerous aerosols. We evaluated an oropharyngeal aspiration exposure route for zinc chromate particles in Wistar rats. Animals were treated once per week for 90 days. We found chromium accumulated in the lungs, blood, and reproductive tissues of all treated animals. Additionally, we found inflammatory indicators in the lung were elevated and circulating lymphocytes had increased chromosomal damage. These results show oropharyngeal aspiration provides a practicable exposure route for chronic and sub-chronic exposures of Cr(VI) particles. • Oropharyngeal aspiration of zinc chromate particles leads to increased chromium levels in multiple tissues. • Sub-chronic exposure of zinc chromate particles in rats increased macrophage infiltration in the lungs. • Sub-chronic exposure of zinc chromate particles in rats increased chromosome instability in lymphocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Correction for 'Direct analysis of metabolites in the liver tissue of zebrafish exposed to fiproles by internal extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry' by Jun Liu et al., Analyst, 2021, 146, 4480–4486, https://doi.org/10.1039/D1AN00490E. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of ubiquitous environmental contaminants raising worldwide concerns due to their carcinogenic effects. In this study, 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP, the most widely used biomarker of internal dose of PAHs exposure) in undiluted human urine samples (10 mL) was selectively enriched by polypyrrole-coated Fe 3 O 4 magnetite nanocomposites (termed as Fe 3 O 4 @Ppy, 1 mg) and then directly eluted by the electrospraying solvent (acetone/benzene/acetic acid (v/v/v, 90/10/1); 100 uL) biased with −3.5 kV to produce the deprotonated 1-OHP anions for mass spectrometric analysis. The method established here significantly improved the current performance for detection of urinary 1-OHP, providing the speed for a single sample analysis within 4 min, the limits of detection (LOD) of 0.0001 μg L −1 , the linear response range of 0.001–5.000 μg L −1 (R 2 = 0.9994), recovery rates of 90.6–96.1%, and relative standard deviation (RSD, n = 6) values between 2.9% and 8.0%. Human samples including raw human urine collected from 10 healthy volunteers (5 smokers and 5 nonsmokers) and 7 lung cancer patients have been successfully analyzed, showing that magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) coupled with internal extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (iEESI-MS) is an alternative strategy for high throughput quantitative detection of urinary 1-OHP for health risk assessment of PAHs exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First-principles density functional theory–generalized gradient approximation methods have been used to calculate the energetics (incorporation energy, formation energy and binding energy) of rare gases (He, Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe) at the three incorporation sites (octahedral interstitial, uranium and oxygen vacancies) of uranium dioxide. The Hubbard parameter U and van der Waals corrections have been used to describe the strongly correlated electronic behavior of uranium 5f electrons and the weak interactions of rare gases, respectively. The results indicate that the energetics of rare gases depend significantly on the incorporation sites and on the atomic properties such as atomic radius. All rare gases considered here are energetically unfavorable at the three incorporation sites. However, rare gases exhibit significant binding ability to both U and O vacancies. The main trends of relative stability of rare gases generally reflect a size effect: the rare gases become more unstable with increasing atomic number. Electronic structures of these systems containing rare gases also exhibit general trends in their relative stability and charge-transfer character. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrolyte additive has significant impact on the electrochemical performance of the alloy anode material for sodium-ion batteries. In this work, the surface structure, component and electrochemical performance of the SiC-Sb-C electrode in FEC-free and -containing electrolyte have been investigated by XPS, FTIR, EIS and electrochemical characterizations. The experimental results suggest that FEC actually participates in the formation process of the SEI films on the surface of the electrode. Based on the analysis of the experimental data, a double-layer SEI film mechanism should be suggested and can well explain the mutation of the resistant and potential observed in the charge/discharge curves and EIS. Therefore, the presence of FEC in the electrolyte can minimize the reductive decomposition of the electrolyte and change the morphology, structure and chemical component of the electrode, resulting in the improvement of the electrochemical performance of the electrode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Umbilical Cord blood (UCB), which contains a substantive number of stem cells, could be widely used in transplants to treat a variety of oncologic, genetic, hematologic, and immunodeficiency disorders. However, only a small portion of mothers preserve or donate their UCB in China. The limited availability of UCB has hampered stem cell research and therapy nowadays. To date, no systemic investigations regarding factors that influence a mother’s willingness to preserve UCB have been performed in China. In the current study, we are trying to determine those factors which will provide useful information for national health policy development and will raise awareness of the importance of UCB preservation. Methods: During 2011 to 2013, 5120 mothers with the average age of 26.1±8.4 years were included in this study. Those mothers participated in a standardized survey. The information gathered consisted of delivery time, occupation, level of education, knowledge of preservation of UCB, willingness to store UCB, and related concerns. The results have been analyzed with SPSS 16.0. Results: The results showed that first-time mothers showed a greater willingness to preserve their UCB (73.3%) compared to those having their second (48.9%) or third child (40.3%). Mothers who were employed at Government Agencies and Organizations were more willing to preserve their UCB (87.3%) than those employed at factories (62.0%), and those who were unemployed (27.3%). Mothers holding master’s or college degrees were more willing to preserve their UCB (72.5% and 71.1%, respectively) than mothers with high school diplomas (48.7%) or those who only went to preliminary school or middle school (40.7%). The two strongest factors that influenced an unwillingness to preserve UCB were the high cost and concerns regarding the safety of the preservation. Conclusions: The results showed that mothers with higher education or those having better occupations are more likely to preserve their UCB in China. These mothers have related knowledge and understand the importance of the preservation and they could more readily afford the relatively high cost. The government, clinicians and UCB banks should combine efforts to take measures, such as increasing public knowledge of the importance of UCB preservation and decreasing the high cost for its storage will most likely increase the frequency of UCB preservation which will further benefit stem cell research and therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Cardiac fibrosis is a common feature of advanced coronary heart disease and is characteristic of heart disease. However, currently available drugs against cardiac fibrosis are still very limited. Here, we have assessed the role of isopropyl 3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-2-hydroxylpropanoate (IDHP), a new metabolite of Danshen Dripping Pills, in cardiac fibrosis mediated by the β-adrenoceptor agonist, isoprenaline, and its underlying mechanisms.Experimental Approach: Identification of IDHP was identified by mass spectrometry, and proton and carbon nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. Myocardial collagen was quantitatively assessed with Picrosirius Red staining. Expression of mRNA for collagen was evaluated with real-time PCR. Phosphorylated and total p38 MAPK, NADPH oxidase (NOX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were analysed by Western blot. Generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was evaluated by dihydroethidium (DHE) fluorescent staining. NOX2 was knocked down using specific siRNA.Key Results: IDHP attenuated β-adrenoceptor mediated cardiac fibrosis in vivo and inhibited isoprenaline-induced proliferation of neonatal rat cardiac fibroblasts (NRCFs) and collagen I synthesis in vitro. Phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, which is an important mediator in the pathogenesis of isoprenaline-induced cardiac fibrosis, was inhibited by IDHP. This inhibition of phospho-p38 by IDHP was dependent on decreased generation of ROS. These effects of IDHP were abolished in NRCFs treated with siRNA for NOX2.Conclusions and Implications: IDHP attenuated the cardiac fibrosis induced by isoprenaline through a NOX2/ROS/p38 pathway. These novel findings suggest that IDHP is a potential pharmacological candidate for the treatment of cardiac fibrosis, induced by β-adrenoceptor agonists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stannous sulfide@reduced graphene oxide (SnS@RGO) composite is successfully synthesized via a facile precipitation route. The structural and morphological characterizations reveal SnS@RGO composites are composed of SnS nanoparticles of the size 5–10 nm, which are uniformly anchored on the surface of RGO. The electrochemical measurements demonstrate the reversible capacity of the SnS@RGO composite – that includes contributions from the conversion reaction of SnS to Sn and Na x S and the alloying reaction of Sn to Na x Sn. The SnS@RGO electrode exhibits a reversible capacity of 457 mAh g −1 at 20 mA g −1 , superior cycling stability (94% capacity retention over 100 cycles at 100 mA g −1 ) and adequate rate performance. Compared to the neat SnS nanoparticles, the enhanced electrochemical performance of the SnS@RGO composite is primarily due to the incorporation of RGO as a highly conductive, flexible component as well as possessing a large available surface area, which provides desirable properties such as improved electronic contact between active materials, aggregation suppression of intermediate products, and alleviation of the volume change during sodiation and desodiation. Encouraging experimental results suggest that the SnS@RGO composite is a promising material to achieve a high-capacity and stable anode for NIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We find a novel R 3 ¯ m phase under high pressure by using first-principles calculations in combination with calypso algorithm. We studied the evolution of kinetic barrier employing the climbing image nudged elastic band method and observed a relatively low kinetic barrier between the hcp phase and R 3 ¯ m phase. Further calculations showed that the kinetic barrier decreases with increasing pressure. The two phases are identified to dynamically coexist in a pressure range of 300 – 380 GPa . In addition, the phonon anomaly suggests the structural rearrangement associated with the phase coexistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]