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Conventional solid-based SERS substrates often face challenges with inconsistent sample distribution, while liquid-based SERS substrates are prone to aggregation and precipitation, resulting in irreproducible signals in both cases. In this study, we tackled this dilemma by designing and synthesizing raspberry-like plasmonic nanoaggregates that exhibit a high density of hotspots and are colloidally stable at the same time. In particular, the nanoaggregates consist of a core made of functionalized polystyrene (PS) microspheres, which act as a template for rapid self-assembly of Au@Ag core-shell nanoparticles to form raspberry-like hierarchical nanoaggregates within 5 min of mixing. The optimized nanoaggregates can be used as reproducible and stable SERS substrates for a range of wastewater pollutants (e.g., rhodamine 6G (R6G) and malachite green (MG)) and nucleobases (e.g., adenine and uracil), with the detection limits as low as 1 × 10 -10 , 1 × 10 -16 , 3 × 10 -8 , and 3 × 10 -7 M, respectively. Additionally, the trace detection of adenine in clinical urine samples has been successfully demonstrated. Our modular assembly approach opens up new possibilities in SERS substrate design and advanced trace-chemical detection technologies.

Solar-driven CO2 selective reduction with high conversion is a challenging task yet holds immense promise for both CO2 neutralization and green fuel production. Enhancing CO2 adsorption at the catalytic centre can trigger a highly efficient CO2 capture-to-conversion process. Herein, we introduce cucurbit[n]urils (CB[n]), a new family of molecular ligands, as a key component in the creation of a 3D cage-like metal (nickel, Ni)-complex molecular co-catalyst (CB[7]-Ni) for photocatalysis. It exhibits an unprecedented CO yield rate of 72.1 µmol· h-1 with a high selectivity of 97.9% under visible light irradiation. To verify the origin of the carbon source in the products, a straightforward isotopic tracing method is designed based on tandem reactions. The catalytic process commences with photoelectron transfer from Ru(bpy)32+ to the Ni2+ site, resulting in the reduction of Ni2+ to Ni+. The locally enriched CO2 molecules in the cage ligand CB[7] undergo selective reduction by the Ni+ nearby to form CO product. This work exemplifies the inspiring potential of ligand structure engineering in advancing the development of efficient unanchored molecular co-catalysts., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

This work investigates the design of stimuli-responsive Pickering emulsions (PEs) for transdermal drug delivery applications, by exploring the impact of stabilising microgels size and interactions on their rheological and release properties. Temperature-responsive poly( N -isopropylacrylamide) microgels modified with 1-benzyl-3-vinylimidazolium bromide (pNIPAM- co -BVI) are synthesized in varying sizes and used to stabilise jojoba oil-in-water concentrated emulsions. The results reveals two distinct behaviours: for small microgels (∼300 nm), the PEs exhibit a smooth, uniform structure characterised by a mild yield stress, characteristic of soft glassy systems. Conversely, larger microgels (∼800 nm) induce droplet clustering, resulting in increased elasticity and a more complex yielding process. Interestingly, transdermal delivery tests demonstrate that microstructure, rather than bulk rheology, governs sustained drug release. The release process can be modelled as diffusion-controlled transport through a porous medium with random traps. At room temperature, the trap size corresponds to the droplet size, and the release time scales with the total dispersed phases volume fraction. However, at physiological temperature (37 °C), above the volume-phase transition temperature of the microgels, the release time increases significantly. The trap size approaches the microgel size, suggesting that microgel porosity becomes the dominant factor controlling drug release. Overall, the results highlight the critical role of microstructure design in optimising stimuli-responsive PEs for controlled transdermal drug delivery.

Background: The present study aimed to analyze the independent risk factors for intraoperative bleeding in Siewert II adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction (AEG) using two minimally invasive surgical approaches, namely, the laparoscopy-assisted abdominal trans-hiatal (LTH) method and transthoracic-laparoscopic esophagectomy (TLE)., Methods: The clinical data of 100 patients with SiewertII AEG admitted to our hospital from October 2017 to October 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the type of surgery, the patients were divided into LTH approach group and TLE approach group. The differences between the clinical characteristics of the patients in different groups and the differences in the intraoperative bleeding and prognosis between different surgical procedures were analyzed and compared using the t-test and chi-squared test. Multiple linear regression was used to identify the independent risk factors affecting the amount of intraoperative bleeding in patients., Results: The results of this study showed that patients in the LTH group had significantly less intraoperative bleeding and operative time and significantly better postoperative recovery than the TLE group. The results of multivariate linear regression showed that the combined trans-thoracic-abdominal approach (P=0.000), advanced age (P=0.014), larger BMI (P=0.000), and larger tumor diameter (P=0.001) were the independent risk factors influencing the increase in intraoperative bleeding., Conclusion: In addition to the conventional factors that affect intraoperative bleeding, such as the patient's general condition, operation time, and tumor size, LTH surgery is another way to avoid intraoperative bleeding for Siewert type II AEG patients and can significantly improve postoperative recovery., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Lan, Shen, Liu, Jiang, Qiu, Wang and Lin.)

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the association between preoperative red blood cell distribution width (RDW) levels and liver injury (LI) after cardiac surgery, to highlight RDW's usefulness in the early identification and intervention for patients at high risk of LI., Design: A retrospective observational study., Setting: A university-affiliated teaching hospital and tertiary referral center., Participants: Adult patients who underwent cardiac and aortic aneurysm surgery at Changhai Hospital in 2021., Interventions: Postoperative LI was defined by increased liver enzyme levels and/or hyperbilirubinemia, noted from the time of surgery to discharge. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the RDW-LI relationship, with stratified analyses based on age, gender, and anemia. Survival within 30 days was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method, with survival curve differences analyzed via the log-rank test. The study included 3 sets of sensitivity analyses., Measurements and Main Results: Postoperative LI was observed in 75 patients (10%). Multivariate regression analysis showed a significant association between high RDW levels and postoperative LI (adjusted odds ratio, 3.25; p = 0.033; 95% confidence intefal, 1.10-9.63), even after adjusting for all covariates. This association remained consistent across 3 sets of sensitivity analyses. Subgroup analysis showed men had a higher correlation with LI (p for interaction = 0.041). Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated a significantly lower survival rate in the LI group (76%) compared with the non-LI group (99.6%; p < 0.001)., Conclusions: Preoperative RDW levels are significantly associated with postoperative LI. RDW could serve as a significant useful marker for early detection and intervention in patients at high risk of LI, thereby potentially improving patient outcomes., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests to declare., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Direct methane conversion to high-value chemicals under mild conditions is attractive yet challenging due to the inertness of methane and the high reactivity of valuable products. This work presents an efficient and selective strategy to achieve direct methane conversion through the oxidative coupling of methane over a visible-responsive Au-loaded CeO 2 by photon-phonon co-driven catalysis. A record-high ethane yield of 755 μmol h -1 (15,100 μmol g -1 h -1 ) and selectivity of 93% are achieved under optimised reaction conditions, corresponding to an apparent quantum efficiency of 12% at 365 nm. Moreover, the high activity of the photocatalyst can be maintained for at least 120 h without noticeable decay. The pre-treatment of the catalyst at relatively high temperatures introduces oxygen vacancies, which improves oxygen adsorption and activation. Furthermore, Au, serving as a hole acceptor, facilitates charge separation, inhibits overoxidation and promotes the C-C coupling reaction. All these enhance photon efficiency and product yield., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Breast cancer ranks as the most prevalent cancer globally, surpassing lung cancer, with recurrence/metastasis to be its main account for the cancer-related mortality. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) participate critically in various physiological and pathological processes through posttranscriptional regulation of downstream genes. Our preliminary findings identified miR-338-5p, potentially linked to metastasis in breast cancer, a previously unexplored area. Analysis of the GSE38867 dataset revealed the decreased miR-338-5p expression in metastatic breast cancer compared to normal tissues. Cellular function experiments and a xenograft tumor model demonstrated the inhibitory function of miR-338-5p on the progression of breast cancer in vitro and in vivo . Furthermore, it downregulated the expression of mesenchymal biomarkers and NOTCH1 significantly. With the predicting targets of miR-338-5p and transcription factors of the NOTCH1 gene, coupled with dual luciferase reporter assays, it is identified ETS1 as the interactor between miR-338-5p and NOTCH1. In breast cancer tissues, as well as in our xenograft tumor model, expression of ETS1 and NOTCH1 was positively correlated using immunohistochemical staining. This study reports, for the first time, on the miR-338-5p/ETS1/NOTCH1 axis and its pivotal role in breast cancer proliferation and metastasis. These findings propose a novel therapeutic strategy for breast cancer patients and lays a foundation for its clinical detection and treatment evaluation., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) represents a significant complication following cardiac surgery, associated with increased morbidity and mortality rates. Despite its clinical importance, there is a lack of universally applicable and reliable methods for the early identification and diagnosis of AKI. This study aimed to examine the incidence of AKI after cardiac surgery, identify associated risk factors, and evaluate the prognosis of patients with AKI., Method: This retrospective study included adult patients who underwent cardiac surgery at Changhai Hospital between January 7, 2021, and December 31, 2021. AKI was defined according to the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria. Perioperative data were retrospectively obtained from electronic health records. Logistic regression analyses were used to identify independent risk factors for AKI. The 30-day survival was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and differences between survival curves for different AKI severity levels were compared using the log-rank test., Results: Postoperative AKI occurred in 257 patients (29.6%), categorized as stage 1 (179 patients, 20.6%), stage 2 (39 patients, 4.5%), and stage 3 (39 patients, 4.5%). The key independent risk factors for AKI included increased mean platelet volume (MPV) and the volume of intraoperative cryoprecipitate transfusions. The 30-day mortality rate was 3.2%. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a lower survival rate in the AKI group (89.1%) compared to the non-AKI group (100%, P  < 0.001)., Conclusion: AKI was notably prevalent following cardiac surgery in this study, significantly impacting survival rates. Notably, MPV and administration of cryoprecipitate may have new considerable predictive significance. Proactive identification and management of high-risk individuals are essential for reducing postoperative complications and mortality., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2024 Wang, Bao, Lan, Zhao, Yang, Wang, Quan, Wang and Bian.)

Necroptosis is implicated in the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke. However, the mechanism underlying the sequential recruitment of receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) and N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion ATPase (NSF) in initiating necroptosis remains poorly understood, and the role of NSF in ischemic stroke is a subject of controversy. Here, we utilized a recently emerging RNA-targeting CRISPR system known as CasRx, delivered by AAVs, to knockdown Ripk1 mRNA and Nsf mRNA around the ischemic brain tissue. This approach resulted in a reduction in infarct and edema volume, as well as an improvement in neurological deficits assessed by Bederson score, RotaRod test, and Adhesive removal test, which were achieved by RIPK1/receptor-interacting protein kinase 3/mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein signaling pathway involved in neuronal necroptosis. In conclusion, the downregulation of Ripk1 mRNA and Nsf mRNA mediated by CRISPR-CasRx holds promise for future therapeutic applications aimed at ameliorating cerebral lesions and neurological deficits following the ischemic stroke., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Song, Lan, Lv, Wang, Chen, Lu, Liu and Peng.)

Background: Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and spatially resolved transcriptomics (SRT) have led to groundbreaking advancements in life sciences. To develop bioinformatics tools for scRNA-seq and SRT data and perform unbiased benchmarks, data simulation has been widely adopted by providing explicit ground truth and generating customized datasets. However, the performance of simulation methods under multiple scenarios has not been comprehensively assessed, making it challenging to choose suitable methods without practical guidelines., Results: We systematically evaluated 49 simulation methods developed for scRNA-seq and/or SRT data in terms of accuracy, functionality, scalability, and usability using 152 reference datasets derived from 24 platforms. SRTsim, scDesign3, ZINB-WaVE, and scDesign2 have the best accuracy performance across various platforms. Unexpectedly, some methods tailored to scRNA-seq data have potential compatibility for simulating SRT data. Lun, SPARSim, and scDesign3-tree outperform other methods under corresponding simulation scenarios. Phenopath, Lun, Simple, and MFA yield high scalability scores but they cannot generate realistic simulated data. Users should consider the trade-offs between method accuracy and scalability (or functionality) when making decisions. Additionally, execution errors are mainly caused by failed parameter estimations and appearance of missing or infinite values in calculations. We provide practical guidelines for method selection, a standard pipeline Simpipe ( https://github.com/duohongrui/simpipe ; https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11178409 ), and an online tool Simsite ( https://www.ciblab.net/software/simshiny/ ) for data simulation., Conclusions: No method performs best on all criteria, thus a good-yet-not-the-best method is recommended if it solves problems effectively and reasonably. Our comprehensive work provides crucial insights for developers on modeling gene expression data and fosters the simulation process for users., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Thermoanaerobacterium aotearoense SCUT27 is a prominent producer of biofuels from lignocellulosic materials. To provide sufficient NAD(P)H for ethanol production, redox-related genes, including lactate dehydrogenase (ldh), redox-sensing transcriptional repressor (rex), and hydrogenase (hfsB), were knocked out. However, the growth of strain PRH (Δldh/Δrex/ΔhfsB) was suppressed due to the intracellular redox state imbalance with the increased NADH concentration. Coincidentally, when the Bcd-EtfAB (BCD) complex was overexpressed, the resulting strain PRH-B3 (Δldh/Δrex/ΔhfsB::BCD) grew rapidly and produced ethanol with a high yield. With lignocellulosic hydrolysates, PRH-BA (Δldh/Δrex/ΔhfsB::BCD::adhE) demonstrated high ethanol productivity and yield, reaching levels of 0.45-0.51 g/L/h and 0.46-0.53 g/g sugars, respectively. The study results shed light on the cofactor balance for cell stability and the high ferredoxin-NAD + reductase activity of the BCD complex under an intracellular low redox state. They also provide an essential reference for developing strains for improved biofuel production., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) are known to possess unique characteristics, which allow them to overcome a number of issues that plague traditional fluorescence probes. UCNPs have been employed in a variety of applications, but it is arguably in the realm of optical sensors where they have shown the most promise. Biomolecule conjugated UCNPs-based fluorescence probes have been developed to detect and quantify a wide range of analytes, from metal ions to biomolecules, with great specificity and sensitivity. In this review, we have given much emphasis on the recent trends and progress in the preparation strategies of bioconjugated UCNPs and their potential application as fluorescence sensors in the trace level detection of food industry-based toxicants and adulterants. The paper discusses the preparation and functionalisation strategies of commonly used biomolecules over the surface of UCNPs. The use of different sensing strategies namely heterogenous and homogenous assays, underlying fluorescence mechanisms in the detection process of food adulterants are summarized in detail. This review might set a precedent for future multidisciplinary research including the development of novel biomolecules conjugated UCNPs for potential applications in food science and technology.

Sea salt (ss) aerosols in PM 2.5 are often quantified through source apportionment by applying sodium (Na + ) and chloride (Cl - ) as the markers, but both markers can be substantially emitted from anthropogenic sources. In this study, we differentiate ss from nonss (nss) portions of Na + and Cl - to better apportion PM 2.5 in a coastal tropical urban environment. Size-resolved ionic profiles accounting for Cl - depletion of aged ss were applied to 162-day measurements during 2012 and 2018-2019. Results show that the nss (likely anthropogenic) portions, on average, account for 50-80% of total Na + and Cl - in submicron aerosols (PM 1 ). This corresponds to up to 2.5 μg/m 3 of ss in submicron aerosols that can be ∼10 times overestimated if one attributes all Na + and Cl - in PM 1 to ss. Employing the newly speciated ss- and nss-portions of Na + and Cl - to source apportionment of urban PM 2.5 via positive matrix factorization uncovers a new source of transported anthropogenic emissions during the southwest monsoon, contributing to 12-15% of PM 2.5 . This increases anthropogenic PM 2.5 by ≥19% and reduces ss-related PM 2.5 by >30%. In addition to demonstrating Cl - depletion (aging) in submicron aerosols and quantifying ssNa + , nssNa + , ssCl - , as well as nssCl - therein, the refined PM 2.5 apportionment resolves new insights on PM 2.5 of anthropogenic origins in urban environments, useful to facilitate policy making.

D-2-hydroxyglutarate dehydrogenase (D2HGDH) is a mitochondrial enzyme containing flavin adenine dinucleotide FAD, existing as a dimer, and it facilitates the specific oxidation of D-2HG to 2-oxoglutarate (2-OG), which is a key intermediate in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. A Genome-wide expression analysis (GWEA) has indicated an association between GhD2HGDH and flowering time. To further explore the role of GhD2HGDH, we performed a comprehensive investigation encompassing phenotyping, physiology, metabolomics, and transcriptomics in Arabidopsis thaliana plants overexpressing GhD2HGDH. Transcriptomic and qRT-PCR data exhibited heightened expression of GhD2HGDH in upland cotton flowers. Additionally, early-maturing cotton exhibited higher expression of GhD2HGDH across all tissues than delayed-maturing cotton. Subcellular localization confirmed its presence in the mitochondria. Overexpression of GhD2HGDH in Arabidopsis resulted in early flowering. Using virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS), we investigated the impact of GhD2HGDH on flowering in both early- and delayed-maturing cotton plants. Manipulation of GhD2HGDH expression levels led to changes in photosynthetic pigment and gas exchange attributes. GhD2HGDH responded to gibberellin (GA3) hormone treatment, influencing the expression of GA biosynthesis genes and repressing DELLA genes. Protein interaction studies, including yeast two-hybrid, luciferase complementation (LUC), and GST pull-down assays, confirmed the interaction between GhD2HGDH and GhSOX (Sulfite oxidase). The metabolomics analysis demonstrated GhD2HGDH's modulation of the TCA cycle through alterations in various metabolite levels. Transcriptome data revealed that GhD2HGDH overexpression triggers early flowering by modulating the GA3 and photoperiodic pathways of the flowering core factor genes. Taken together, GhD2HGDH positively regulates the network of genes associated with early flowering pathways., (© 2024 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.)

Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a rare clonal hematopoietic disorder in children. The risk stratification system and treatment strategy for adults are unfit for children. The role of hypomethylating agents (HMAs) in higher-risk childhood MDS has not been identified. This study aimed to investigate the outcomes of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in children with higher-risk MDS at one single center. A retrospective study was conducted in children with higher-risk MDS undergoing HSCT between September 2019 and March 2023 at Blood Diseases Hospital CAMS. The clinical characteristics and transplantation information were reviewed and analyzed. A total of 27 patients were analyzed, including 11 with MDS with excess blasts (MDS-EB), 14 with MDS-EB in transformation (MDS-EBt) or acute myeloid leukemia with myelodysplasia-related changes (AML-MRC), and 2 with therapy-related MDS/AML (t-MDS/AML). Eight patients harbored monosomy 7. Before transplantation, induction therapy was administered to 25 patients, and 19 of them achieved bone marrow blasts <5% before HSCT. The stem cell source was unmanipulated-related bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells for nineteen patients and unrelated cord blood for eight. All patients received decitabine-containing and Bu/Cy-based myeloablative conditioning; 26 patients achieved initial engraftment. The cumulative incidences of grade II-IV and grade III-IV acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) at 100 days were 65.4% and 42.3%, respectively. The incidence of cGvHD was 38.5%. The median follow-up was 26 (range 4-49) months after transplantation. By the end of follow-up, two patients died of complications and two died of disease progression. The probability of 3-year overall survival (OS) was 84.8% (95%CI, 71.1 to 98.5%). In summary, decitabine-containing myeloablative conditioning resulted in excellent outcomes for children with higher-risk MDS undergoing allogeneic HSCT., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: The potential effects of short-term exposure to major ambient gaseous pollutants (ozone: O 3 , carbon monoxide: CO, and sulfur dioxide: SO 2 ) on platelet mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) methylation have been uncertain and no studies have examined whether platelet mtDNA methylation levels could modify the associations between ambient gaseous pollutants and the risks of ST-segment depression (STDE) and T-wave inversion events (TIE), two indicators of myocardial ischemia., Methods: This study used data from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled intervention study with a standardized 24-hour exposure protocol among 110 participants in Beijing. Absolute changes in platelet mtDNA methylation (ACmtDNAm) levels were determined by two repeated measurements on platelet mtDNA methylation levels in blood samples collected before and after the 24-hour exposure period. A multivariable linear regression model and a generalized linear model with a Poisson link function were used to investigate the associations of ambient gaseous pollutants with platelet mtDNA methylation levels, STDE, and TIE, respectively., Results: Short-term O 3 exposure was significantly associated with decreased ACmtDNAm at ATP6&#95;P1 but increased ACmtDNAm at mt12sRNA, MT-COX1, and MT-COX1&#95;P2; short-term CO and SO 2 exposures were significantly associated with decreased ACmtDNAm at D-loop, MT-COX3- and ATP-related genes. Moreover, short-term O 3 exposure was significantly associated with increased risks of STDE and TIE, and ACmtDNAm at MT-COX1 and MT-COX1&#95;P2 modified the association between short-term O 3 exposure and STDE events. L-Arg supplementation attenuated the effects of ambient gaseous pollutants, particularly O 3 , on ACmtDNAm and STDE., Conclusions: Platelet mtDNA methylation levels are promising biomarkers of short-term exposure to ambient gaseous air pollution, and are likely implicated in the mechanism behind the association of ambient O 3 pollution with adverse cardiovascular effects. L-Arg supplementation showed the potential to mitigate the adverse effects of ambient O 3 pollution., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Deguelin (DGL) is a natural flavonoid reported to exhibit antitumor effects in breast cancer (BC). PEG-PCL (Polyethylene Glycol- Polycaprolactone), as polymeric micelles, has biodegradability and biocompatibility. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the nanoparticular delivery system, PEG-PCL could improve the bioavailability of DGL for suppressing proliferation of BC cells., Methods: PEG-PCL polymers were first prepared by ring-opening polymerization, and DGL and paclitaxel (PTX)-loaded PEG-PCL nano-micelles were formulated via the film dispersion method. The composition and molecular weight of PEG-PCL were analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance and fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra. Particle size, surface potential and hemolytic activity of micelles were assessed by dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy and hemolysis assay, respectively. Then proliferation and apoptosis of MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 cells were tested with Edu staining, CCK-8, TUNEL staining, and Flow cytometer. Caspase 3 expression was also assessed by Western blot., Results: Our results first indicated that PEG2000-PCL2000 was successfully synthesized. DGL and PTX-loaded PEG-PCL nano-micelles were rounded in shape with a particle size of 35.78 ± 0.35 nm and a surface potential of 2.84 ± 0.27 mV. The micelles had minimal hemolytic activity. Besides, we proved that DGL and PTX-loaded PEG-PCL nano-micelles could suppress proliferation and induce apoptosis in BC cells. The DGL and PTX-loaded PEG-PCL nano-micelles constructed in this study had a prominent inhibitory role on proliferation and a remarkable promotional role on apoptosis in BC cells., Conclusions: This study proposes that nano-micelles formed by PEG-PCL can enhance the cytotoxicity of Paclitaxel against breast cancer cells, and concurrently, the loading of Deguelin may further inhibit cell proliferation. This presents a potential for the development of a novel therapeutic strategy., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.)

Air pollution control protocols and policies formulated for PM 2.5 and PM 10 (particulate matter [PM] with an aerodynamic diameter of ≤2.5 and 10 μm), however, such protocols and policies have not been available for black carbon (BC). A growing number of studies have evaluated the association between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution with BC and PM and pre-eclampsia. We applied a meta-analysis to estimate pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) based on four exposure windows (first/second/third trimester and entire pregnancy). 24 studies meeting our selection criteria (8 for BC, 21 and 15 for PM 2.5 and PM 10 ) were finally included after screening studies published up to June 22, 2023. An increase of 1 μg/m 3 BC during the second trimester and entire pregnancy were associated with a 16 % (OR: 1.16, 95 % CI: [1.02, 1.32]) and a 15 % (OR: 1.15, 95 % CI: [1.03, 1.29]) increased risk of pre-eclampsia, respectively. A 10 μg/m 3 increase in second-trimester exposure to PM 2.5 and PM 10 was associated with a 1 % (OR: 1.01, 95 % CI: [1.00, 1.03]) and a 5 % (OR: 1.05, 95 % CI: [1.01, 1.10]) increased risk of pre-eclampsia. An 11 % (OR: 1.11, 95 % CI: [1.03, 1.21]) increased risk of pre-eclampsia was found to be associated with a 10 μg/m 3 increase in PM 10 exposure during the entire pregnancy. The results support the potential effect of exposure to ambient particulate pollutants on risk of pre-eclampsia and emphasize the necessity of strategies and protocols for controlling BC. Greater efforts in controlling ambient particulate pollution and especially BC are needed in order to prevent pregnant women from developing pre-eclampsia., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In the present work, we have successfully obtained two new UV antimony-based sulfates, NH 4 Sb(SO 4 ) 2 and Ca 2 Sb 2 O(SO 4 ) 4 , by a conventional hydrothermal method. Interestingly, both compounds share similar structural building blocks, such as SbO 4 seesaws and SO 4 tetrahedra, yet they endow discrepant birefringence values measured at 546 nm with values of 0.150 and 0.114, respectively, owing to the different distortions of the SbO 4 groups with SCALP electrons. Moreover, both compounds display large band gaps (4.32 and 4.43 eV, respectively), so they can be used as short-wavelength UV birefringent materials. Moreover, NH 4 Sb(SO 4 ) 2 is a noncentrosymmetric compound, showing a frequency doubling effect of 0.2 × KDP. Detailed structural analyses and calculations confirm the source of superior optical performance and the reasons for the different birefringence of the two compounds. This work provides ideas for the following discovery of antimony-based optical materials with excellent properties.

Abstract: T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive cancer with resistant clonal propagation in recurrence. We performed high-throughput droplet-based 5' single-cell RNA with paired T-cell receptor (TCR) sequencing of paired diagnosis-relapse (Dx&#95;Rel) T-ALL samples to dissect the clonal diversities. Two leukemic evolutionary patterns, "clonal shift" and "clonal drift" were unveiled. Targeted single-cell DNA sequencing of paired Dx&#95;Rel T-ALL samples further corroborated the existence of the 2 contrasting clonal evolution patterns, revealing that dynamic transcriptional variation might cause the mutationally static clones to evolve chemotherapy resistance. Analysis of commonly enriched drifted gene signatures showed expression of the RNA-binding protein MSI2 was significantly upregulated in the persistent TCR clonotypes at relapse. Integrated in vitro and in vivo functional studies suggested that MSI2 contributed to the proliferation of T-ALL and promoted chemotherapy resistance through the posttranscriptional regulation of MYC, pinpointing MSI2 as an informative biomarker and novel therapeutic target in T-ALL., (© 2024 American Society of Hematology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.)

Chronic inflammation is known to increase the risk of gastrointestinal cancers (GICs), the common solid tumors worldwide. Precancerous lesions, such as chronic atrophic inflammation and ulcers, are related to inflammatory responses in vivo and likely to occur in hyperplasia and tumorigenesis. Unfortunately, due to the lack of effective therapeutic targets, the prognosis of patients with GICs is still unsatisfactory. Interestingly, it is found that six transmembrane epithelial antigens of the prostate (STEAPs), a group of metal reductases, are significantly associated with the progression of malignancies, playing a crucial role in systemic metabolic homeostasis and inflammatory responses. The structure and functions of STEAPs suggest that they are closely related to intracellular oxidative stress, responding to inflammatory reactions. Under the imbalance status of abnormal oxidative stress, STEAP members are involved in cell transformation and the development of GICs by inhibiting or activating inflammatory process. This review focuses on STEAPs in GICs along with exploring their potential molecular regulatory mechanisms, with an aim to provide a theoretical basis for diagnosis and treatment strategies for patients suffering from these types of cancers., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The burden of cardiovascular diseases caused by ambient particulate air pollution is universal. An increasing number of studies have investigated the potential effects of exposure to particulate air pollution on endothelial function, which is one of the important mechanisms for the onset and development of cardiovascular disease. However, no previous study has conducted a summary analysis of the potential effects of particulate air pollution on endothelial function., Objectives: To summarize the evidence for the potential effects of short-term exposure to ambient particulate air pollution on endothelial function based on existing studies., Methods: A systematic literature search on the relationship between ambient particulate air pollution and biomarkers of endothelial function including endothelin-1 (ET-1), E-selectin, intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, and Web of Science up to 20 May 2023. Subsequently, a meta-analysis was conducted using a random effects model., Results: A total of 18 studies were included in this meta-analysis. A 10 μg/m 3 increase in short-term exposure to ambient PM 2.5 was associated with a 1.55% (95% CI: 0.89%, 2.22%) increase in ICAM-1 and a 1.97% (95% CI: 0.86%, 3.08%) increase in VCAM-1. The associations of ET-1 (0.22%, 95% CI: -4.94%, 5.65%) and E-selectin (3.21%, 95% CI: -0.90% 7.49%) with short-term exposure to ambient PM 2.5 were statistically insignificant., Conclusion: Short-term exposure to ambient PM 2.5 pollution may significantly increase the levels of typical markers of endothelial function, including ICAM-1 and VCAM-1, suggesting potential endothelial dysfunction following ambient air pollution exposure.

Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) represent a class of non-coding RNAs that play pivotal roles in post-transcriptional RNA processing and modification, thereby contributing significantly to the maintenance of cellular functions related to protein synthesis. SnoRNAs have been discovered to possess the ability to influence cell fate and alter disease progression, holding immense potential in controlling human diseases. It is suggested that the dysregulation of snoRNAs in cancer exhibits differential expression across various cancer types, stages, metastasis, treatment response and/or prognosis in patients. On the other hand, colorectal cancer (CRC), a prevalent malignancy of the digestive system, is characterized by high incidence and mortality rates, ranking as the third most common cancer type. Recent research indicates that snoRNA dysregulation is associated with CRC, as snoRNA expression significantly differs between normal and cancerous conditions. Consequently, assessing snoRNA expression level and function holds promise for the prognosis and diagnosis of CRC. Nevertheless, current comprehension of the potential roles of snoRNAs in CRC remains limited. This review offers a comprehensive survey of the aberrant regulation of snoRNAs in CRC, providing valuable insights into the discovery of novel biomarkers, therapeutic targets, and potential tools for the diagnosis and treatment of CRC and furnishing critical cues for advancing research into CRC and the judicious selection of therapeutic targets., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Previous studies have shown that exposure to black carbon (BC, a tracer of traffic-related air pollution) and psychosocial stress are both associated with adverse cardiac effects, but whether psychosocial stress could modify the cardiac effects of BC is unclear. To investigate the potential modifying effect of psychosocial stress on the associations between acute exposure to BC and typical cardiac health variables, real-time personal 24 h measurements were conducted in a repeated-measure study among adults with elevated blood pressure (high-risk group) and a panel study among normal adults (low-risk group) in China. Measured cardiac health variables included ST-segment depression events, heart rate, and heart rate variability (HRV) variables. Perceived Stress Scale, State Anxiety Inventory and Self-rating Depression Scale were used to assess the recent psychosocial stress status of the participants, and a composite stress index was established based on these scales. Generalized linear mixed-effects model was used to analyze the associations between BC exposure and cardiac health variables and potential effect modification by psychosocial stress. A total of 97 24 h measurements among 97 participants in the repeated-measure study and 202 24 h measurements among 87 participants in the panel study were included in the final analysis. Acute BC exposure was significantly associated with increased ST-segment depression events and heart rate and decreases in HRV in both studies. The marginal effects of acute BC exposure on most cardiac health variables generally tended to be amplified under higher vs low levels of psychosocial stress in both studies, with the composite stress index apparently modifying the associations of BC exposure with most ST-segment depression events and HRV variables. These findings suggest that psychosocial stress may increase the participants' cardiac susceptibility to BC exposure, which could be helpful for the identification of susceptible individuals in the context of traffic-related air pollution., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2023 The Authors. Co-published by Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and American Chemical Society.)

Clinical data indicates that SARS-CoV-2 infection-induced respiratory failure is a fatal condition for severe COVID-19 patients. However, the pathological alterations of different types of respiratory failure remained unknown for severe COVID-19 patients. This study aims to evaluate whether there are differences in the performance of various types of respiratory failure in severe COVID-19 patients and investigate the pathological basis for these differences. The lung tissue sections of severe COVID-19 patients were assessed for the degree of injury and immune responses. Transcriptome data were used to analyze the molecular basis in severe COVID-19 patients. Severe COVID-19 patients with combined oxygenation and ventilatory failure presented more severe pulmonary fibrosis, airway obstruction, and prolonged disease course. The number of M2 macrophages increased with the degree of fibrosis in patients, suggesting that it may be closely related to the development of pulmonary fibrosis. The co-existence of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in the pulmonary environment could also participate in the progression of pulmonary fibrosis. Furthermore, the increased apoptosis in the lungs of COVID-19 patients with severe pulmonary fibrosis may represent a critical factor linking sustained inflammatory responses to fibrosis. Our findings indicate that during the extended phase of COVID-19, antifibrotic and antiapoptotic treatments should be considered in conjunction with the progression of the disease., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Shi-Qi Xiao and Tian-Zi Wen performed most of the experiments. Shi-Qi Xiao and Xiao-Hong Yao wrote the manuscript. Zhuang Li, Yan Wang and Mian-Fu Cao performed the data analyses. Zhi-Cheng He, Tao Luo, Jia Ge, Rui Tang, Wen-Juan Fu, Hai-Tao Guo and Yan-Xia Wang collected the clinical information and autopsy cases. Lu Chen, Qin Niu, Shuai Wang, Yang Lan and Qing-Rui Li prepared the reagents and performed the immunohistochemical staining. Yi-Fang Ping performed data analyses. Hong Shen, Xin-Yu Chen and He-Yuan Chen collected information. Xiao-Hong Yao, Yan-Qing Ding and Xiu-Wu Bian designed the study, revised the manuscript, and provided administrative management. All authors read and approved the submitted version., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.)

Background: The kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) were diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease after transplantation (CKD-T). CKD-T can be affected by the microbial composition and metabolites. The present study integrates the analysis of gut microbiome and metabolites to further identify the characteristics of CKD-T., Methods: We collected 100 fecal samples of KTRs and divided them into two groups according to the stage progression of CKD-T. Among them, 55 samples were analyzed by Hiseq sequencing, and 100 samples were used for non-targeted metabolomics analysis. The gut microbiome and metabolomics of KTRs were comprehensively characterized., Results: As well as significant differences in gut microbiome diversity between the CKD G1-2T group and CKD G3T group. Eight flora including Akkermansia were found to be enriched in CKD G3T group. As compared with CKD G1-2T group, the relative abundance of some amino acid metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis, carbohydrate metabolism and purine metabolism in CKD G3T group were differential expressed significantly. In addition, fecal metabolome analysis indicated that CKD G3T group had a unique metabolite distribution characteristic. Two differentially expressed metabolites, N-acetylornithine and 5-deoxy-5'-(Methylthio) Adenosine, were highly correlated with serum creatinine, eGFR and cystatin C. The enrichment of gut microbial function in CKD-T is correlated with the expression of gut metabolites., Conclusion: Gut microbiome and metabolites in the progression of CKD-T display some unique distribution and expression characteristics. The composition of the gut microbiome and their metabolites appears to be different between patients with CKD G3T and those with CKD G1-2T.

The conflict between economic growth and the arable land demand poses a significant challenge to maintaining food security and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Meanwhile, substantial regional disparities in food consumption contribute to variations in land demand, further exacerbating constraints on food security. However, few studies have delved into regional differences in land demand related to food consumption. To bridge these gaps, this study estimated the arable land demand and associated pressures, considering food consumption patterns and the land footprint across 31 provincial districts in China. The findings reveal that grains remain the primary crop consumed by Chinese residents. Notably, the food consumption pattern exhibits substantial disparities among provincial districts, particularly concerning livestock products. Given China's vast population and escalating consumption of livestock, the country demonstrates heightened land demands. While China does not face a national-level food security threat, regional disparities are evident, with eight provincial districts facing potential food security risks. This study explored the challenges and pathways in maintaining food security and the visions to achieve it, emphasizing the importance of sustaining a balanced food consumption pattern, reducing food waste, improving environmentally friendly agriculture practices, formulating effective and continuous laws and regulations, and exploring potential land resource development to alleviate the pressure on arable land and ensure food security.

The genomic instability (GI) /homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) score, calculated as the sum of the events of loss of heterozygosity (LOH), large-scale state transition (LST) and telomere allele imbalance (TAI), is used to guide the choice of treatment in several cancers, but its relationship with genomic features, clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis in lung cancer is poorly understood, which could lead to population bias in prospective studies. We retrospectively analyzed 1011 lung cancer patients whose tumor samples were successfully profiled by high-throughput sequencing panel including GI/HRD score. Alterations of many cancer suppressor genes were associated with higher GI/HRD scores, biallelic inactivation of TP53 was correlated with a high GI/HRD score. A combination of two gene alterations exhibited a higher GI/HRD scores than single gene alterations. The GI/HRD score was associated with advanced stages in lung adenocarcinoma but not in lung squamous cell carcinoma. Furthermore, patients with higher GI/HRD scores had significantly shorter overall survival and progression-free survival than patients with lower GI/HRD scores. Finally, patients with a combination of a higher GI/HRD scores and TP53 alteration exhibited an extremely poor prognosis compared with patients with a lower GI/HRD scores and wild-type TP53 (overall survival, training cohort, hazard ratio (HR) = 8.56, P < 0.001; validation cohort, HR = 6.47, P < 0.001; progression-free survival, HR = 4.76, P < 0.001). Our study revealed the prognostic value of the GI/HRD score in lung adenocarcinoma, but not for all lung cancer. Moreover, the combination of the GI/HRD score and TP53 status could be a promising strategy to predict the prognosis of patients with lung adenocarcinoma., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Sucrose-rich sugarcane trash surpasses 28 million tons globally per year. Effective biorefinery systems could convert these biomasses to bioproducts, such as bioethanol from sugarcane sucrose in Brazil. Thermophilic microbes for biofuels have attracted great attention due to their higher fermentation temperature and wide substrate spectrum. However, few thermophiles using sucrose or molasses for biofuels production was reported. Thermoanaerobacterium aotearoense SCUT27 has been considered as an efficient ethanol producer, but it cannot directly utilize sucrose. In this study, various sucrose metabolic pathways were introduced and analyzed in Thermoanaerobaterium., Results: The sucrose-6-phosphate hydrolase (scrB), which was from a screened strain Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum G3-1 was overexpressed in T. aotearoense SCUT27 and endowed this strain with the ability to utilize sucrose. In addition, overexpression of the sucrose-specific PTS system (scrA) from Clostridium acetobutylicum accelerated the sucrose transport. To strengthen the alcohols production and substrates metabolism, the redox-sensing transcriptional repressor (rex) in T. aotearoense was further knocked out. Moreover, with the gene arginine repressor (argR) deleted, the ethanologenic mutant P8S10 showed great inhibitors-tolerance and finally accumulated ~ 34 g/L ethanol (a yield of 0.39 g/g sugars) from pretreated cane molasses in 5 L tank by fed-batch fermentation. When introducing butanol synthetic pathway, 3.22 g/L butanol was produced by P8SB4 with a yield of 0.44 g alcohols/g sugars at 50℃. This study demonstrated the potential application of T. aotearoense SCUT27 for ethanol and butanol production from low cost cane molasses., Conclusions: Our work provided strategies for sucrose utilization in thermophiles and improved biofuels production as well as stress tolerances of T. aotearoense SCUT27, demonstrating the potential application of the strain for cost-effective biofuels production from sucrose-based feedstocks., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

Background: The present network meta-analysis aims to answer the question "what is the best topical intervention for the treatment of recurrent aphthous stomatitis that can provide an acceptable pain relief and promote wound healing?", Methods: From inception to October 2022, PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure were searched to identify all potentially eligible randomized controlled trials. The primary outcomes were pain scores and/or healing time, while the secondary outcomes were the associated side effects. The Bayesian network meta-analysis accompanied by a random effect model and 95% credible intervals were calculated., Results: Forty-three randomized controlled trials with a total of 3067 participants, comparing 20 different topical medications, were included. Concerning pain reduction, the network meta-analysis failed to show any statistically significant differences when different topical treatments were compared together or even with a placebo at different time intervals. Except for doxycycline, which showed a statistically significant difference in terms of accelerating healing time, other topical interventions showed no statistically significant differences when compared with placebo or with each other., Conclusion: Within the limitations of the current network meta-analysis, it seems that: A low to moderate quality of evidence showed no superiority of any topical treatment over others concerning pain reduction, although rank probability tests revealed sucralfate, doxycycline, hyaluronic acid, and chamomile as the most efficacious treatment options at different evaluation times. Hence, further well-designed clinical trials with larger sample sizes are warranted. Topical doxycycline was shown to be the most efficacious intervention in promoting healing of recurrent aphthous stomatitis., (© 2023 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Drug resistance remains the greatest challenge in improving outcomes for cancer patients who receive chemotherapy and targeted therapy. Surmounting evidence suggests that a subpopulation of cancer cells could escape intense selective drug treatment by entering a drug-tolerant state without genetic variations. These drug-tolerant cells (DTCs) are characterized with a slow proliferation rate and a reversible phenotype. They reside in the tumor region and may serve as a reservoir for resistant phenotypes. The survival of DTCs is regulated by epigenetic modifications, transcriptional regulation, mRNA translation remodeling, metabolic changes, antiapoptosis, interactions with the tumor microenvironment, and activation of signaling pathways. Thus, targeting the regulators of DTCs opens a new avenue for the treatment of therapy-resistant tumors. In this review, we first provide an overview of common characteristics of DTCs and the regulating networks in DTCs development. We also discuss the potential therapeutic opportunities to target DTCs. Last, we discuss the current challenges and prospects of the DTC-targeting approach to overcome acquired drug resistance. Reviewing the latest developments in DTC research could be essential in discovering of methods to eliminate DTCs, which may represent a novel therapeutic strategy for preventing drug resistance in the future., Competing Interests: All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (© 2023 The Authors. MedComm published by Sichuan International Medical Exchange & Promotion Association (SCIMEA) and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Structures, physicochemical properties, and reactivity of the whole series of copper(II)-halide complexes ( 1 X ; X = F, Cl, Br, and I) were examined using a TMG 3 tach tridentate supporting ligand consisting of cis,cis -1,3,5-triaminocyclohexane (tach) and N , N , N ', N '-tetramethylguanidine (TMG). The tach ligand framework with the bulky and strongly electron-donating TMG substituents enforces the copper(II) complexes to take a tetrahedral geometry, as inferred from the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra, exhibiting relatively large g z and small A z values. The electronic absorption spectra of 1 X agreed with the simulation spectra obtained by time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations on a slightly distorted tetrahedral geometry. 1 I and 1 Br gradually decomposed to generate the corresponding copper(I) complex and halide radical X • , and in the case of 1 Br , intramolecular hydroxylation of a methyl group of the TMG substituent took place under aerobic conditions, which may be caused by the reaction of the generated copper(I) complex and dioxygen (O 2 ), generating a reactive oxygen species. 1 X except 1 I showed hydrogen atom abstraction (HAA) reactivity toward 1,4-cyclohexadiene (CHD), where 1 F exhibited the highest reactivity with a second-order rate constant as 1.4 × 10 -3 M -1 s -1 at 25 °C. Such an HAA reactivity can be attributed to the higher basicity of F - and/or large bond dissociation free energy of conjugate acid H-F as well as the unstable copper(II) electronic state in the tetrahedral geometry.

Background and Aim: Systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI) is a novel inflammatory biomarker. The relationship between SIRI and the risk of diabetic cardiovascular complications is still unclear. The purpose of our study was to address the correlation between SIRI and the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in diabetes mellitus (DM) patients., Methods and Results: A total of 8759 individuals were selected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (2015-2020) in our study. Comparing with control (n = 6446) and pre-DM (n = 350) individuals, the DM patients (n = 1963) show the higher SIRI level (all P < 0.001) and prevalence of CVD (all P < 0.001). Furthermore, in a fully adjusted model, we observed the increase of tertiles of SIRI was a risk factor for CVD in DM patients (the middle tertile: 1.80, 95% CI: 1.13-3.13; the highest tertile: 1.91, 95% CI: 1.03-3.22; all P < 0.05), while the relationship between hypersensitive CRP (hs-CRP) and the risk of diabetic cardiovascular complications was not observed (all P > 0.05). Furthermore, the SIRI tertiles-CVD association was significant strongly in patients with high body mass index (BMI; >24 kg/m 2 ) than in those with a low BMI (≤24 kg/m 2 , P for interaction = 0.045). Using restricted cubic splines, we observed a dose-response relation between lg SIRI and the risk of CVD in DM patients., Conclusions: The elevated SIRI was independently associated with the increased risk of CVD in the DM population with a high BMI (>24 kg/m 2 ), and its clinical value is greater than hs-CRP., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Objective: Post-transplantation diabetes mellitus (PTDM) is a common complication in renal transplant recipients (RTRs). Gut microbiome plays important roles in a variety of chronic metabolic diseases, but its association with the occurrence and development of PTDM is still unknown. The present study integrates the analysis of gut microbiome and metabolites to further identify the characteristics of PTDM., Methods: A total of 100 RTRs fecal samples were collected in our study. Among them, 55 samples were submitted to Hiseq sequencing, and 100 samples were used for non-targeted metabolomics analysis. The gut microbiome and metabolomics of RTRs were comprehensively characterized., Results: The species Dialister invisus was significantly associated with fasting plasma glucose (FPG). The functions of tryptophan and phenylalanine biosynthesis were enhanced in RTRs with PTDM, while the functions of fructose and butyric acid metabolism were reduced. Fecal metabolome analysis indicated that RTRs with PTDM had unique metabolite distribution characteristics, and two differentially expressed specific metabolites were significantly correlated with FPG. The correlation analysis of gut microbiome and metabolites showed that gut microbiome had an obvious effect on the metabolic characteristics of RTRs with PTDM. Moreover, the relative abundance of microbial function is associated with the expression of several specific gut microbiome and metabolites., Conclusions: Our study identified the characteristics of gut microbiome and fecal metabolites in RTRs with PTDM, and we also found two important metabolites and a bacterium were significantly associated with PTDM, which might be used as novel targets in the research field of PTDM., (© 2023 The Japanese Urological Association.)

The Yellow River basin has been experiencing ecosystem fragmentation, conversion, and degradation. The ecological security pattern (ESP) can provide a systematic and holistic perspective for specific action planning to maintain ecosystem structural, functional stability, and its connectivity. Thus, this study focused on Sanmenxia, one of the most representative cities of the Yellow River basin, to construct an integrated ESP to provide evidence-based support for ecological conservation and restoration. We adopted four main steps, including measuring the importance of multiple ecosystem services, identifying ecological sources, constructing the ecological resistance surface, and linking the MCR model and circuit theory to identify the optimal path, optimal width, and key nodes of ecological corridors. Overall, we identified various ecological conservation and restoration priority areas in Sanmenxia, including 3593.08 km 2 of ecosystem service hotspots, 28 corridors, 105 pinch points, and 73 barriers, and we highlighted multiple priority actions. This study provides an effective starting point for the future identification of ecological priorities at the regional or river basin scale., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Children with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) face heterogeneous prognoses after immunosuppressive therapy (IST). There are few models that can predict the long-term outcomes of IST for these patients. The objective of this paper is to develop a more effective prediction model for SAA prognosis based on clinical electronic medical records from 203 children with newly diagnosed SAA. In the early stage, a novel model for long-term outcomes of SAA patients with IST was developed using machine-learning techniques. Among the indicators related to long-term efficacy, white blood cell count, lymphocyte count, absolute reticulocyte count, lymphocyte ratio in bone-marrow smears, C-reactive protein, and the level of IL-6, IL-8 and vitamin B12 in the early stage are strongly correlated with long-term efficacy ( P < .05). Taken together, we analyzed the long-term outcomes of rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin and cyclosporine therapy for children with SAA through machine-learning techniques, which may shorten the observation period of therapeutic effects and reduce treatment costs and time., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health Inc., on behalf of the Chinese Medical Association (CMA) and Institute of Hematology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College (IHCAMS).)

Background: Sarcopenia is thought to be strongly associated with heart failure, but meta-analyses with sufficient samples are still lacking to accurately address its clinical situation., Hypothesis: Sarcopenia has a high prevalence in patients with heart failure and is closely related to adverse clinical outcomes., Methods: Relevant databases were systematically searched in October 2021 and updated in July 2022. The data with high heterogeneity were combined with random effects model., Results: Twenty-one studies with 68,556 HF patients were included. The combined prevalence of sarcopenia in HF patients was 31%. Subgroup analysis found that the prevalence of sarcopenia in HF patients was 35% in Asia, 31% in Europe, 25% in the Americas, 31% in people aged ≥65 years, 25% in people with age <65 years, 28% in HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) patients and 18% in HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) patients. In addition, our analysis shows that sarcopenia in patients with HF is associated with an increased risk of poor prognosis, with a combined hazard ratio [HR] of 1.64 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.20-5.25), sarcopenia was also associated with poor outcomes in HFrEF patients with pooled HR of 2.77 (95% CI = 1.29-5.95). However, it was not associated with poor outcomes in HFpEF patients with pooled HR of 1.61 (95% CI = 0.82-3.16)., Conclusions: The prevalence of sarcopenia is high in HF patients, and patients with HF, particularly those with reduced ejection fraction, are at high risk of adverse outcomes from sarcopenia. Therefore, early identification and intervention for sarcopenia were beneficial for improving the prognosis of HF patients., (© 2023 The Authors. Clinical Cardiology published by Wiley Periodicals, LLC.)

Deciphering interactions between bioactive protein and polyphenols are critical for designing and controlling functional protein-polyphenol complexes. Herein, using the site-directed spin labeled T4 lysozyme (T4L) and rosmarinic acid (RA) as a model system, we combined electron paramagnetic resonance spectra to investigate molecular interaction mechanism of the protein-polyphenol complexes in structural or conformational details. Experimental results show that molecular interactions between T4L and RA are a process from order to disorder. TEM images display that the complexes finally assemble into quasi-spherical colloidal particles. When T4L/RA ratio is 1:1, the complexes exhibit the optimized enzymatic and antioxidant dual-functionalities due to the synergetic effect and protection mechanism. However, with excess addition of RA, the enzymatic and antioxidant activities of the complexes started to attenuate because the catalytic active site and bioactive hydroxyl groups were buried. The revealed high-resolution interaction process could help better understand the corresponding alterations between structure and functionalities., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare autosomal recessive, X-linked or autosomal dominant disease. Few large-scale FA investigations of rare disease cohorts have been conducted in China., Methods: We enrolled 148 patients diagnosed with FA according to evidence from the clinical phenotype, family history, and a set of laboratory tests. Next, the clinical manifestations and correlation between the genotype and phenotype of FA pediatric cases were investigated., Results: The most common FA subtype in our cohort was FA-A (51.4 %), followed by FA-D2 and FA-P. Finger (26 %) and skin (25 %) deformities were the most common malformations. Based on family history, blood system diseases (51 %) had the highest incidence rate, followed by digestive system tumours. A set of new or prognosis-related mutation sites was identified. For example, c.2941 T > G was a new most common missense mutation site for FANCA. FANCP gene mutation sites were mainly concentrated in exons 12/14/15. The mutations of FANCI/FANCD2 were mainly located at the α helix and β corners of the protein complex. FA-A/D1 patients with splicing or deletion mutations showed more severe disease than those with missense mutations. Chromosome 1/3/7/8 abnormalities were closely linked to the progression of FA to leukemia., Conclusion: Our study investigated the clinical features and genotype/phenotype correlation of 148 Chinese pediatric FA patients, providing new insight into FA., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Policies and measures to control pandemics are often failing. While biological factors controlling transmission are usually well explored, little is known about the environmental drivers of transmission and infection. For instance, respiratory droplets and aerosol particles are crucial vectors for the airborne transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, the causation agent of the coronavirus 2019 pandemic (COVID-19). Once expectorated, respiratory droplets interact with atmospheric particulates that influence the viability and transmission of the novel coronavirus, yet there is little knowledge on this process or its consequences on virus transmission and infection. Here we review the effects of atmospheric particulate properties, vortex zones, and air pollution on virus survivability and transmission. We found that particle size, chemical constituents, electrostatic charges, and the moisture content of airborne particles can have notable effects on virus transmission, with higher survival generally associated with larger particles, yet some viruses are better preserved on small particles. Some chemical constituents and surface-adsorbed chemical species may damage peptide bonds in viral proteins and impair virus stability. Electrostatic charges and water content of atmospheric particulates may affect the adherence of virion particles and possibly their viability. In addition, vortex zones and human thermal plumes are major environmental factors altering the aerodynamics of buoyant particles in air, which can strongly influence the transport of airborne particles and the transmission of associated viruses. Insights into these factors may provide explanations for the widely observed positive correlations between COVID-19 infection and mortality with air pollution, of which particulate matter is a common constituent that may have a central role in the airborne transmission of the novel coronavirus., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10311-022-01557-z., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023, Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Federated learning (FL) is a secure distributed machine learning paradigm that addresses the issue of data silos in building a joint model. Its unique distributed training mode and the advantages of security aggregation mechanism are very suitable for various practical applications with strict privacy requirements. However, with the deployment of FL mode into practical application, some bottlenecks appear in the FL training process, which affects the performance and efficiency of the FL model in practical applications. Therefore, more researchers have paid attention to the challenges of FL and sought for various effective research methods to solve these current bottlenecks. And various research achievements of FL have been made to promote the intelligent development of all application areas with privacy restriction. This paper systematically introduces the current researches in FL from five aspects: the basics knowledge of FL, privacy and security protection mechanisms in FL, communication overhead challenges and heterogeneity problems of FL. Furthermore, we make a comprehensive summary of the research in practical applications and prospect the future research directions of FL., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2022, Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

With the strengthening capacity through harnessing multi-length-scale structural hierarchy, synthetic hydrogels hold tremendous promise as a low-cost and abundant material for applications demanding unprecedented mechanical robustness. However, integrating high impact resistance and high water content, yet superior softness, in a single hydrogel material still remains a grand challenge. Here, a simple, yet effective, strategy involving bidirectional freeze-casting and compression-annealing is reported, leading to a hierarchically structured hydrogel material. Rational engineering of the distinct 2D lamellar structures, well-defined nanocrystalline domains and robust interfacial interaction among the lamellae, synergistically contributes to a record-high ballistic energy absorption capability (i.e., 2.1 kJ m -1 ), without sacrificing their high water content (i.e., 85 wt%) and superior softness. Together with its low-cost and extraordinary energy dissipation capacity, the hydrogel materials present a durable alternative to conventional hydrogel materials for armor-like protection circumstances., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Background: Neoadjuvant treatment with a dual anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) blockade with pyrotinib and trastuzumab has been shown to be effective for HER2-positive breast cancer., Methods: The genomic characteristics of 425 cancer-related genes from the archived tumour blocks of 50 patients enrolled in a prospective neoadjuvant pyrotinib and trastuzumab plus chemotherapy clinical trial (ChiCTR1900022293) were assessed by next-generation sequencing (NGS). The relationship between tumour biomarkers and the postoperative pathological complete response (pCR) were explored., Results: Forty-five patients completed neoadjuvant chemotherapy and final surgery, of which 26 (58%) achieved a pCR. Among all driver gene mutations, PIK3CA mutation was screened out for having a significant relationship with the treatment response. The pCR rate of patients with wild-type PIK3CA was significantly higher than patients with mutated PIK3CA (80.8% vs. 26.3%; P = 0.00057), and remained significant after a multiple comparison adjustment (P adjusted  = 0.024). We further evaluated the predictive value with logistic regression model of clinical features, genetic biomarkers or both, an AUC of 0.912 (95% CI: 0.827-0.997) was achieved in the integrated model., Conclusions: Our data suggest that HER2-positive breast cancers with activating mutations in PIK3CA are less likely to benefit from pyrotinib combined with trastuzumab neoadjuvant therapy., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Ambient air pollution is one of the major global risk factors for cardiovascular health, and coagulation changes have been proposed to mediate this risk. Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), von Willebrand factor (vWF), soluble P-selectin (sP-selectin) and tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) are major coagulation biomarkers. However, there has been no systematic meta-analysis to summarize associations of ambient air pollution with these coagulation biomarkers. To assess the overall associations between ambient particulate matter (PM 2.5 , PM 10 ), ozone (O 3 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO) and major coagulation biomarkers including PAI-1, vWF, sP-selectin and t-PA based on the existing epidemiological research. We performed a systematic literature search of publications reporting the associations of ambient air pollutants (PM 2.5 , PM 10 , O 3 , NO 2, and CO) with coagulation biomarkers (PAI-1, vWF, sP-selectin and t-PA) in PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Scopus databases as of April 5, 2022. Then, we performed a random-effect meta-analysis, which included 27 articles, and then identified the potential sources of heterogeneity. The pooled percent changes of coagulation biomarkers per 10 μg/m 3 increase in short-term exposure to ambient PM 2.5 were 2.43% (95% CI: 0.59%, 4.29%) in PAI-1, 1.08% (95% CI: 0.21%, 1.96%) in vWF and 1.14% (95% CI: 0.59%, 1.68%) in sP-selectin, respectively. We also found significant associations of short-term exposure to ambient O 3 with PAI-1 (1.62%, 95% CI: 0.01%, 3.25%), sP-selectin (9.59%, 95% CI:2.78%, 16.86%) and t-PA (0.45%, 95% CI: 0.02%, 0.88%), respectively. Short-term exposures to ambient PM 10 , NO 2 and CO were not significantly associated with changes in coagulation biomarkers. In conclusion, short-term exposures to PM 2.5 and O 3 are associated with significant increases in coagulation biomarkers, suggesting an activated coagulation state upon air pollution exposure., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Multi-trait genomic selection (MT-GS) has the potential to improve predictive ability by maximizing the use of information across related genotypes and genetically correlated traits. In this study, we extended the use of sparse phenotyping method into the MT-GS framework by split testing of entries to maximize borrowing of information across genotypes and predict missing phenotypes for targeted traits without additional phenotyping expenditure. Using 300 advanced breeding lines from North Dakota State University (NDSU) pulse breeding program and ∼200 USDA accessions that were evaluated for 10 nutritional traits, our results show that the proposed sparse phenotyping aided MT-GS can further improve predictive ability by >12% across traits compared with univariate (UNI) genomic selection. The proposed strategy departed from the previous reports that weak genetic correlation is a limitation to the advantage of MT-GS over UNI genomic selection, which was evident in the partially balanced phenotyping-enabled MT-GS. Our results point to heritability and genetic correlation between traits as possible metrics to optimize and further improve the estimation of model parameters, and ultimately, prediction performance. Overall, our study offers a new approach to optimize the prediction performance using the MT-GS and further highlight strategy to maximize the efficiency of GS in a plant breeding program. The sparse-testing-aided MT-GS proposed in this study can be further extended to multi-environment, multi-trait GS to improve prediction performance and further reduce the cost of phenotyping and time-consuming data collection process., (© 2022 The Authors. The Plant Genome published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Crop Science Society of America.)

Mitigating the spread of global infectious diseases requires rapid and accurate diagnostic tools. Conventional diagnostic techniques for infectious diseases typically require sophisticated equipment and are time consuming. Emerging clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated proteins (Cas) detection systems have shown remarkable potential as next-generation diagnostic tools to achieve rapid, sensitive, specific, and field-deployable diagnoses of infectious diseases, based on state-of-the-art microfluidic platforms. Therefore, a review of recent advances in CRISPR-based microfluidic systems for infectious diseases diagnosis is urgently required. This review highlights the mechanisms of CRISPR/Cas biosensing and cutting-edge microfluidic devices including paper, digital, and integrated wearable platforms. Strategies to simplify sample pretreatment, improve diagnostic performance, and achieve integrated detection are discussed. Current challenges and future perspectives contributing to the development of more effective CRISPR-based microfluidic diagnostic systems are also proposed., (© 2022 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)