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Bile acids (BAs) are significantly altered in the liver and serum of patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). However, the underlying mechanisms of these changes, particularly BA alternative pathways (BAP) responsible for non12-OH BAs, remain unclear. RNA-seq data were initially analyzed to reveal the changes of gene expression in NASH patients. Targeted metabolomics were conducted on plasma from NASH mice induced by high-fat or western diet with CCl 4 for 10-24 weeks. Liver tissues were examined using proteomics, RT-qPCR, and western blotting. An integrated approach was then employed to analyze protein interactions and network correlations. Analysis of RNA-seq data revealed the inhibition of CYP7B1 in NASH patients, indicating the dysregulation of BAP. In NASH mouse models, dysregulation of BA circulation was observed by increased plasma total BA (TBA) levels and decreased liver TBA, with liver swelling and histopathological changes. Targeted metabolomics revealed suppressed levels of non12-OH BAs, which inversely correlated with increased liver injury markers. The reduced mRNA and protein expression of Fxr and upregulation of Lxr signaling in livers suggested the suppressed BAP was modulated by Fxr-Lxr signaling. Moreover, BAP interactions predominantly implicated multiple metabolism disruptions, involving 7 hub proteins (Hk1, Acadsb, Pklr, Insr, Ldlr, Cyp27a1, and Cyp7b1), offering promising therapeutic targets for NASH. We presented the metabolic and proteomic map of BAP and its regulatory network in NASH progression. Therapeutic targeting of BAP or its co-regulatory proteins holds promise for NASH treatment and metabolic syndrome management., (© 2024 Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.)

The current study aims to identify potential metabolic biomarkers that predict the progression to prediabetes in women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). We constructed a prediabetes group ( n = 42) and a control group ( n = 40) based on a2-hour 75 g oral glucose tolerance test for women with a history of GDM from six weeks to six months postpartum, and collected their clinical data and biochemical test results. We performed the plasma metabolomics analysis of the subjects at the fasting and 2-hour post-load time points by using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS). We found that the prediabetes group was older and had higher 2-hour post-load glucose levels during pregnancy than the control group. The metabolomic analysis identified 164 differential metabolites between the groups. Compared with the control group, 15 metabolites in the prediabetes group exhibited consistent change trends at both time points, including three increased and 12 decreased metabolites. By building a prediction model of the progression from GDM to prediabetes, we found a combination of three clinical markers yielded an area under thecurve (AUC) of 0.71 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.60-0.82). We also assessed the discriminative power of the panel of 15 metabolites for distinguishing between postpartum prediabetes and normal glucose tolerance of the subjects at the fasting (AUC, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.94-1.00) and 2-hour post-load (AUC, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.97-1.00) time points. The metabolic pathway analysis indicated that energy metabolism and branched-chain amino acids played a role in the development of prediabetes in women with a history of GDM during early postpartum. In conclusion, this study identified potential metabolic biomarkers and pathways associated with the progression from GDM to prediabetes in the early postpartum period. A panel of 15 metabolites showed promising discriminative power for distinguishing between postpartum prediabetes and normal glucose tolerance. These findings provide insights into the underlying pathophysiology of this transition and suggest the feasibility of developing a metabolic profiling test for the early identification of women at high risk of prediabetes following GDM.

Silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiO 2 NPs) are widely utilized in biomedicine due to their controllable size and biocompatibility. While previous studies have demonstrated that prenatal exposure to SiO 2 NPs can traverse the placental barrier and induce neurotoxicity in offspring. However, their reproductive toxicity remains unclear. Here, it is found that prenatal SiO 2 NPs exposure led to subfertility in female offspring, evidenced by decreased ovulation potential, ovarian reserve, and litter size. In contrast, male offspring maintained normal sperm production and fertility. Mechanistic analyses revealed that prenatal SiO 2 NPs exposure disrupted meiotic recombination and increased oocyte apoptosis, resulting in reduced postnatal primordial follicle formation in females. Conversely, meiotic recombination occurring postnatally in male offspring remained unaffected. Notably, treatment with carboxylate (COOH)-functionalized SiO 2 nanoparticles (SiO 2 -COOH NPs) has a minimal impact on fertility in female offspring. Further research, including clinical studies, is needed to confirm these findings in humans. These findings demonstrated gender-specific reproductive toxicity induced by prenatal SiO 2 NPs exposure and highlighted the importance of considering nanoparticle safety in prenatal contexts., (© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Detecting doping agents in sports poses a significant challenge due to the continuous emergence of new prohibited substances and methods. Traditional detection methods primarily rely on targeted analysis, which is often labor-intensive and is susceptible to errors. In response, machine learning offers a transformative approach to enhancing doping screening and detection. With its powerful data analysis capabilities, machine learning enables the rapid identification of patterns and features in complex compound data, increasing both the efficiency and the accuracy of detection. Moreover, when integrated with nontargeted metabolomics, machine learning can predict unknown metabolites, aiding the discovery of long-lasting biomarkers of doping. It also excels in classifying novel compounds, thereby reducing false-negative rates. As instrumental analysis and machine learning technologies continue to advance, the development of rapid, scalable, and highly efficient doping detection methods becomes increasingly feasible, supporting the pursuit of fairness and integrity in sports competitions.

The emergence of unisexual flower is an important event during plant evolution. The molecular mechanism underlying the formation of unisexual flowers remains unclear in dioecious spinach. In this study, we identified the spinach MALE STERILITY1 gene, SpMS1, which serves as a masculine factor to regulate male fertility and sex reversion. Silencing SpMS1 led to stamen sterility in male flowers and the development of masculine traits in female flowers. Overexpression of SpMS1 in wild-type Arabidopsis resulted in sterile stamens and irregular pollen exine. Notably, ectopic expression of SpMS1 in Arabidopsis ms1 mutants restored pollen viability and flower fertility. Furthermore, our findings demonstrate that SpMS1 interacts with MADS-box transcription factor SpAP1 to regulate unisexual flower development. Thus, SpMS1 exhibits a conserved function in pollen fertility akin to bisexual flowers, while also acting as a key regulator of unisexual flower development in spinach. This study sheds light on the mechanism of sex differentiation in dioecious plants and also provides valuable insights for manipulating male sterility in plant breeding programs., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site–for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

The STING pathway plays a critical role in tumor immunosurveillance. However, the precise mechanisms by which STING regulates gamma delta (γδ) T cell function during tumor progression remain unclear. Herein, we find that tumor-derived cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) activates a distinct STING pathway by inducing TBK1-mediated phosphorylation of Eomes in γδ T cells during the early stage of tumor development is demonstrated. This activation leads to interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) production and consequent tumor surveillance. However, at advanced stages of tumor progression, the accumulation of immune-suppressive cytokine transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) downregulates STING levels, compromising the function of γδ T cells. Notably, the synergism between TGF-β inhibition and STING agonists effectively counteracts the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, thereby augmenting the antitumoral effects of γδ T cells. These findings present a novel mechanism involving STING-mediated IFN-γ production in γδ T cells and hold significant implications for the development of potent immunotherapeutic approaches against cancer., (© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Lack of health knowledge can be a main cause of barriers to early diagnosis and treatment, and it can also highlight the deficiencies in health education. Therefore, it is essential to understand the health knowledge needs of individuals and the related influencing factors in order to improve health education models. A total of 935 administrative staff (AS) were selected as study participants by convenience sampling in Yuxi City, China. An electronic questionnaire, comprising four parts-Health Knowledge Needs, Sociodemographic Characteristics, Health Psychology and Behavior, and Self-Reported Medical History-were used to collect data. Statistical analysis was conducted using an internal consistency test, Kruskal-Wallis test, principal component analysis, hierarchical clustering analysis, and binary logistic regression analysis, performed with SPSS version 19.0. The Health Knowledge Needs Questionnaire had a Cronbach's α of 0.883 and a Guttman Split-Half coefficient of 0.907. The need rates for health knowledge exceeding 30% are as follows: Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hypertension, Weight Management, Dietary Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Hyperlipidemia, Gastrointestinal Diseases, Heart Diseases, and First Aid. Health knowledge needs were summarized into six dimensions: "Diseases with Low Health Knowledge Needs", "Maternal and Child Health Care and Thyroid Diseases", "Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases and Malignancies", "Health Preservation and First Aid", "The Four Highs Syndrome", and "Respiratory and Digestive Diseases". Gender, self-rated economic pressure, family size, and self-reported number of diseases were identified as influencing factors of health knowledge needs (P < 0.05). Thus, precision health education should be conducted according to the health knowledge needs of the target group, and various health knowledge topics should be organically integrated into modular health education to improve its efficiency., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The research protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University (Approval number: 2020kmykdx6h03). This research was conducted in strict accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and within the validity period of the ethical approval. No incentives were offered to induce participants to take part in this study. Participants were provided with an informed consent form on the front page of the questionnaire, and were required to sign an electronic informed consent form prior to participation in the survey. The participants could withdraw from the study at any time. To ensure anonymity and confidentiality, the questionnaire did not collect participants’ personal information such as names, contact details, home addresses, workplace addresses, etc. The raw data was stored in a password-protected database with identity authentication to further enhance security. The questionnaire was carefully designed to exclude any discriminatory or offensive content, and it did not include items that might induce physical discomfort or psychological distress among participants., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

A dibenzo[ hi , st ]ovalene (DBOV) derivative bay-substituted with two piperazinylphenyl (PZP) groups (DBOV-PZP) was synthesized. Comprehensive investigations of its photophysical properties revealed acid-induced fluorescence enhancement through the protonation of PZP units, leading to the suppression of the photoinduced electron transfer. These results pave the way towards "turn-on" type nanographenes for biosensing and optical imaging.

Cementum, a bone-like tissue, is an essential component of periodontium, and periodontitis can lead to degenerative changes in the cementum, eventually resulting in tooth loss. The therapeutic strategy for advanced periodontitis is to achieve periodontal regeneration, of which cementum regeneration is a key criterion. Cementoblasts are responsible for cementogenesis, and their mineralization counts in cementum regeneration. However, research is still limited. Thus, novel treatment targets are required. The expression levels of lysine (K)-specific demethylase 6B (KDM6B), fatty acid oxidation (FAO), and cementogenic markers were detected by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, immunofluorescence, and immunohistochemical assays. FAO levels were analyzed by assay kit. In vivo , injection of GSK-J4 into mice detected the influence of KDM6B on cementum formation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing, transcriptomic RNA sequencing, subsequent chromatin immunoprecipitation-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and overexpression of HADHA (hydroxyacyl-coA dehydrogenase trifunctional multienzyme complex subunit alpha) elucidated the KDM6B- Hadha axis. Global lactylation was detected by Western blot. Lactylation proteomics clarified the modified sites of HADHA. Mutating these sites and applying coimmunoprecipitation confirmed their significance. Knockdown of Kdm6b was utilized to assess its regulation on the lactylation of HADHA, FAO, and mineralization levels. FAO and KDM6B expression was elevated during cementoblast mineralization. KDM6B targeted Hadha and activated its transcription, thereby increasing FAO levels and promoting mineralization. Lactylation occurred in the process of mineralization, and KDM6B could regulate the lactylation of HADHA to promote FAO and mineralization. Overexpression of Hadha and the addition of lactate sodium could rescue the inhibition of mineralization by knockdown of Kdm6b . In summary, during cementoblast mineralization, KDM6B regulates HADHA by mediating histone demethylation and lactylation, thereby upregulating FAO and thus promoting mineralization., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Background: The Stress Hyperglycemia Ratio (SHR), a new biomarker calculated from glucose and HbA1c levels, has been linked to significant clinical outcomes in diabetes. This study investigates the potential of the SHR to predict End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) among patients with Diabetic Kidney Disease (DKD)., Methods: We included 316 participants from the West China Hospital T2DM-DKD cohort (January 2008-September 2020), divided into three SHR tertiles: T1 (SHR <0.7), T2 (SHR ≥0.7 to <0.94) and T3 (SHR ≥0.94). A second retrospective cohort of 625 DKD patients was recruited from Sichuan University Hospital (January 2019-May 2022), with similar inclusion criteria. SHR was analysed using Restricted Cubic Spline, Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards models. Key confounders such as eGFR, proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia and glucose-lowering medications were adjusted for in the analysis., Results: In Cohort 1 (median follow-up 42 months), 38.6% developed ESRD. Kaplan-Meier curves showed a higher incidence of ESRD in the lowest and highest SHR tertiles compared to the middle group (p < 0.01). Multivariate analysis confirmed that SHR <0.7 (HR 1.71, 95% CI: 1.01-2.90) and SHR ≥0.94 (HR 1.93, 95% CI: 1.16-3.20) were significantly associated with ESRD. In Cohort 2 (median follow-up 18.6 months), patients with SHR <0.7 and ≥0.94 had significantly higher risks of ≥30% eGFR decline or ESRD, with adjusted HRs of 2.18 (95% CI: 1.15-4.11) and 2.68 (95% CI: 1.38-5.23), respectively., Conclusion: This study observed a U-shaped relationship between SHR and ESRD in patients with DKD. Both very high and very low SHR values correlate with increased risks, highlighting the critical importance of glucose management in chronic diabetes care., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Microfluidic-engineered hydrogel microspheres have emerged as a promising avenue for advancements in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, particularly through the precise manipulation of fluids to achieve personalized composite biomaterials. In this study, we employed microfluidic technology to fabricate hydrogel microspheres (HMs) using Chinese herbal Bletilla striata polysaccharide (BSP) as the primary material. Concurrently, the natural active ingredient 20(S)-protopanaxadiol (PPD) was encapsulated within the HMs in the form of liposomes (PPD-Lipo), resulting in the formation of nanocomposite hydrogel microspheres (PPD-Lipo@HMs) intended for diabetic wound tissue repair. PPD-Lipo@HMs are characterized by the expansive specific surface area, adjustable mechanical properties, and exceptional biocompatibility. PPD-Lipo@HMs can stimulate the production of vascular endothelial factors, which in turn enhances the migration of endothelial cells, the creation of tubes, angiogenesis, and tissue repair. Moreover, the PPD-Lipo@HMs accumulation produces a microsphere scaffold that effectively covers damaged tissues, promoting the attachment, spread, and multiplication of fibroblast and endothelial cells. The polysaccharide material BSP within PPD-Lipo@HMs can modulate the immune microenvironment of the damaged tissue, reducing inflammation, encouraging re-epithelialization and granulation tissue formation, accelerating angiogenesis and collagen deposition, ultimately leading to tissue repair. The findings highlight the superior therapeutic efficacy of the microfluidic-engineered PPD-Lipo@HMs in addressing the complex challenges of diabetic wound tissue repair, thereby affirming the significant potential of microfluidic engineering technology in tissue repair applications., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: All animal experiments were approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (SYXK2024-092). Consent for publication: All authors read and agreed to submit the manuscript. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a common malignant tumor occurring in various sites such as the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, and nasal cavity. This study aimed to explore the biological functions and prognostic value of E2F transcription factor 1 (E2F1) in HNSCC. Transcriptome and single-cell sequencing (scRNA-seq) data of HNSCC patients were analyzed using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). All samples were divided into high and low expression groups based on the expression levels of E2F1. A risk model was constructed based on Lasso-Cox regression, and the differences between the two groups in terms of prognosis were explored. The scRNA-seq data of HNSCC samples were analyzed using the Seurat package to identify cell types. AUCell was used to score different types of cells, and subsequently, the interaction pathways between the high-scoring cell population and other cell populations were explored using the CellChat package. The expression level of E2F1 in tumor tissues was higher than that in normal tissues, which was confirmed by in vitro experiments. Analysis of transcriptome data from TCGA revealed significant differences in overall survival (OS) between the high and low expression groups. Prognostic genes were selected based on DEGs between the two groups, and a risk model was constructed. Subsequently, a nomogram model was constructed based on clinical factors and risk scores, which exhibited good predictive performance. The expression landscape of prognostic genes in different cell types was explored using scRNA-seq data of HNSCC samples. Dendritic cell populations were identified as high-scoring cell populations, and the pathways of interaction between this cell population and other cell populations were explored. We identified E2F1 as an independent prognostic factor closely associated with the prognosis and immune response of HNSCC., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethical Approval: The utilization of patient tissue samples received approval from the Ethics Committee of the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University (Approval Number: 2020KY283). Consent for Publication: Not applicable. Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is the most prevalent microvascular complication of diabetes and Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu Decoction (HGWD) is frequently employed in classical Chinese medicine for treating DPN. This study aims to investigate the potential therapeutic targets and mechanisms of HGWD for treating DPN using network pharmacology and molecular docking methodologies. The intersection targets of DPN and HGWD were retrieved from the databases, with the resulting intersection targets being imported into the STRING database to construct the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Cytoscape 3.9.1 was used to screen the core targets and plot the herb-active ingredient-target (H-A-T) network. To identify the pivotal signaling pathways, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were performed on intersection targets. Molecular docking was subsequently conducted with AutoDock Vina to validate the binding energy between the core active ingredients and the core targets. 91 potential targets of HGWD were identified for the treatment of DPN. Topological analysis revealed core targets, including AKT1, TNF, PPARG, NFKB1, TP53, STAT3, PTGS2, HIF1A, ESR1, and GSK3B, alongside core active ingredients such as protoporphyrin, jaranol, kaempferol, quercetin, and isorhamnetin. GO and KEGG analyses indicated that PI3K/AKT, HIF-1, and AGE/RAGE signaling pathways could be crucial in treating DPN using HGWD. Furthermore, molecular docking results demonstrated robust binding activities between the active ingredients in HGWD and the identified core targets. The above results indicated that HGWD may exerting an anti-DPN effect by modulating the PI3K/AKT, HIF-1, and AGE/RAGE signaling pathways., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethical approval: Not applicable. This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors. Consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent to publish: All the authors listed have approved the manuscript that is enclosed. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Efficient adsorption separation of xenon/krypton (Xe/Kr) mixtures is an important technological challenge due to their similar sizes and shapes. Herein, we report an ultramicroporous metal-organic framework (MOF), ZJU-Bao-302a, with pore sizes close to the kinetic diameter of Xe and pore surfaces lined with a high density of polar sites, including methyl groups, amines, and uncoordinated oxygen atoms. The synergistic effect of these polar sites enables ZJU-Bao-302a to exhibit a high Xe uptake of 2.77 mmol g -1 and a balanced Xe/Kr selectivity of 14.6 under ambient conditions. Dynamic breakthrough experiments demonstrate the material's capability to efficiently separate Xe/Kr mixtures (20/80) as well as capture Xe at ultralow concentrations (400 ppmv) from nuclear reprocessing exhausts, achieving a superior dynamic Xe capacity of 24.2 mmol kg -1 . Density functional theory calculations reveal that the localized polar groups/atoms in ZJU-Bao-302a provide more effective recognition sites for Xe than Kr, enhancing the thermodynamic selectivity. This study highlights the importance of integrating tailored pore sizes and dense polar sites in metal-organic frameworks for developing high-performance Xe/Kr separation adsorbents.

The nasal mucosa is composed of multiple layers of barrier structures and is the first line of defense against infection by respiratory pathogenic microorganisms. A large number of commensal microorganisms are present in the nasal mucosa that mediate and regulate nasal mucosal barrier function. The objective of this research was to investigate the effects of commensal microorganisms on the nasal mucosal barrier. The results revealed that the strain of Bacillus velezensis (B. velezensis) NSV2 from the nasal cavity has good probiotic abilities to resist Pasteurella multocida, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium. Lambs were subsequently administered intranasally with B. velezensis NSV2 at 3, 12, 21, and 26 days old, respectively. For the microbial barrier, although B. velezensis NSV2 reduces the diversity of nasal microbiota, it significantly increased the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria in the nasal cavity, and reduced the abundance of potential pathogenic bacteria. For the mucus barrier, the number of goblet cells in the nasal mucosa significantly increased after B. velezensis NSV2 treatment. For the immune barrier, B. velezensis NSV2 also significantly increased the number of IgA + B cells, CD3 + T cells and dendritic cells in the nasal mucosa, as well as the mRNA expression of interleukin (IL) 6, IL11, CCL2, and CCL20 (P < 0.05). The protein level of CCL20 also significantly raised in nasal washings (P < 0.05). Moreover, the heat-inactivated and culture products of B. velezensis NSV2 also drastically induced the expression of CCL20 in nasal mucosa explants (P < 0.05), but lower than that of the live bacteria. This study demonstrated that a symbiotic strain of B. velezensis NSV2 could improve the nasal mucosal barrier, and emphasized the important role of nasal symbiotic microbiota., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethical approval: All animal procedures and experiments were performed according to protocols approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Nanjing Agricultural University (SYXK-2017-0027) and followed the National Institutes of Health guidelines. Competing interests: There are no conflicts of interest (financial, professional or personal) related to this manuscript., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Background: Although oxidative stress is strongly connected to the initiation and progression of cancer, the underlying molecular pathways remain unknown. The redox regulator CNC-bZIPs are important transcription factor groups that mediate the interplay of environmental cues and intercellular homeostasis. Immune checkpoint molecules (ICMs) are key molecules that mediate the communication between immune cells and tumor cells. This research sought to explore the transcriptional regulatory effects of CNC-bZIPs on ICMs., Methods: The potential role of CNC-bZIPs in tumors and the correlation between CNC-bZIPs and ICMs were analyzed by the gene expression characteristics, survival analysis, and correlation analysis in TCGA data. And the transcriptional regulatory effects of CNC-bZIPs on ICMs were verified through cis acting element analysis and promoter activity reporter experiments., Results: In this study, we found that high expression of CNC-bZIPs predicted poor prognosis, and we determined that CNC-bZIPs are universally connected to ICMs by analyzing gene expression correlation in TCGA tumor data. Specifically, CD47 and CD274 exhibit universally positive correlation with CNC-bZIPs in various tumor tissues. Promoter analysis revealed that there are several ARE elements, which are specifically recognized by CNC-bZIPs, in the promoter regions of CD47 and CD274 genes. Overexpression of NFE2L1 and NFE2L2 was used to explore the regulation of common ICM genes, such as CD47 and CD274, and the transcriptional regulatory effect of CNC-bZIPs on ICMs was confirmed using promoter activity reporter experiments., Conclusion: In this study, the universal and systematic transcriptional regulatory role of the CNC-bZIP transcription factor family on ICMs was discovered. According to this study, the results and conclusions drawn are based on gene expression correlation and promoter activity assays, the CNC-bZIPs/ICMs transcriptional regulatory axis was revealed to be a potential regulatory axis that may drive redox signaling and anti-tumor immune responses., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: All authors consent to the publication of this manuscript. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

While noble metal nanoparticles (MNPs) exhibit remarkable performance in heterogeneous catalysis and their incorporation into crystalline materials can fully exploit the combined advantages of both, achieving introduction of nanoclusters during material crystallization, precisely controlling their interactions, and facilitating catalyst recovery remain significant challenges. In this study, Au NPs, Pt NPs, and Pd NPs are supported on magnetic Fe 3 O 4 , enabling the modulation of the electronic states of MNPs by adjusting the introduction method. Notably, the catalysts (Pt/Fe 3 O 4 , Au/Fe 3 O 4 , and Pd/Fe 3 O 4 ) demonstrate excellent activity in chemoselective reactions: cinnamaldehyde (CAL) hydrogenation (turnover number: 20,135 h -1 ), nitrobenzene hydrogenation (with 99.9% selectivity for major nitrobenzene derivatives and robust stability at 19 cycles), and 3-nitrophenylacetylene (3-NPA) hydrogenation (yielding up to 98.4% 3-aminophenylacetylene (3-APA)), in stark contrast to the low activity of comparable catalysts. This paper proposes a novel and versatile solid-phase mechanochemistry strategy that achieves precise control over the microenvironment of MNPs while maintaining their inherent activity, thereby offering an effective approach to develop catalysts with high specificity and easy recovery capabilities.

The coastal region of China is a typical area characterized by a developed economy, yet it faces prominent resource and environmental issues, and it is of great significance to quantitatively assess the ecological effects resulting from rapid urbanization and industrialization. Based on the land use data from 1985 to 2020, and the InVEST modeling and relevant spatial data sources, the paper analyzed the spatial and temporal changes in land use cover and habitat quality in the coastal China over the past 30 years. The results show that: 1) land use cover in the coastal China has changed significantly during the study period, with the area of cultivated land continuing to decrease and construction land expanding; 2) the trend of habitat quality degradation in was obvious, with the area of low-value habitat quality continuing to increase. Spatially, they were mainly located in the three major urban agglomerations undergoing rapid industrialization and urbanization; 3) The average degradation of habitats increased significantly between 1990 and 2000 and 2010-2020. The rate of change in areas with different degradation levels from 1990 to 2000 was higher than in other periods. The low-value areas of habitat degradation are mainly located in hilly and mountainous regions. 4) The transfer of habitat grades was generally characterized by a shift from high grade to low grade. This trend of conversion was due to the large-scale occupation of cultivated land by construction land and the long-term encroachment of ecological land by cultivated land. For future development, it is recommended to improve the land use regulation system based on the principles of sustainable development, with a particular focus on habitat protection. Additionally, efforts should be made to strengthen the development of ecological agriculture, carry out ecological protection and restoration, and improve the mechanisms for coordinating land and sea management., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This study aimed to examine the correlation between smoking, alcohol drinking, and the prognosis of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC)., Methods: Clinical data from 721 NPC cases treated at our hospital between January 2005 and December 2010 were collected. Information on smoking and drinking, including duration, daily quantity, and cumulative amount, was recorded and graded according to WHO standards. Statistical analysis was performed to assess the influence of smoking and alcohol drinking on NPC patient prognosis. After controlling for confounding factors, survival analysis compared the 5-year Progression-Free Survival rate (PFS) and Overall Survival rate (OS) among patients with varying degrees of smoking and drinking. The association between smoking, drinking, cumulative amount, and NPC patient prognosis was evaluated. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was then employed, considering patient demographic characteristics and clinical features, to comprehensively analyze prognostic influencing factors in NPC patients. Additionally, the multivariate Cox regression analysis was utilized to comprehensively examine the influencing factors of prognosis, taking into account the patients' basic demographic characteristics and clinical features. The findings revealed significant differences in the aforementioned rates., Results: (1) Analysis of PFS and OS differences in NPC patients considered smoking status, smoking duration, daily smoking quantity, and cumulative smoking amount. No significant influence of smoking on NPC patient PFS and OS within 5-years was observed (p > 0.05). (2) Non-drinkers with NPC exhibited higher 5-year PFS and OS rates compared to drinkers (p = 0.047, p = 0.026). Furthermore, non-drinkers and those with a drinking duration of less than 120 months or between 120-240 months showed higher 5-year PFS and OS rates than individuals with a drinking duration exceeding 240 months (p < 0.05). Similarly, non-drinkers and individuals consuming less than 50 g/day had higher 5-year PFS and OS rates compared to those consuming 50-100 g/day or more than 100 g/day (p < 0.05). Additionally, the 5-year PFS and OS rates were higher in the non-drinking and light drinking groups compared to the moderate and heavy drinking groups (p < 0.05). (3) A partial synergistic effect between smoking and alcohol drinking was observed in NPC. (4) Alcohol drinking emerged as an independent prognostic factor for NPC., Conclusion: Alcohol drinking is a significant factor influencing the prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, with the adverse effects further amplified when combined with smoking., Level of Evidence: Level 2., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier España S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Background: Patients with advanced cancer experience physical and psychological pain that affects their quality of life. This review aimed to systematically search, evaluate, and summarize the best evidence on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) nursing interventions in hospice care for patients with advanced cancer and to provide an evidence-based foundation for clinical care. The time limit for the search was from 2010 to September 2024., Methods: A top-down search of relevant literature was conducted according to the "6S" evidence model, including clinical decisions, guidelines, best practices, evidence summaries, systematic reviews, expert consensus, and randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The literature was evaluated, and evidence was extracted independently by two researchers. The evidence was appraised using the Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation (AGREE) tool and integrated with an evidence-based team consisting of six members., Results: Thirty-three publications were included, including four guidelines, two expert consensus, two clinical decisions, two evidence summaries, twenty-one systematic reviews, and two RCTs. Thirty-six indicators of best evidence were summarized from eight areas: TCM therapy, acupuncture therapy, moxibustion therapy, acupressure therapy, music therapy, traditional Chinese exercise therapy, auricular therapy, and aromatherapy., Conclusion: This review summarizes the best evidence for TCM nursing interventions in hospice care for patients with advanced cancer, which can be used by clinical healthcare professionals to develop appropriate TCM nursing interventions in combination with the actual situation and with full consideration of the needs and wishes of the patients and their families to improve the patients' quality of life in advanced stages., 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 Inc. All rights reserved.)

The close spatial and temporal connection between osteogenesis and angiogenesis around type H vasculature is referred as "osteogenesis-angiogenesis coupling", which is one of the basic mechanisms of osteogenesis. Endothelial cells (ECs), bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), and their specific lineage constitute important cluster that participate in the regulation of osteogenesis and angiogenesis in bone microenvironment. However, the regulatory mechanism of osteogenesis-angiogenesis coupling under the condition of bone healing has not been unveiled. In this study, we demonstrated that the exosome derived from ECs (EC-exo) is an initiator of type H blood vessels formation, and EC-exo acts as a mediator in orchestrating osteogenesis-angiogenesis coupling by enhancing BMSC osteogenic differentiation and EC angiogenesis both in monolayer and stereoscopic co-culture system of primary human cells. The transcriptome array indicated that zinc finger and BTB domain containing 16 (ZBTB16) is a key gene in EC-exo-mediated osteogenesis, and ZBTB16 is indispensable in EC-exo-initiated osteogenesis-angiogenesis coupling. Mechanistically, EC-exo up-regulated the expression of ZBTB16 in BMSCs, thereby promoting osteoprogenitor phenotype transformation; the osteoprogenitors further promote ECs which constitute type H vessel (H-ECs) generation by activating HIF-1α pathway; and the H-ECs conversely promotes osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs. The crosstalk between BMSCs and ECs triggered by EC-exo constitutes a positive feedback loop that enhances osteogenesis-angiogenesis coupling. This study demonstrates that EC-exo can become an effective therapeutic tool to promote bone regeneration and repair., Competing Interests: Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate Obtaining samples of hBMSCs was reviewed and approved by Ethics Committee of the First Hospital of Jilin University (No. 22K095-002). The animal experiment was reviewed and approved by the Animal Protection and Utilization Committee of Changchun Weishi Testing Technology Service (No. 20230109-01). Consent for publication All authors agree to be published. Conflict of interest The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) circulating tumor cells (CTCs) exhibit significant phenotypic heterogeneity and diverse gene expression profiles due to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). However, current detection methods lack the capacity for simultaneous quantification of multidimensional biomarkers, impeding a comprehensive understanding of tumor biology and dynamic changes. Here, the CTC Digital Simultaneous Cross-dimensional Output and Unified Tracking (d-SCOUT) technology is introduced, which enables simultaneous quantification and detailed interpretation of HCC transcriptional and phenotypic biomarkers. Based on self-developed multi-real-time digital PCR (MRT-dPCR) and algorithms, d-SCOUT allows for the unified quantification of Asialoglycoprotein Receptor (ASGPR), Glypican-3 (GPC-3), and Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule (EpCAM) proteins, as well as Programmed Death Ligand 1 (PD-L1), GPC-3, and EpCAM mRNA in HCC CTCs, with good sensitivity (LOD of 3.2 CTCs per mL of blood) and reproducibility (mean %CV = 1.80-6.05%). In a study of 99 clinical samples, molecular signatures derived from HCC CTCs demonstrated strong diagnostic potential (AUC = 0.950, sensitivity = 90.6%, specificity = 87.5%). Importantly, by integrating machine learning, d-SCOUT allows clustering of CTC characteristics at the mRNA and protein levels, mapping normalized heterogeneous 2D molecular profiles to assess HCC metastatic risk. Dynamic digital tracking of eight HCC patients undergoing different treatments visually illustrated the therapeutic effects, validating this technology's capability to quantify the treatment efficacy. CTC d-SCOUT enhances understanding of tumor biology and HCC management., (© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Background: Bipolar disorder is a complex polygenic disorder that is characterized by recurrent episodes of depression and mania, the heterogeneity of which is likely complicated by epigenetic modifications that remain to be elucidated., Methods: We performed transcriptomic analysis of peripheral blood RNA from monozygotic (MZ) twins discordant for bipolar disorder to identify disease-associated differentially expressed long noncoding RNAs (DE-lncRNAs), which were further validated in the PsychENCODE brain RNA-seq dataset. We then performed behavioral tests, electrophysiological assays, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and PCR to investigate the function of DE-lncRNAs in the mouse and cell models. Statistical analyses were performed using GraphPad Prism 9.0 or SPSS., Results: We identified a bipolar disorder-associated upregulated long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), AP1AR-DT. We observed that overexpression of AP1AR-DT in the mouse medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) resulted in a reduction of both the total spine density and the spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic current (sEPSC) frequency of mPFC neurons as well as depressive and anxiety-like behaviors. A combination of the results of brain transcriptome analysis of AP1AR-DT overexpressing mice brains with the known genes associated with bipolar disorder revealed that NEGR1, which encodes neuronal growth regulator 1, is one of the AP1AR-DT targets and is reduced in vivo upon gain of AP1AR-DT in mice. We further demonstrated that overexpression of recombinant Negr1 in the mPFC neurons of AP1AR-DT OE mice ameliorates depressive and anxiety-like behaviors and normalizes the reduced excitatory synaptic transmission induced by the gain of AP1AR-DT. We finally identified that AP1AR-DT reduces NEGR1 expression by competing for the transcriptional activator NRF1 in the overlapping binding site of the NEGR1 promoter region., Conclusions: The epigenetic and pathophysiological mechanism linking AP1AR-DT to the modulation of depressive and anxiety-like behaviors and excitatory synaptic function provides etiological implications for bipolar disorder., Competing Interests: Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate All participants in this study provided informed consent prior to the study following presentation of the nature of the procedures. The study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University (#2022-KY-086) and the third People’s Hospital of Zhongshan (SSYLL20210301). The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Consent for publication Not applicable. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the most prevalent type of hair loss. Traditionally, treatment for AGA has primarily involved the topical application of minoxidil in conjunction with oral finasteride or spironolactone. Recently, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has emerged as a significant focus of research in hair loss treatment. However, many studies on PRP-assisted hair transplantation have encountered various limitations., Objective: This study aims to conduct a prospective, comparative clinical investigation to evaluate the therapeutic effects of combining PRP with minoxidil and finasteride/spironolactone as adjuncts to hair transplantation., Method: From August 2019 to December 2022, we enrolled 30 patients with AGA in the study, randomly assigning them to an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received drug therapy alongside hair transplantation and underwent PRP injections, whereas the control group received only drug therapy to assist with hair transplantation., Results: Prior to surgery, no significant differences in baseline data were observed between the two groups. Following treatment, the experimental group demonstrated significantly improved follicle survival rates, follicle growth rates, and hair strength compared with the control group., Conclusion: This prospective, comparative clinical study demonstrated that the application of PRP in conjunction with pharmacological support during FUE treatment for AGA resulted in improved follicle survival rates, hair growth rates, and hair strength., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

With the increasing sales of electric vehicles, lots of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) assembled with LiFePO4 (LFP) cathodes will retire in the next few years, posing a significant challenge for their effective and environmentally-friendly recycling. The main reason why spent LFP cathodes fail to re-utilize lies in the lattice defects caused by lithium loss and structural defects resulting from stress accumulation. In this work, we propose an in-situ granule reconstruction strategy to directly regenerate spent LFP black mass (S-BM) using glycerol in industry settings. The hydroxyl groups abundant in glycerol serves as electron donor that help reduce Fe (III) and repair Fe-Li antisite defects (FeLi). Additionally, the chelating properties of glycerol intervene with structurally disintegrated particles, inhibiting Oswald ripening effect and promoting bonding of grain boundaries to generate lamellar microcrystals with homogeneous grain size, recover their morphology and crystal structure after a facile annealing procedure. Furthermore, the regenerated LFP restores Fe-O bonds which further inhibits structural distortion and improve Li+ migration kinetics. As a result, the regenerated industrial LFP black mass (R-BM) exhibits superior lithium storage performance with a discharge capacity of 123.2 mA h g-1 after 500 cycles at 5.0 C (a capacity retention rate of 93.1%)., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

The purpose of the present study is to develop an easy and effective one-step pyrolytic method for synthesizing carbon dots (CDs) derived from folic acid (FA), denoted herein as FACDs. This method is green, inexpensive, and simplifies the synthesis of fluorescent carbon nanomaterials with enhanced and stable fluorescence. Moreover, the as-prepared FACDs are effective in the sensitive and selective detection of cysteine (Cys) by such a "turn-on" mechanism of fluorescence. FACDs have been able to realize a low detection limit of 1.7 × 10 -7 M and a wide linear range from 5.0 × 10 -7 to 8.0 × 10 -5 M, successfully restoring quenched fluorescence in the presence of Cys. Obtained results confirm FACDs as a trustful high-performance sensor for various biological and environmental applications and pave the way for facile and efficient fluorescence-based detection platforms.

Plants have evolved multiple complex mechanisms enabling them to adapt to low nitrogen (LN) stress via increased nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) as nitrogen deficiency in soil is a major factor limiting plant growth and development. However, the adaptive process and evolutionary roles of LN tolerance-related genes in plants remain largely unknown. In this study, we resequenced 191 watermelon accessions and examined their phenotypic differences related to LN tolerance. A major gene ClSIK1 encoding a serine/threonine protein kinase involved in the response to LN stress was identified on chromosome 11 using genome-wide association study and RNA-Seq analysis. According to a functional analysis, ClSIK1 overexpression can increase the root area, total biomass, NUE and LN tolerance by manipulating multiple nitrogen-metabolized genes. Interestingly, the desirable LN-tolerant haplotype ClSIK1 HapC was detected in only one wild relative (Citrullus mucosospermus) and likely gradually lost during watermelon domestication and improvement. This study clarified the regulatory effects of ClSIK1 on NUE and adaptations to LN stress, which also identifying valuable haplotypes-resolved gene variants for molecular design breeding of 'green' watermelon varieties highly tolerant to LN stress., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objectives: Stroke is the second leading cause of death and the third leading cause of disability globally, so monitoring inflammation and nutritional levels is essential for the secondary prevention. The impact of the Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI) on tumor and perioperative outcomes has been demonstrated as an optimal combination of immune and nutritional indicators. However, the role of PNI on hospitalized outcomes in stroke patients remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate the clinical predictive value of PNI on hospitalized outcomes in stroke patients., Materials and Methods: In this study, stroke cases in the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV database were analyzed using two-sample comparisons, proportional hazards model, subgroup analyses, and ROC analyses, and a nomogram was constructed., Results: 1795 stroke cases were included in this study, including 1537 in the survival group and 258 in the death group. The results showed that PNI was higher in the survival group than in the death group (43.98±0.21 vs. 36.09±0.49, P=0.001). The optimal regression equation obtained after screening variables using COX stepwise regression included age, GCS score, hypertension, PNI, leukocytes, and PT (C-index=0.730). The optimal regression equation showed that each increase in the PNI value was associated with a 6.6 % reduction in patient mortality, holding all other factors constant (HR 0.934, 95 %CI 0.914-0.954, P<0.008). Subgroup analyses showed that the Optimum regression equation was more effective in predicting hospitalized mortality in Hemorrhagic Stroke than in Ischemic Stroke (C-index: 0.803 vs. 0.703). ROC analysis revealed that the cut-off value of PNI for predicting hospital mortality in stroke patients was 37.45. The Kaplan-Meier curves clearly show that patients with PNI>37.45 have a higher survival rate than the low PNI group., Conclusions: Higher PNI is associated with better hospitalization outcomes for stroke patients. PNI can be used as a supplement to existing indicators, which helps predict the survival of stroke inpatients and provides reference value for clinical treatment., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The aim of this work was to develop a fluorescence method based on the polydopamine-polyethyleneimine (PDA-PEI) copolymerization, which was subsequently applied for the determination of 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) in food contact papers (FCMs). PEI could provide an alkaline environment and then react with dopamine (DA) to produce copolymers by Michael addition and Schiff-base reactions. This copolymer has a strong fluorescence emission at 527 nm. We found that amino groups of DA and PEI could also react with 3-MCPD in an alkaline medium, which improved the morphology and fluorescence intensity of PDA-PEI copolymers. The fluorescence intensity of the polymers was linear but inversely proportional to the concentration of 3-MCPD in the range of 10.0-500.0 μg kg -1 and the detection limit was 2 μg kg -1 . The standard addition method was used in FCMs to demonstrate the practical applicability and the spiked recoveries ranged from 99.8 to 110.3 %. Finally, the levels of 3-MCPD in different FCMs (n = 70) were determined by the proposed method. The detection frequencies ranged from 25 % to 100 % and both the highest detection frequency and levels were observed in kitchen papers. More than half of the samples did not comply with the limits recommended by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, suggesting that 3-MCPD released from FCMs is a major route of human 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 © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: Musculoskeletal (MSK) diseases represent a significant global public health challenge. Conducting comprehensive research on MSK diseases in China holds profound implications for public health., Methods: This study utilized data from the Global Burden of Disease 2021 (GBD 2021) to analyze the incidence rate, prevalence rate, mortality rate, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and years of life lost (YLLs) of MSK diseases in China from 1990 to 2021. Trends were evaluated using annual percentage change (APC), average annual percentage change (AAPC), and estimated annual percentage change (EAPC). Future disease trends were predicted using the Bayesian Age-Period-Cohort (BAPC) model., Results: China had the highest number of DALYs cases globally, totaling 30.4194 million. Low back pain (LBP) represented the largest burden, while hand osteoarthritis exhibited the fastest growth. Differences in disease burden were observed across various genders and age groups. Predictions indicate that between 2021 and 2030, the age-standardized DALYs rate in China will increase annually, reaching 1779.08 per 100,000 population by 2030. Environmental (occupational) factors had the most significant impact on the age-standardized DALYs rate, whereas renal dysfunction had the least impact. The SDI showed a moderately strong positive correlation with the age-standardized DALYs rate of MSK diseases., Conclusion: Over the past 20 years, the prevalence of MSK diseases in China has experienced a slight increase, while other epidemiological burden indicators have shown a downward trend. Projections indicate that the overall disease burden of MSK in China will continue to rise over the next decade, underscoring the need for early intervention strategies. Moreover, substantial differences in MSK disease burden across genders and age groups highlight the importance of developing targeted policy interventions to mitigate this burden., 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. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Nowadays α-amylase is widely used in various fields. Therefore, in this study, the effects of neutral (T 0 ), negatively charged (T 8 - ) and positively charged (T 9 + ) peptides on α-amylase activity were investigated by means of an applied protein electric field, and spectroscopy and molecular dynamics were employed to investigate this mechanism. It was found that the nature of the charge of the peptides had a strong influence on α-amylase activity, with T 8 - and T 9 + increasing and decreasing α-amylase activity, respectively, whereas T 0 had no effect on enzyme activity. Fluorescence spectroscopy and circular dichroism results indicated that the charged peptides changed the conformation of α-amylase. Meanwhile, the molecular dynamics results showed that the charged peptides changed the distribution of the surface charge of α-amylase mainly through electrostatic force, which not only changed the conformation of the enzyme, but also altered the microenvironment of the enzyme active centre, which caused α-amylase to become compact or loose to affect the enzyme activity., 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 Inc. All rights reserved.)

Phoebe species constitute a large portion of subtropical forestry, which are key players in biomass resources. However, abiotic stresses such as drought stress severely limit the growth and development of P. bournei, and even lead to its death. It has been shown that basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) as the second largest transcription factor family plays essential roles in response to multiple stresses in plants. However, little information of bHLH family is available in P. bournei. In this study, 130 PbbHLHs were identified and classified into 24 subfamilies. Then, the bHLH domain, conserved motifs and gene structures, evolutionary patterns and protein structural features were probed. The expression levels of 17 PbbHLHs were differentially induced by PEG and ABA by RT-qPCR analysis, indicating that they may be involved in drought stress response. Characterization of the drought candidate gene PbbHLH74 showed that it was transcriptionally active and localized in the nucleus. Heterologous transformation of PbbHLH74 into yeast improved cellular tolerance to drought stress. Meanwhile, overexpression of PbbHLH74 in Arabidopsis showed higher seed germination, plant biomass and expression levels of stress-related genes under drought conditions. Through the hairy root technique, overexpression of PbbHLH74 in P. bournei improved drought tolerance by enhancing root development and expression levels of genes involved in ABA-dependent and ROS scavenging pathways. Moreover, PbbHLH74 might positively regulate the expression of PbPOD by Y1H and dual-luciferase reporter assays. Overall, these results elucidated the structure and evolution of the PbbHLH family, in which PbbHLH74 could be applied to molecular assisted breeding for drought tolerance in P. bournei., 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 B.V. All rights reserved.)

Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical compound in plastics and resins, widely exist in people's production and life which have great potential to damage human and animal health. It has been proved that BPA could affect human immune function and promote the occurrence and development of autoimmune diseases (ADs). However, the mechanism and pathophysiology remain unknown. Therefore, this study aims to advance network toxicology strategies to efficiently investigate the putative toxicity and underlying molecular mechanisms of environmental pollutants, focusing on ADs induced by BPA exposure. Leveraging databases including ChEMBL, STITCH, SwissTargetPrediction, GeneCards, and OMIM, we identified potential targets associated with BPA exposure and ADs, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis (MS), Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and type 1 diabetes (T1D). Subsequent refinement using STRING and Cytoscape software highlighted core targets respectively, and Metascape was utilized for enrichment analysis. Gene expression data from the GEO database revealed the upregulation or downregulation of these targets across these ADs. Molecular docking performed with Autodock confirmed robust binding between BPA and core targets, notably PPARG, CTNNB1, ESR1, EGFR, SRC, and CCND1. These findings suggest that BPA exposure may serve as an environmental trigger in the development of autoimmunity, underscoring potential environmental risk factors for the onset of autoimmune conditions., 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. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Generally, invasive treatment is contraindication for patients with severe thrombocytopenia, because it may increase risk of bleeding. However, many early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with cirrhosis have platelet counts (PC) less than 50 × 10 9 /L due to hypersplenism. These patients are often accompanied by hepatic insufficiency, which makes hepatectomy impossible, and local thermal ablation (LTA) has become a major treatment. The aim of our study is to investigate the correlation between severe thrombocytopenia and bleeding after LTA in HCC patients with cirrhosis, and evaluate risk factors of bleeding. 473 patients with cirrhosis who underwent LTA for HCC from 2016 to 2020 were enrolled, and 709 ablations were performed in total. Based on preoperative PC, cases were divided into three groups, namely, group A (PC > 50 × 10 9 /L), group B (30 × 10 9 /L < PC ≤ 50 × 10 9 /L) and group C (PC ≤ 30 × 10 9 /L). The incidence of bleeding after LTA was compared among the three groups. Logistic regression was used to explore the risk factors for bleeding after ablation. The overall incidence of bleeding complications was 4.4%, and no significant difference was observed between group A, B, and C (3.9% vs. 6.4% vs. 3.3%, P = 0.410). In multivariate analysis, tumor diameter (OR = 2.657 per 1 cm, P < 0.001), and multiple lesions (≥ 3) (OR = 3.723, P = 0.006) were found to be independent predictors of bleeding after LTA. In small HCC patients with cirrhosis and hypersplenism, the PC range 30-50 × 10 9 /L will not increase the risk of bleeding after LTA. Tumor diameter and number of lesions are independent predictors for bleeding after LTA in HCC patients., Competing Interests: Declarations Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Ethical approval and consent to participate The study was a retrospective study approved by Ethics Committee of Chinese PLA General Hospital (K-Y-2023–1-1–1), and informed consent was waived., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Oriented zinc (Zn) electrodeposition is critical for the long-term performance of aqueous Zn metal batteries. However, the intricate interfacial reactions between the Zn anode and electrolytes hinder a comprehensive understanding of Zn metal deposition. Here, the reaction pathways of Zn deposition and report the preferential formation of Zn single-crystalline nuclei followed by dense Zn(002) deposition is elucidated, which is induced by a gradient solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI). The gradient SEI composed of abundant B-O and C species facilitates faster Zn 2+ nucleation rate and smaller nucleus size, promoting the formation of Zn single-crystalline nuclei. Additionally, the homogeneity and mechanical stability of SEI ensure the crystallographic reorientation of Zn anodes from Zn(101) to (002) planes, efficiently inhibiting dendrite growth and metal corrosion during the Zn 2+ stripping/plating process. These advantages significantly enhance the stability of the Zn anode, as demonstrated by the prolonged cycling lifespan of symmetric Zn batteries and exceptional reversibility (>99.5%) over 5000 cycles in Zn//Cu asymmetric batteries. Notably, this strategy also enables the stable operation of anode-free Zn//I 2 batteries with a long lifespan of 3000 cycles. This work advances the understanding of Zn electrochemical behaviors, encompassing Zn nucleation, growth, and Zn 2+ stripping/plating., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

The COVID-19 epidemic not only impacted China's economy but also induced periodic anxiety among employees, especially during its peak. Even as governmental controls relaxed, enterprises seemed unaffected externally. However, beneath the surface, the lingering effects on employee mental health persisted. Many faced dual stressors concerning their job and personal well-being due to the epidemic, heightening work-related anxieties. This research, a year after China resumed work, delves into the psychological stress influencing this sustained anxiety. A survey of 516 employees helped test the hypothesis using a multiple regression model. Findings indicated heightened continuous work anxiety due to the epidemic, particularly in hard-hit areas. However, individual resilience, organizational, and social support were found to mitigate these effects. The study underscores the sustained psychological aftermath of the epidemic on employees, urging health authorities to address it.

Background: Chronic subdural hematoma is a frequent neurosurgical illness, and current treatment options mostly include subdural trepanation and drainage alone, as well as middle meningeal artery embolization in conjunction with subdural trepanation and drainage. However, there is currently a lack of extensive study and data support for comparing the clinical results of the two surgical treatment techniques., Objective: The goal of this study is to compare the clinical effects of middle meningeal artery embolization combined with subdural trepanation and drainage versus simple subdural trepanation and drainage in the treatment of chronic subdural hematoma, in order to provide a reliable foundation for clinical selection of appropriate surgical treatment methods., Methods: This study included 71 patients with chronic subdural hematoma, who were divided into two groups according to the procedure: observation group (n = 25) and control group (n = 46). The control group received only basic subdural drilling and drainage., Conclusions: This study found that MMA embolization combined with subdural trepanation and drainage provides a greater therapeutic benefit in the treatment of chronic subdural hematoma. The observation group outperformed the control group in terms of postoperative CT results, Barthel index, and clinical effect, as well as operating time. Furthermore, the observation group's complications and recurrence rate were much lower than the control group's., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U.)

Endophytic actinomycetes exhibit considerable potential for the production of biologically active metabolites due to their coevolution with plant hosts. In this study, an endophytic Streptomyces chartreusis M7 was isolated from Houttuynia cordata Thunb. Bioactivity-guided investigation of the metabolites produced by this strain led to the identification of thirteen anthracycline-derived polyketides, including five unreported anthraquinones designated streptoquinones A-E (1-5) and two undescribed angular polyketides named chartins A and B (6-7) along with six knowns. Their structures were elucidated through comprehensive spectroscopic analysis and ECD calculations. Notably, chartins A (6) and B (7) feature angular tetracyclic and pentacyclic skeletons, respectively, which have undergone several oxidative rearrangements. Moreover, streptoquinone A (1) exhibited moderate cytotoxicity against A549 cells, with an IC 50 value of 4.8 μM., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest I (Yi Shuang Wang) declare that we have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the manuscript titled “Discovery of new anthracycline-derived polyketides with antitumor activity from endophytic Streptomyces sp. M7” submitted to Phytochemistry. I certify that I have read and understand the Phytochemistry conflict of interest policy, and I also understand that failure to disclose a conflict of interest may result in the manuscript being rejected or retracted. I understand that this information will be subject to peer review, and I am willing to provide further information if required. I confirm that we have no known conflicts of interest that would influence the results or interpretation of the data presented in this manuscript., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Angiogenesis following cerebral ischemia is crucial for restoring blood supply to the ischemic region. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) offer potential therapeutic benefits in the treatment of cerebral ischemia. Houshiheisan (HSHS) has been shown to improve clinical outcomes in ischemic stroke patients, reduce cerebral ischemic damage in rats, and protect endothelial cells. However, the potential effects of HSHS-modified EPC-derived EVs (EVs HSHS ) for cerebral ischemia remain unexplored. This study investigated the impact of EVs HSHS on angiogenesis using rats with permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO) and brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD). Results demonstrated that EVs HSHS promoted the proliferation, migration, and tube formation of BMECs in vitro. In vivo, high doses of EVs HSHS exhibited better performance than equivalent doses of unmodified EPC-derived EVs in reducing cerebral infarction volume, improving cortical blood perfusion, decreasing neurological deficit scores, and increasing cortical microvessel density at day 7 post-modeling. The pro-angiogenic effects of EVs HSHS following cerebral ischemia were associated with the regulation of miR-126 and the PIK3R2/PI3K/AKT pathway., Competing Interests: Declarations Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Remote sensing observations have shown that the far side of the Moon (lunar farside) has different geology and rock composition to the near side, including the abundances of potassium, rare earth elements, and phosphorus (collectively known as KREEP). The Chang'e-6 (CE-6) spacecraft collected samples from the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin on the farside and brought them to Earth. We use lead-lead and rubidium-strontium isotope systems to date low-titanium basalt in a CE-6 sample, finding a consistent age of 2830 ± 5 million years. We interpret this as the date of volcanism in SPA and incorporate it into lunar crater chronology. Strontium, neodymium and lead isotopes indicate the volcanic magma was from a lunar mantle source depleted in incompatible elements and containing almost no KREEP component.

This study aimed to evaluate the association between the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (hsCAR) and the prognosis of patients with STEMI and hypertension. A total of 699 patients diagnosed with STEMI and hypertension were included in this study database. Compared to the low TyG index group (< 7.8), the high TyG index group (≥ 7.8) was associated with an increased risk of MACE (HR 2.09, 95% CI = 1.58-2.77; P < 0.001). Similarly, a higher hsCAR (≥ 0.15) was linked to an increased risk of MACE (HR 1.46, 95% CI = 1.12-1.90; P = 0.005). Subsequently, we categorized the population into four groups based on the defined cutoff points. Compared to the low TyG-low hsCAR subgroup, the other three subgroups demonstrated an elevated risk of MACE. Among patients treated with PCSK9 and SGLT2 inhibitors, the combined effect of the TyG index and hsCAR on MACE was attenuated. Finally, The combined TyG index and hsCAR model exhibited optimal performance (AUC = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.67-0.75; P < 0.001). This study demonstrates that the TyG index and hsCAR provide strong combined predictive power. The synergistic utilization offers a comprehensive approach to cardiovascular risk assessment., Competing Interests: Declarations Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval and consent to participate The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Tianjin Medical University General Hospital (approval no. IRB2023-YX-301-01/2023). As this was a retrospective analysis of clinically acquired data, the institutional review board waived the requirement for written informed consent., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Metabolic reprogramming is a hallmark of cancer, enabling tumor cells to meet the high energy and biosynthetic demands required for their proliferation. High mobility group A1 (HMGA1) is a structural transcription factor and frequently overexpressed in human colorectal cancer (CRC). Here, we show that HMGA1 promotes CRC progression by driving lipid synthesis in a AOM/DSS-induced CRC mouse model. Using conditional knockout (Hmga1 △IEC ) and knock-in (Hmga1 IEC-OE/+ ) mouse models, we demonstrate that HMGA1 enhances CRC cell proliferation and accelerates tumor development by upregulating fatty acid synthase (FASN). Mechanistically, HMGA1 increases the transcriptional activity of sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP1) on the FASN promoter, leading to increased lipid accumulation in intestinal epithelial cells. Moreover, a high-fat diet exacerbates CRC progression in Hmga1 △IEC mice, while pharmacological inhibition of FASN by orlistat reduces tumor growth in Hmga1 IEC-OE/+ mice. Our findings suggest that targeting lipid metabolism could offer a promising therapeutic strategy for CRC., Competing Interests: Competing interests The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Protein-energy wasting (PEW) is a major contributor to the high mortality among maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in dialysis patients, and PEW can significantly increase cardiovascular mortality in MHD patients. Previous studies have confirmed that PA may be a good objective indicator for determining the nutritional status and prognosis of MHD patients. Our study aimed to determine the predictive value of phase angle (PA) as detected by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) on PEW and cardiovascular (CV) risk among MHD patients. Our retrospective observational study involved 161 adult patients with HD. The Cardiovascular risk score is a risk model based on the Japan Dialysis Outcome and Practice Patterns Study (J-DOPPS). We established LASSO logistic regression analysis model to identify key parameters related to body composition that can predict PEW in MHD patients. The area under the curve (AUC) values for PA, appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI), body cell mass (BCM), and mid-arm circumference (MAC) in predicting PEW in male MHD patients were relatively large, with 0.708, 0.674, 0.663, and 0.735, respectively. The predicted PEW values of these parameters were slightly lower in female patients than in men. We incorporated PA, ASMI, BCM, and MAC into a model that predicted the incidence of PEW in maintenance hemodialysis patients using LASSO technology. We discovered that the model predicted a greater AUC of PEW occurrence than any single factor, 0.877 for men and 0.76 for women. The results of the univariate logistic regression analysis showed that the low PA tertile array group had a greater incidence of PEW than the high PA group (P < 0.001). Additionally, we also found that lower PA was associated with higher CV risk scores. The PA detected by bioelectrical impedance analysis could predict the risk of PEW and cardiovascular events among patients with MHD. When used in conjunction, PA, ASMI, BCM, and MAC have a high diagnostic efficacy for PEW in patients on maintenance hemodialysis., Competing Interests: Declarations Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Ethical declaration The research was approved by the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University (file number: KY-2024–058-01). As this investigation was retrospective and involved the evaluation of data collected during routine clinical practice, the need for prior informed consent was waived by the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. The study had been performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. This research did not include animal studies., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Thyroid disorders significantly affect human metabolism, cardiovascular function, skeletal health, and reproductive systems, presenting a complex challenge due to their multifactorial nature. Understanding the underlying mechanisms and developing novel therapeutic approaches require appropriate models. Zebrafish, with their genetic tractability, short life cycle, and physiological relevance, have emerged as a valuable model for investigating thyroid diseases. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the zebrafish thyroid gland's structure and function, explores its application in modeling thyroid pathologies such as hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, and thyroid cancer, and discusses current limitations and possible improvements. Furthermore, it outlines future directions for zebrafish-based research, focusing on enhancing the model's relevance to human thyroid disease and its potential to expedite the development of clinical therapies., 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 Inc. All rights reserved.)

The occurrence and risk of N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine-quinone (6PPD-Q), derived from the oxidation of the tire antidegradant 6PPD, has raised significant concern since it was found to cause acute mortality in coho salmon when exposed to urban runoff. Given the short half-life period and low solubility of 6PPD-Q, reliable in situ measurement techniques are required to accurately understand its occurrence and behaviour in aquatic environments. Here, using the diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) method with HLB as a binding agent, we developed a new methodology to measure 6PPD-Q in urban waters. 6PPD-Q was rapidly and strongly adsorbed on the HLB-binding gel and was efficiently extracted using organic solvents. The HLB-DGT accumulated 6PPD-Q linearly for >7 d and its performance was not significantly affected by pH (6.5-8.5), ionic strength (0.0001-0.5 M) or dissolved organic matter (0-20 mg L -1 ). Field evaluation of the DGT method demonstrated its effectiveness in urban runoff, detecting 6PPD-Q levels of 15.8-39.5 ng L -1 in rivers. In snowmelt, DGT detected 6PPD-Q levels of 210 ng L -1 which is two times higher than the value obtained by grab sampling. 6PPD-Q levels were much higher in snowmelt than those in rivers. This indicates that snowfall constitutes an important transport pathway for 6PPD-Q and that DGT effectively captured the fraction continuously released from dust particles in the snow samples. 6PPD-Q posed a substantial risk to migratory fish in urban waters, and its release from tire wear particles requires further investigation. This study is the first to develop a DGT-based method for 6PPD-Q determination in urban waters, and the method can ensure an accurate measurement of the release of 6PPD-Q to the environment, particularly in rainfall or snowmelt, important pathways for its entry into the aquatic environment., 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.)

Biomass burning is a primary source of atmospheric nitrogen oxide (NO x ), however, the lack of isotopic fingerprints from biomass burning limits their use in tracing atmospheric nitrate (NO 3 - ) and NO x . A total of 25 biomass fuels from 10 provinces and regions in China were collected, and the δ 15 N values of biomass fuels (δ 15 N-biomass) and δ 15 N-NO x values of biomass burning (δ 15 N-NO x values of BB, open burning, and rural cooking stove burning) were determined. The δ 15 N-NO x values of open burning and rural cooking stove burning ranged from -0.8 ‰ to 11.6 ‰ and 0.8 ‰ to 9.5 ‰, respectively, indicating a significant linear relation with δ 15 N-biomass. Based on the measured δ 15 N-NO x values of BB and biomass burning emission inventory data, the δ 15 N-NO x values of BB in different provinces and regions of China were calculated using the δ 15 N-NO x model, with a mean value of 5.0 ± 1.8 ‰. The spatial variations in the estimated δ 15 N-NO x values of BB in China were mainly controlled by the differences in the δ 15 N-NO x values and the proportions of NO x emissions from various straw burning activities in provinces and regions of China. Furthermore, by using the combined local emissions of biomass burning with regional transportations of NO x based on air-mass backward trajectories, we established an improved δ 15 N-NO x model and obtained more accurate δ 15 N-NO x values of BB in regions (2.3 ‰ to 8.4 ‰). By utilising the reported δ 15 N-NO x values of precipitation and particulate matter from 21 cities in China and the more accurate δ 15 N-NO x values of BB, the NO x contributions from four sources (mobile sources, coal combustion, biomass burning, and microbial N cycle) at the national scale were estimated using a Bayesian model. The significant contributions of biomass burning (20.9 % to 44.3 %) to NO x emissions were revealed, which is vital for controlling NO x emissions in China., 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 B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Transgenic insect-resistant rice offers an environmentally friendly approach to mitigate yield losses caused by lepidopteran pests, such as stem borers. Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) genes encode insecticidal proteins and are widely used to confer insect resistance to genetically modified crops. This study investigated the integration, inheritance, and expression characteristics of codon-optimised synthetic Bt genes, cry1C* and cry2A*, in transgenic early japonica rice lines., Methods: The early japonica rice cultivar, Songgeng 9 (Oryza sativa), was transformed with cry1C* or cry2A*, which are driven by the ubi promoter via Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Molecular analyses, including quantitative PCR (qPCR), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and Southern blot analysis were performed to confirm transgene integration, inheritance, transcriptional levels, and protein expression patterns across different tissues and developmental stages., Results: Stable transgenic early japonica lines exhibiting single-copy transgene integration were established. Transcriptional analysis revealed variations in Bt gene expression among lines, tissues, and growth stages, with higher expression levels observed in leaves than in other organs. Notably, cry2A* exhibited consistently higher mRNA and protein levels than cry1C* across all examined tissues and developmental time points. Bt protein accumulation followed the trend of leaves > stem sheaths > young panicles > brown rice, with peak expression during the filling stage in the vegetative tissues., Conclusions: Synthetic cry2A* displayed markedly elevated transcription and translation compared to cry1C* in the transgenic early japonica rice lines examined. Distinct spatiotemporal patterns of Bt gene expression were elucidated, providing insights into the potential insect resistance conferred by these genes in rice. These findings will contribute to the development of insect-resistant japonica rice varieties and facilitate the rational deployment of Bt crops., 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 B.V. All rights reserved.)

The environmental changes from climatic, terrestrial and anthropogenic drivers can significantly influence the groundwater quality that may pose a threat to human health. However, the driving mechanism of groundwater quality and potential health risk still remains to be studied. In this paper, 165 groundwater samples were analyzed to evaluate the groundwater quality, driving mechanism, and probabilistic health risk in the central Yinchuan Plain by applying fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method (FCEM), redundance analysis (RDA) and Monte Carlo simulation. The results showed that hydrochemical evolution of groundwater were strongly influenced by water-rock interaction, evaporation and human activities. While 55.2% of groundwater samples reached the drinking water quality standard (Class I, II and III), 44.8% of samples exceeded the standard limits of Class III water quality (Class IV and V), indicating a high pollution level of groundwater. Mn, TDS, NH 4 + , NO 3 - , Fe, F - , NO 2 - , As were among major indicators that influence the groundwater quality due to the natural and anthropogenic processes. The RDA analysis revealed that climatic factors (PE: 10.9%, PRE: 1.1%), GE chemical properties (ORP: 20.7%, DO: 2.4%), hydrogeological factors (BD: 16.5%, K: 4.1%), and terrestrial factors (elevation: 1.2%; distance d : 5.6%, distance rl : 1.5%, NDVI: 1.2%) were identified as major driving factors influencing the groundwater quality in the study area. The HHRA suggested that TCR values of arsenic in infants, children and teens greatly exceeded the acceptable risk threshold of 1E-4, indicating a high cancer risk with a basic trend: infants > children > teens, while TCR values of adults were within the acceptable risk level. THI values of four age groups in the RME scenario were nearly ten times higher than those in the CTE scenario, displaying a great health effect on all age groups (HQ > 1). The present study provides novel insights into the driving mechanism of groundwater quality and potential health hazard in arid and semi-arid regions., 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 Inc. All rights reserved.)

This study introduces a self-driven system that effectively achieves synchronized sulfur recovery and hydrogen production using a Zn-air battery. The system ingeniously integrates the sulfur oxidation reaction (SOR) and the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) into a single, efficient process. Central to this system is the trifunctional phosphorus-doped cobalt molybdate catalyst (P-CoMoO 4 /NF), which exhibits superior performance in both HER (η j = 100  = 0.13 V) and SOR (η j = 100  = 0.30 V) with remarkable stability (∼360 h), reaching 0.64 V at 100 mA cm -2 for simultaneous sulfur ion degradation and hydrogen production. Through density functional theory simulations and extensive characterizations, it has been shown that phosphorus doping in the cobalt molybdate catalyst facilitates electron redistribution, enhancing the catalyst's conductivity, generating more oxygen vacancies, and promoting improved mass and electron transfer. This modification also lowers the energy barrier for adsorbing reaction intermediates, thus increasing the hydrogen production rate and sulfur oxide conversion in this self-powered system. In summary, this research marks a substantial advancement in the development of trifunctional catalysts and proposes an eco-friendly, cost-effective strategy for integrated reaction systems, paving the way for sustainable energy solutions., 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 Inc. All rights reserved.)

Microcystin-LR (MCLR) produced by cyanobacterial blooms have received global attention. MCLR has been recognized as a reproductive toxin to fish and poses a threat to ecosystem stability. It has been proven that probiotic dietary management can improve reproductive performance of fish. It is worth paying attention to exploring whether probiotic management can alleviate the reproductive toxicity caused by MCLR. In this investigation, adult zebrafish were exposed to different doses of MCLR solution (0, 2.2, and 22 μg/L) with or without the Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG supplementation for a duration of 28 days. The results showed that female zebrafish spawning was reduced after exposure to MCLR, but this reduction was reversed when L. rhamnosus GG was added. To elucidate how L. rhamnosus GG mitigates reproductive toxicity caused by MCLR, we examined a series of indicators of MCLR accumulation, ovarian histology, hormones, and transcriptome levels. Our study showed that L. rhamnosus GG could alleviate oogenesis disorders and ultimately attenuate MCLR-induced reproductive toxicity by reducing MCLR accumulation in the gonads, modulating the expression of endocrine system and auto/paracrine factors. The transcriptome results revealed that single or combined exposure of MCLR and L. rhamnosus GG mainly affected the endocrine system, energy metabolism, and RNA degradation and translation. Overall, our results provide new insights for alleviating MCLR-induced reproductive toxicity and help promote healthy aquaculture., 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 B.V. All rights reserved.)