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Background: Transcolonic endoscopic appendectomy (TEA) is rapidly evolving and has been reported as a minimally invasive alternative to appendectomy. We aimed to characterize the feasibility and safety of a novel unassisted single-channel TEA. Method: We retrospectively investigated 23 patients with appendicitis or appendiceal lesions who underwent TEA from February 2016 to December 2022. We collected clinicopathological characteristics, procedure‑related parameters, and follow‑up data and analyzed the impact of previous abdominal surgery and traction technique. Results: The mean age was 56.0 years. Of the 23 patients with appendiceal lesions, fourteen patients underwent TEA and nine underwent traction-assisted TEA (T-TEA). Eight patients (34.8%) had previous abdominal surgery. The En bloc resection rate was 95.7%. The mean procedure duration was 91.1 ± 45.5 min, and the mean wound closure time was 29.4 ± 18.6 min. The wounds after endoscopic appendectomy were closed with clips (21.7%) or a combination of clip closure and endoloop reinforcement (78.3%), and the median number of clips was 7 (range, 3–15). Three patients (13.0%) experienced major adverse events, including two delayed perforations (laparoscopic surgery) and one infection (salvage endoscopic suture). During a median follow-up of 23 months, no residual or recurrent lesions were observed, and no recurrence of abdominal pain occurred. There were no significant differences between TEA and T-TEA groups and between patients with and without abdominal surgery groups in each factor. Conclusion: Unassisted single-channel TEA for patients with appendiceal lesions has favorable short- and long-term outcomes. TEA can safely and effectively treat appendiceal disease in appropriately selected cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The detection of the static strain aging extent of steel structures holds paramount significance in the safety assessment system. Tensile tests were performed on Q345 steel specimens subjected to static strain aging treatment, while simultaneously employing complementary in-situ detection techniques: acoustic emission, infrared thermography, and digital image correlation for real-time monitoring. The physical effect mechanism is initially confirmed through an analysis of the mechanical response of strain aging Q345 steel. The acoustic emission signals from the cluster 3 exhibiting high frequency and low amplitude are linked to the microplastic yield phenomenon. These signals, detected through acoustic emission technology, are considered representative of the dislocation activity in Q345 steel after strain aging. Illustrating via specimen S16-150, it is evident that as strain aging advances, there is a notable decrease of 63.02% in information entropy, 22.4% in partial power, and 55.04% in the wavelet coefficient of typical acoustic emission signals. Subsequently, digital image correlation was utilized to examine the local strain variation associated with microplastic deformation, and it was observed that Lüders bands did not form in specimens S12-150 and S16-150 due to strain aging. Finally, infrared technology was employed to monitor the instantaneous temperature of strain aging Q345 steel, facilitating the examination of its thermal energy conversion efficiency. Specimen S16-200 exhibited a fracture instantaneous temperature that was 21% higher compared to specimen S0-25. These findings establish a solid foundation for the integrity assessment of steel structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to investigate the structure and properties of Al2O3/polyolefin composites, spherical Al2O3 was pretreated with a silane coupling agent, and high density polyethylene (HDPE)/polypropylene (PP) composites were prepared by primary mixing and melt blending with pretreated Al2O3 as filler and high density polyethylene (HDPE)/polypropylene (PP) mixture (mass ratio 5:95) as matrix. The investigation of the influence of the mass fraction of Al2O3 on the structure and properties of the composites was studied. The results showed that the addition of Al2O3 significantly enhanced the thermal conductivity of the composites. Specifically, the thermal conductivity increased proportionally with the mass fraction of Al2O3. When the Al2O3 mass fraction reached 25%, the thermal conductivity of the composite measured 0.331 W/(m·K), which was 231% higher than that of the pure polyolefin matrix material. Moreover, the presence of Al2O3 particles with high filler content led to a noticeable reduction in gaps within the composite, thereby facilitating the construction of thermal conductivity pathways. Additionally, the incorporation of a lower content of rigid Al2O3 particles improved crystallization ability of the polymer. Notably, the addition of the spherical Al2O3 also significantly enhanced the melt flow rate of the composites, and improved its processing performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fungal diseases form perforated disease spots in tobacco plants, resulting in a decline in tobacco yield and quality. The present study investigated the antagonistic effect of Bacillus subtilis CTXW 7-6-2 against Rhizoctonia solani, its ability to promote the growth of tobacco seedlings, and the expression of disease resistance-related genes for efficient and eco-friendly plant disease control. Our results showed that CTXW 7-6-2 had the most vigorous growth after being cultured for 96 h, and its rate of inhibition of R. solani growth in vitro was 94.02%. The volatile compounds produced by CTXW 7-6-2 inhibited the growth of R. solani significantly (by 96.62%). The fungal growthinhibition rate of the B. subtilis CTXW 7-6-2 broth obtained after high-temperature and no-high-temperature sterile fermentation was low, at 50.88% and 54.63%, respectively. The lipopeptides extracted from the B. subtilis CTXW 7-6-2 fermentation broth showed a 74.88% fungal growth inhibition rate at a concentration of 100 mg/l. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy showed some organelle structural abnormalities, collapse, shrinkage, blurring, and dissolution in the R. solani mycelia. In addition, CTXW 7-6-2 increased tobacco seedling growth and improved leaf and root weight compared to the control. After CTXW 7-6-2 inoculation, tobacco leaves showed the upregulation of the PDF1.2, PPO, and PAL genes, which are closely related to target spot disease resistance. In conclusion, B. subtilis CTXW 7-6-2 may be an efficient biological control agent in tobacco agriculture and enhance plant growth potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies were performed on the impact of exposure to gaseous pollutants on the risk of knee osteoarthritis (KOA). We conducted this study to analyze the association between short-term exposure to gaseous pollutants and the risk of hospitalizations for KOA. A total of 2952 KOA hospitalizations derived from two hospitals in Hefei, and the relationship between gaseous pollutants and KOA hospitalizations was analyzed by a distributed lag non-linear model combined with a generalized linear model. We found that the decreased risk of hospitalizations for KOA were both related to exposure to NO2 (RR = 0.993, lag19 day) and O3 (RR = 0.984, lag0 day), while exposure to CO could increase the risk of hospitalizations for KOA (RR = 1.076, lag2 day). Stratified analyses suggested that the KOA patients < 65 years were more susceptible to O3 exposure, and the female, male, patients ≥ 65 years, and patients < 65 years were both more sensitive to CO exposure. Our findings demonstrated that exposure to NO2, O3 resulted in a decreased risk for KOA hospitalizations, and CO exposure might increase the risk of KOA hospitalizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are an important part of adaptation to biotic and abiotic stresses and regulate seed germination through positive or negative signaling. Seed adaptation to abiotic stress may be mediated by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The effects of the ROS scavenger N,N′-dimethylthiourea (DMTU) on maize seed germination through endogenous H2O2 regulation is unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of different doses of DMTU on seed endogenous H2O2 and radicle development parameters using two maize varieties (ZD958 and DMY1). The inhibitory effect of DMTU on the germination rate and radicle growth was dose-dependent. The inhibitory effect of DMTU on radicle growth ceased after transferring maize seeds from DMTU to a water medium. Histochemical analyses showed that DMTU eliminated stable H2O2 accumulation in the radicle sheaths and radicles. The activity of antioxidant enzyme and the expression of antioxidant enzyme-related genes (ZmAPX2 and ZmCAT2) were reduced in maize seeds cultured with DMTU compared with normal culture conditions (0 mmol·dm−3 DMTU). We suggest the use of 200 mmol·dm−3 DMTU as an H2O2 scavenger to study the ROS equilibrium mechanisms during the germination of maize seeds, assisting in the future with the efficient development of plant growth regulators to enhance the seed germination performance of test maize varieties under abiotic stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) poses the leading threats to human health and life, and their occurrence and severity are associated with exposure to environmental pollutants. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of widely used industrial chemicals, are characterized by persistence, long-distance migration, bioaccumulation, and toxicity. Some PFAS, particularly perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), have been banned, leaving only legacy exposure to the environment and human body, while a number of novel PFAS alternatives have emerged and raised concerns, such as polyfluoroalkyl ether sulfonic and carboxylic acid (PFESA and PFECA) and sodium p-perfluorous nonenoxybenzene sulfonate (OBS). Overall, this review systematically elucidated the adverse cardiovascular (CV) effects of legacy and emerging PFAS, emphasized the dose/concentration-dependent, time-dependent, carbon chain length-dependent, sex-specific, and coexposure effects, and discussed the underlying mechanisms and possible prevention and treatment. Extensive epidemiological and laboratory evidence suggests that accumulated serum levels of legacy PFAS possibly contribute to an increased risk of CVD and its subclinical course, such as cardiac toxicity, vascular disorder, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. The underlying biological mechanisms may include oxidative stress, signaling pathway disturbance, lipid metabolism disturbance, and so on. Various emerging alternatives to PFAS also play increasingly prominent toxic roles in CV outcomes that are milder, similar to, or more severe than legacy PFAS. Future research is recommended to conduct more in-depth CV toxicity assessments of legacy and emerging PFAS and explore more effective surveillance, prevention, and treatment strategies, accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Neer type II/bilateral distal clavicular fracture is an extremely rare injury combination, with few cases having been reported. CASE PRESENTATION: This paper reports a case of polytrauma in a 16-year-old female following a road traffic accident. The radiographs revealed distal fractures of the bilateral clavicles (Neer type II), and an open reduction and internal fixation procedure was performed. Initially, the distal fracture of the right clavicle was fixed with a six-hole hook plate before the fracture of the left clavicle was fixed using a pre-contoured lateral locking plate following reduction. At the two-year follow-up, the patient had an excellent constant score in terms of the bilateral shoulder joints. CONCLUSION: It is important to achieve stability and to aim for excellence in terms of full shoulder function in this rare combination injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-assembly of π-conjugated compounds into supramolecular polymers has received considerable attention because of their intrinsic scientific interests and technological applications. As compared to π-conjugated rods, discotics, and macrocycles, propeller-shaped π-conjugated molecules have been less exploited to form long-range-ordered supramolecular polymers. Herein a novel type of supramolecular polymers has been constructed on the basis of propeller-shaped triphenylamine cyanostilbenes. The designed compound adopts nucleation—elongation cooperative mechanism for the supramolecular polymerization process, because of the participation of three-fold hydrogen bonds between the neighbouring monomers. The supramolecular polymeric state displays amplified chirality and enhanced emission than those in the monomeric state. The resulting supramolecular polymers exhibit severe emission quenching upon addition of 2,6-dinitrotoluene, ascribed to photoinduced electron transfer from the triphenylamine cyanostilbenes to the explosive analyte. The current study proves the feasibility to supramolecular polymerize propeller-like π-conjugated molecules, serving as a promising type of explosive sensor owing to their guest encapsulation and signal amplification capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: The early diagnosis and intervention of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) are particularly important because of the lack of effective therapies and poor prognosis. Comprehensive research on early ESCC at the single‐cell level is rare due to the need for fresh and high‐quality specimens obtained from ESD. This study aims to systematically describe the cellular atlas of human intramucosal ESCC. Methods: Five paired samples of intramucosal ESCC, para‐ESCC oesophageal tissues from endoscopically resected specimens and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were adopted for scRNA‐seq analysis. Computational pipeline scMetabolism was applied to quantify the metabolic diversity of single cells. Results: A total of 164 715 cells were profiled. Epithelial cells exhibited high intra‐tumoural heterogeneity and two evolutionary trajectories during ESCC tumorigenesis initiated from proliferative cells, and then through an intermediate state, to two different terminal states of normally differentiated epithelial cells or malignant cells, respectively. The abundance of CD8+ TEXs, Tregs and PD1+CD4+T cells suggested an exhausted and suppressive immune microenvironment. Several genes in immune cells, such as CXCL13, CXCR5 and PADI4, were identified as new biomarkers for poor prognosis. A new subcluster of malignant cells associated with metastasis and angiogenesis that appeared at an early stage compared with progressive ESCC was also identified in this study. Intercellular interaction analysis based on ligand–receptor pairs revealed the subcluster of malignant cells interacting with CAFs via the MDK–NCL pathway, which was verified by cell proliferation assay and IHC. This indicates that the interaction may be an important hallmark in the early change of tumour microenvironment and serves as a sign of CAF activation to stimulate downstream pathways for facilitating tumour invasion. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the changes of cell subsets and transcriptional levels in human intramucosal ESCC, which may provide unique insights into the development of novel biomarkers and potential intervention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design simulation and fabrication results of a bandpass filter based on micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) switches are presented in this paper. The MEMS filter element consists of a MEMS capacitance switch and two resonant rings that are fixed onto coplanar waveguide lines through anchor points. The micromachine characteristics of the filter could be optimized to change the center frequency from 8.5 to 12 GHz by improving the geometrical parameters; other electrical parameters of the filter, such as stopband rejection, insertion loss, and return loss at each center frequency, were simulated and calculated. In order to evaluate the MEMS filter design methodology, a filter working at 10.5 GHz fabricated with an aluminum top electrode was used, and it displayed a low insertion loss of 1.12 dB and a high stopband rejection of 28.3 dB. Compared with the simulation results, these proposed filter showed better electrical performance. Our results demonstrated that the filter with the integrated RF MEMS switch not only provides the benefit of reduced size compared with a traditional filter, but also improves stopband rejection, insertion loss, and return loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geographic range of Zika virus (ZIKV) has expanded from Asia to the Americas, leading to the 2015–2016 pandemic with enhanced neurovirulence. At present, ZIKV is continuously circulating in many Southeast Asian countries. Unfortunately, the persistent evolution of ZIKV in Southeast Asia and its influence on the biological characteristics of the virus remain incompletely understood. In this study, the in vitro and in vivo properties of a new ZIKV isolate obtained from Cambodia in 2019 (CAM/2019) were characterized and compared with those of the Cambodian strain (CAM/2010). Compared with CAM/2010, the CAM/2019 virus showed similar plaque morphology and growth curves in cell cultures and induced comparable viremia and organ viral loads profiles in both BALB/c and A129 (IFNAR1−/−) mice upon intraperitoneal (i.p.) inoculation. Remarkably, the CAM/2019 virus exhibited enhanced neurovirulence in neonatal mice compared with CAM/2010, with a 74‐fold reduction in the 50% lethal dose (LD50). Consistently, CAM/2019 produced higher viral loads in the brains of BALB/c neonatal mice than CAM/2010 did. Sequence alignment showed that the CAM/2019 virus has acquired 12 amino acid substitutions, several of which were found to be associated with neurovirulence. In particular, the CAM/2019 virus shared an A1204T substitution in NS2A with the Thai isolate SI‐BKK02 that was isolated from a microcephaly case. Taken together, our results indicate that a ZIKV strain isolated with specific mutations has emerged in Cambodia, highlighting the need for extensive molecular and disease surveillance in Cambodia and other Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Disorders of sex development (DSDs) are congenital abnormalities in which chromosomal, gonadal, and anatomical sex development are atypical. One of these disorders, 46,XY DSD, is particularly difficult to diagnose and manage because its etiology and clinical phenotypes are highly heterogeneous. Methods: We used a gene panel containing 141 genes implicated in DSDs to perform targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) in 50 patients with 46,XY DSD. Results: Gene variants were detected in 23 patients (46%). Among them, 13 patients had previously reported pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants, 9 patients had novel variants, and 1 patient had a previously reported variant of uncertain significance. Three of the novel variants were pathogenic, and the remaining were variants of uncertain significance; therefore, 16 patients had pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants according to ACMG guidelines, and the overall diagnostic rate of 46,XY DSD was 32%. The most common gene variants were SRD5A2 variants, followed by the AR variant. In addition, we analyzed the association between gene variants and clinical phenotypes. Most patients presented with multiple DSD phenotypes (i.e., two or more DSD phenotypes were observed, such as micropenis, hypospadias, and cryptorchidism), but the phenotype with the highest diagnostic rate was micropenis. Conclusion: Our results indicate that targeted NGS can effectively detect pathogenic gene variants in patients with 46,XY DSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curing agent microcapsules with aqueous polyurethane as the shell and imidazole derivatives as the core were synthesized by interfacial reaction. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermo-gravimetric analysis were used to investigate the factors which affected the curing performance and storage stability for microcapsules. Results showed that the imidazole-derivative curing agent microcapsules with different structures of water-based polyurethane as the shell material were successfully synthesized. The microcapsules showed a round-like shape with relatively smooth surface and had a particle size between 100 and 200 nm. The encapsulating efficiency of imidazole derivatives in the microcapsule can reach 80%. The storage stabilities of the microcapsules were investigated both under ambient conditions and under 60 °C accelerated conditions. The NCO/OH ratio was found to have a great impact on the storage stability of microcapsules. When the NCO/OH ratio was 5:1, PU-shelled curing agent microcapsules containing 21.7% imidazole derivative were fabricated. The onset curing temperature of this microcapsule was 141 °C, and the maximum curing temperature was 150 °C when it was mixed with epoxy resin at the ratio of 5:1. After being mixed with epoxy resin, the curing agent microcapsule showed the storage stability of over 30 days under room temperature conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This article aims to develop an accurate and efficient meshfree Galerkin method based on the strain smoothing technique for linear elastic continuous and fracture problems. Design/methodology/approach: This paper proposed a generalized linear smoothed meshfree method (LSMM), in which the compatible strain is reconstructed by the linear smoothed strains. Based on the idea of the weighted residual method and employing three linearly independent weight functions, the linear smoothed strains can be created easily in a smoothing domain. Using various types of basic functions, LSMM can solve the linear elastic continuous and fracture problems in a unified way. Findings: On the one hand, the LSMM inherits the properties of high efficiency and stability from the stabilized conforming nodal integration (SCNI). On the other hand, the LSMM is more accurate than the SCNI, because it can produce continuous strains instead of the piece-wise strains obtained by SCNI. Those excellent performances ensure that the LSMM has the capability to precisely track the crack propagation problems. Several numerical examples are investigated to verify the accurate, convergence rate and robustness of the present LSMM. Originality/value: This study provides an accurate and efficient meshfree method for simulating crack growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Next generation cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization telescope will use large arrays of receiver with nearly 100 000 transition edge sensor (TES) detectors and receiving antennas. Such large TES and antenna array is a big challenge for the fabrication of TES and antennas. A 35‐layers silicon‐platelet corrugated horn for 70–110 GHz is designed and fabricated based on the micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) technology. Compared with the traditional corrugated horn, the last layer of the 35‐layers silicon‐platelet is designed with no corrugation to increase the beam symmetry. A parametric HFSS model of the horn was established to evaluate the performance of the horn and effect of fabrication process. The measured S11 and cross‐polarization of the fabricated prototype horn are both below −20 dB while the sidelobe at 70 and 90 GHz is below −20 dB. The beam symmetry of the horn is good in 70–110 GHz band. The measured gain is greater than 15 dBi. These results show that the performance of the designed horn meets the requirement of CMB experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ovarian cancer (OC) is one of the deadliest gynecological malignancies worldwide and has a high mortality rate. Its dismal prognosis is closely related to late diagnosis and drug resistance. Exosomes are a novel means of intercellular communication that are involved in the genesis and development of tumors by delivering a variety of biologically active molecules, including proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. As an important component, noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) are selectively enriched in exosomes and participate in the regulation of specific aspects of OC development, such as proliferation, invasion, metastasis, angiogenesis, immune escape, and treatment resistance. Therefore, strategies that specifically target exosomal ncRNAs may be attractive therapeutic options. Exosomes are readily available in almost all types of human biological fluids and are biocompatible, making them promising biomarkers of OC as well as targets for therapeutic applications. In this review, we briefly summarize the biology of exosomes, the function of exosomal ncRNAs in OC development, and their potential clinical applications as biomarkers and therapeutic tools. Ideally, exosomal ncRNAs will become increasingly valuable in the diagnosis and treatment of OC in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an urgent need for animal models to study SARS-CoV-2 pathogenicity. Here, we generate and characterize a novel mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 strain, MASCp36, that causes severe respiratory symptoms, and mortality. Our model exhibits age- and gender-related mortality akin to severe COVID-19. Deep sequencing identified three amino acid substitutions, N501Y, Q493H, and K417N, at the receptor binding domain (RBD) of MASCp36, during in vivo passaging. All three RBD mutations significantly enhance binding affinity to its endogenous receptor, ACE2. Cryo-electron microscopy analysis of human ACE2 (hACE2), or mouse ACE2 (mACE2), in complex with the RBD of MASCp36, at 3.1 to 3.7 Å resolution, reveals the molecular basis for the receptor-binding switch. N501Y and Q493H enhance the binding affinity to hACE2, whereas triple mutations at N501Y/Q493H/K417N decrease affinity and reduce infectivity of MASCp36. Our study provides a platform for studying SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis, and unveils the molecular mechanism for its rapid adaptation and evolution. In this study, Qin et al. present a murine-adapted SARS-CoV-2 strain, MASCp36, as a model for studying the pathogenicity, evolution and adaptation of the virus to human and animal hosts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Songnen Plain is an important agricultural region in China with an abundance of saline–alkaline soil that significantly restricts maize growth. Trichoderma spp., free‐living fungi, are commonly used biofertilizers. The effects of Trichoderma asperellum on the fungal community in saline–alkaline soils remain unclear; hence, in this study, three T. asperellum conidium suspension concentrations were used: 0 g (control), 0.7 g (low dose), and 1.4 g (high dose) over three consecutive years, following which high‐throughput sequencing was conducted to analyze the effect of T. asperellum on fungal diversity in the rhizosphere soil. Changes in crop yield, soil salt ion content, and pH were also monitored. T. asperellum treatment effectively regulated the soil salt ion balance, lowered the pH, and improved the crop yield by 4.88–20.26%. Additionally, the T. asperellum treatment significantly increased the relative abundance of T. asperellum and Ceratobasidium sp and inhibited that of the pathogenic fungi Neonectria and Fusarium. Changes in the soil fungal community composition were closely associated with soil properties and yield. Our findings suggest that long‐term T. asperellum exposure can alleviate saline–alkaline stress for maize growth by decreasing soil pH and salt ion content and regulating the fungal microbial community, thereby increasing crop yield. Core Ideas: Trichoderma asperellum exposure alleviates saline–alkaline stress for maize growth.Species‐specific association was observed between maize yield and fungal community in soil.Trichoderma treatment increased the abundance of beneficial fungi in rhizosphere soil.Trichoderma asperellum indirectly impacted fungal community by altering soil properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superconducting transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers require superconducting films to have controllable transition temperatures Tc in different practical applications. The value of Tc strongly affects thermal conductivity and thermal noise performance of TES detectors. Al films doped with Mn (Al–Mn) of different concentrations can accomplish tunable Tc. A magnetron sputtering machine is used to deposit the Al–Mn films in this study. Fabrication parameters including sputtering pressure and annealing process are studied and their influences on Tc and superconducting transition width ΔTc are optimized. The Al–Mn films with ΔTc below 1.0 mK for Tc in a range of 520 mK–580 mK are successfully fabricated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a vital driver of inflammation when it leaks from damaged mitochondria into the cytosol. mtDNA stress may contribute to cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway activation in infectious diseases. Odontoblasts are the first cells challenged by cariogenic bacteria and involved in maintenance of the pulp immune and inflammatory responses to dentine-invading pathogens. In this study, we investigated that mtDNA as an important inflammatory driver participated in defending against bacterial invasion via cGAS-STING pathway in odontoblasts. Methods: The normal tissues, caries tissues and pulpitis tissues were measured by western blotting and immunohistochemical staining. Pulpitis model was built in vitro to evaluated the effect of the cGAS-STING pathway in odontoblast-like cell line (mDPC6T) under inflammation. Western blot and real-time PCR were performed to detect the expression of cGAS-STING pathway and pro-inflammatory cytokines. The mitochondrial function was evaluated reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by mitochondria using MitoSOX Red dye staining. Cytosolic DNA was assessed by immunofluorescent staining and real-time PCR in mDPC6T cells after LPS stimulation. Furthermore, mDPC6T cells were treated with ethidium bromide (EtBr) to deplete mtDNA or transfected with isolated mtDNA. The expression of cGAS-STING pathway and pro-inflammatory cytokines were measured. Results: The high expression of cGAS and STING in caries and pulpitis tissues in patients, which was associated with inflammatory progression. The cGAS-STING pathway was activated in inflamed mDPC6T. STING knockdown inhibited the nuclear import of p65 and IRF3 and restricted the secretion of the inflammatory cytokines CXCL10 and IL-6 induced by LPS. LPS caused mitochondrial damage in mDPC6T, which promoted mtDNA leakage into the cytosol. Depletion of mtDNA inhibited the cGAS-STING pathway and nuclear translocation of p65 and IRF3. Moreover, repletion of mtDNA rescued the inflammatory response, which was inhibited by STING knockdown. Conclusion: Our study systematically identified a novel mechanism of LPS-induced odontoblast inflammation, which involved mtDNA leakage from damaged mitochondria into the cytosol stimulating the cGAS-STING pathway and the inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and CXCL10 secretion. The mtDNA-cGAS-STING axis could be a potent therapeutic target to prevent severe bacterial inflammation in pulpitis. 11Tk2-r6oLFg_Eti7nH7V6 Video Abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plexin D1 (PLXND1), which was previously thought to mediate semaphorin signalling, belongs to the Plexin family of transmembrane proteins. PLXND1 cooperates mostly with the coreceptor neuropilin and participates in many aspects of axonal guidance. PLXND1 can also act as both a tumour promoter and a tumour suppressor. Emerging evidence suggests that mutations in PLXND1 or Semaphorin 3E, the canonical ligand of PLXND1, can lead to serious cardiovascular diseases, such as congenital heart defects, CHARGE syndrome and systemic sclerosis. Upon ligand binding, PLXND1 can act as a GTPase‐activating protein (GAP) and modulate integrin‐mediated cell adhesion, cytoskeletal dynamics and cell migration. These effects may play regulatory roles in the development of the cardiovascular system and disease. The cardiovascular effects of PLXND1 signalling have gradually been elucidated. PLXND1 was recently shown to detect physical forces and translate them into intracellular biochemical signals in the context of atherosclerosis. Therefore, the role of PLXND1 in cardiovascular development and diseases is gaining research interest because of its potential as a biomarker and therapeutic target. In this review, we describe the cardiac effects, vascular effects and possible molecular mechanisms of PLXND1 signalling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new compounds Talaromycin A (1) and Talaromycin B (2) were isolated from a liquid culture of Talaromyces aurantiacus. The structures of 1 and 2 were elucidated by IR, MS, 1D and 2D NMR spectra and comparison of the experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism spectra. Additional known compounds (3–6) were also isolated. These compounds were tested for monoamine oxidase, acetylcholinesterase and PI3K inhibitory activity, but showed only weak activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A heterojunction photoanode of Fe2O3 loaded on a WO3 film on a fluorine-doped tin oxide substrate (FTO-WO3/Fe2O3) was prepared via a simple hydrothermal and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth method. The photoanode showed higher photoelectrochemical (PEC) water-splitting activity than that of the pristine FTO-WO3 under simulated sunlight because of the synergistic effect of Fe2O3 and WO3. The as-synthesized material was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The photocurrent density was estimated by linear sweep voltammetry and further confirmed using intensity-modulated photocurrent spectra. Experiments demonstrated that the coated Fe2O3 enhanced the separation and migration efficiencies of the photoinduced electrons and holes, improving the PEC water-splitting properties. The FTO-WO3/Fe2O3 photoanode showed a 1.25 times enhancement in photocurrent density compared with FTO-WO3. This result suggests that facile chemical vapor deposition growth is an effective way to fabricate heterojunctions and improve the properties of WO3 photoanodes for PEC water-splitting applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, solitary waves passing over a submerged breakwater are investigated both experimentally and numerically. A total of 9 experimental conditions are carried out, including different incident wave heights and water depths. Numerical simulations are performed using a high-order finite-difference model solving Navier-Stokes (N-S) equations. The predicted water wave elevation, velocity and pressure show good agreement with experimental data, verifying the accuracy and capacity of the numerical model. Furthermore, parametric studies are conducted by numerical modelling to examine the effects of the geometrical features of submerged dike on hydrodynamic characteristics around the breakwater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shallow lakes around the world are important aquatic ecosystems, yet our understanding of the relationship between the bacterial communities and their driving forces in these habitats remains elusive. We used the Illumina MiSeq platform to meta-sequence the V3-V4 regions of 16S rRNA gene amplicons to characterize bacterial community structure and diversity in relation to environmental factors in Shahu Lake located in Yinchuan plain, northwest China. We found that Shahu Lake, as a typical representative of shallow lakes, has well-mixed water that harbors major bacterial groups including Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Verrucomicrobia, Chloroflexi, RF3, and Planctomycetes. Community structure is similar from the perspective of alpha-diversity and different in terms of beta-diversity. Compared to spatial effects, total carbon plays a more important role in shifting bacterial structure in the lake, followed by total nitrogen and total phosphorus. In summary, nutrients, rather than locations, might be a key driving force in bacterial structure shift in shallow small lakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major aim of this study is to extend Zhang and Isa's (2011) study by investigating the moderating effect of the stages of ABC application on the firms' performance. This study selects 106 Chinese manufacturing companies and employs multiple regression technique and structural equation modelling. It examines whether successful application of the ABC directly affects the firm's performance, and tests whether the stages of ABC application could produce a moderating effect on the firms' performance. Results indicate that successful application of ABC, significantly affects achievement of the costs and quality, while sales volume is only marginally affected by ABC application, and there is an insignificant effect of the relationship between ABC application and achievement of the targets pertaining to productivity, services, and profits. Moreover, this study reports that stages of ABC application would improve the strength of the relationship between ABC application success and firms' performance. The findings emphasize the importance of cost, quality, and stages of ABC implementation issues for management, especially for the intention of the performance evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gallium electrodeposition from alkaline solution has a very low current efficiency, the reason for which is still not quite understood. The effects of electrode materials used for gallium electrodeposition, as well as the effects of NaOH concentration and the anions concentrations in the solution, including SO, SiO, CO, AlO, F, and Cl, on the deposition were analyzed in this study. The suitable materials of SUS316-SUS316 were suggested for the gallium electrodeposition. Based on the electrode couples, the NaOH concentration of 4 mol·L for gallium electrodeposition exhibits the greatest current efficiency. Moreover, the current efficiency would decrease in the electrolyte along with the increasing concentration of the anions, except that, 0.2 mol·L Cl in the solution slightly improves the current efficiency of gallium electrodeposition. Moreover, the gallium deposited on the cathode from the solution with 0.6 mol·L SiO appears tiny black in color and coarse. Meanwhile, SUS304 is shown to be not suitable to be used as cathode for the gallium electrodeposition from the alkaline solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of the chemical composition of mold flux on viscosity and texture of slag film using a viscosity test instrument and polarizing microscope. The results showed that viscosity of mold flux decreased and the corresponding crystallization ratio rose with increase in basicity, Na2O, and F−. The formation of cuspidine might be promoted, and generation of melilite diminished by basicity and F−. Meanwhile, it is of interest that Na2O promoted the formation of melilite and cuspidine, and inhibited generation of pseudowollastonite and wollastonite. To improve the quality of low carbon steel, Na2O and F−of mold flux need to be reduced. Improvement in the quality of medium steel was noted when basicity and F−were reduced, whereas Na2O needs be elevated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Although many existing movie recommender systems have investigated recommendation based on information such as clicks and tags, much less efforts have been made to explore the multimedia content of movies, which has potential information for the elicitation of the user’s visual and musical preferences. In this paper, we explore the content from three media types (image, text, audio) and propose a novel multi-view semi-supervised movie recommendation method, which represents each media type as a view space for movies. The three views of movies are integrated to predict the rating values under the multi-view framework. Furthermore, our method considers the casual users who rate limited movies. The algorithm enriches the user profile with a semi-supervised way when there are only few rating histories. Experiments indicate that the multimedia content analysis reveals the user’s profile in a more comprehensive way. Different media types can be a complement to each other for movie recommendation. And the experimental results validate that our semi-supervised method can effectively enrich the user profile for recommendation with limited rating history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]