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This study was designed to explore the key impact of Proteinase K (PK) on every step of anaerobic co-digestion. The results of step-by-step experiments indicated that PK promoted the hydrolysis of biodegradable plastic by initiating self-hydrolysis reactions, directly promoting the hydrolysis step of anaerobic co-digestion. Subsequently, PK indirectly promoted the acidogenesis and acetogenesis steps by impacting the proliferation of acid-producing bacteria. Besides, it could also hydrolyze PLA. Thus, the lactic acid content peaked at 255.7 mg/L on the 5th day, representing an increase of 35.9 % compared to the condition without PK. Finally, PK indirectly promoted the methanogenesis step through its impact on the composition of methanogenic bacteria. This led to more food waste being digested into methane, 41.5 % compared to the condition without PK. This work served as an essential foundation for advancing the application of PK modified BP as a replacement for traditional plastics., 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.)

Epidemiological evidence suggests that post-menopausal women are more susceptible to HIV infection following sexual intercourse than are younger cohorts for reasons that remain unclear. Here, we evaluated how menopause-associated changes in CD4 + T cell numbers and subsets as well as HIV coreceptor expression, particularly CCR5, in the endometrium (EM), endocervix (CX), and ectocervix (ECX) may alter HIV infection susceptibility. Using a tissue-specific mixed cell infection model, we demonstrate that while no changes in CD14 + macrophage infection susceptibility were observed, CD4 + T cell HIV-1 infection frequency increases following menopause in the EM, but not CX nor ECX. Unexpectedly, the CD4 + T cell expression of two known correlates of HIV infection susceptibly, CCR5 and integrin-α4β7, increased following menopause across all three tissues despite only being associated with increased infection frequency in EM derived CD4 + T cells. After controlling for changes in the expression of either receptor, both CCR5 and α4β7 expressing CD4 + T cells isolated from the EM of post-menopausal women remained more susceptible to HIV-1 infection than those isolated from pre-menopausal women. Shifts in T helper subset composition, including increases in Th1 frequency and decreases in Th17 and Treg frequency were also observed in the EM only following menopause, but did not correlate with increased infection frequency. Treatment of EM derived CD4 + T cells with 17β-estradiol (E 2 ) prior to viral infection, reduced infection frequency independent of changes in either CCR5 or α4β7 expression frequency. Our results demonstrate that the susceptibility of EM derived CD4 + T cells to HIV-1 infection increases post menopause but is unlikely to be driven by increased expression frequency of either CCR5 or integrin-α4β7. These findings contribute to our understanding of how advanced age alters HIV infection risk which will become increasingly important as the human population continues to age., 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 © 2025 vom Steeg, Shen, Collins, Patel, Barr, Hopkins, Ochsenbauer and Wira.)

The adverse effect of excessive iodine intake has attracted extensive attention. However, the role of excessive iodine on hypothyroidism and detailed mechanism are not exactly known. Studies have shown that miRNAs are crucial to the occurrence and development of hypothyroidism. Nevertheless, there still limited population-based studies on the miRNA-mRNA regulation in the occurrence of hypothyroidism induced by excessive iodine. Total of 291 hypothyroidism patients and 291 controls matched by sex (1:1) and age (±3 years) were enrolled from Heze City, Shandong Province. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that water iodine concentration of 100-300μg/L was an independent risk factor for hypothyroidism. Additionally, excessive water iodine was associated with an increase in thyroglobulin (Tg) concentration in new-diagnosed hypothyroidism patients. Further, high-throughput miRNA sequencing indicated that hsa-miR-19b-3p, hsa-miR-199a-5p, hsa-miR-204-5p and hsa-miR-144-3p were significantly correlated with the occurrence of hypothyroidism. Q-PCR results showed that levels of hsa-miR-199a-5p and hsa-miR-204-5p in the hypothyroidism group were markedly lower than those in the control group. In addition, among the hypothyroidism patients, hsa-miR-199a-5p level in water iodine >100μg/L group was remarkably higher than that in 10-100μg/L group. Furthermore, HIF-1α and PD-L1 mRNA levels in whole blood were determined, which are the target genes regulated by miRNA-199a-5p in previous studies. Compared with the control group, HIF-1α mRNA level was significantly increased in the hypothyroidism group. In the hypothyroidism case group, compared with the 10-100µg/L group, HIF-1α mRNA level was remarkably decreased in water iodine >100µg/L group. Collectively, miR-199a-5p/HIF-1α axis may contribute to hypothyroidism induced by excessive iodine through thyroglobulin., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that we do not receive any payment from any source and that there is no conflict of interest with the content of this article. The authors' units are shown on the cover. The preparation of this review was carried out during the authors' normal working hours. This manuscript was written entirely by the authors. The views and conclusions expressed therein are those of the author and are not necessarily those of any sponsoring entity. None of the authors have been previously involved in any litigation, advocacy, or regulatory activity related to the content of this paper., (Copyright © 2025. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Problem: Aging alters immune function in women and can lead increased risk of infections, particularly in the female reproductive tract (FRT)., Method of Study: To determine how aging affects innate immune responses in the cervical stroma of the FRT, we isolated endocervical (CX) and ectocervical (ECX) stromal fibroblasts and determine if their expression of multiple pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and responses to viral stimulation varied with menopause and age., Results: Constitutive expression of most PRRs did not vary with age or menopausal status in either cell type. However, the expression of TLR7, MDA5, and NOD2 by ECX stromal fibroblasts significantly increased in post-menopausal women, while the expression of NOD1 by CX stromal fibroblast also significantly increased in post-menopausal women. When stratified by age, the expression of TLR6 by CX stromal fibroblasts, and MDA5 and NOD2 by ECX stromal fibroblasts increased significantly with increasing age. Stimulation with the dsRNA viral mimic HMW poly (I:C), a ligand for MDA5, resulted in significantly increased expression of the Type I interferons (IFN) IFNβ and IFNε, the Type III interferon IFNλ1, and interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) MxA, OAS2, and ISG15 in both cell populations. However, upregulation of IFNβ, IFNλ1, MxA, OAS2, and ISG15 in response to poly (I:C) significantly declined with increasing post-menopausal age in ECX stromal fibroblasts. There was no effect of age or menopause on either IFN or ISG expression in CX stromal fibroblasts., Conclusion: Overall, these studies demonstrate that ECX and CX fibroblasts are phenotypically distinct populations and that increasing post-menopausal age reduces IFN and ISG upregulation in ECX stromal fibroblasts in response to viral stimulation, potentially leading to decreased protection against incoming viral pathogens in older post-menopausal women., (© 2025 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Introduction: Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection is prevalent worldwide and contributes to various gastrointestinal diseases. Eradication therapy is crucial in managing HP infection, but antibiotic resistance has led to refractory cases, complicating treatment outcomes and increasing the risk of adverse events. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary approach, termed HP Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) Clinic, in improving eradication rates and safety in patients with refractory HP infection., Methods: Between November 2020 and November 2023, 153 patients with refractory HP infection were included, with 51 patients in the non-HP-MDT group and 102 patients in the HP-MDT group. The HP-MDT clinic provided personalized treatment plans, patient education, and follow-up. Genetic testing was conducted in selected cases to assess resistance patterns., Results: Patients attending the HP-MDT clinic showed significantly higher eradication rates compared with those in the non-HP-MDT group (80.39% vs 50.98%, P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis confirmed that HP-MDT clinic attendance was independently associated with higher eradication rates (odds ratio: 4.43, 95% CI: 2.02 to 9.71, P < 0.001). Genetic testing revealed high rates of antibiotic resistance, particularly to clarithromycin (10/11, 90.91%) and metronidazole (11/11, 100%). Despite resistance, the HP-MDT approach achieved a high eradication rate of 92.31%. Adverse drug reactions occurred in 12.75% of patients in the HP-MDT group, predominantly mild gastrointestinal symptoms., Discussion: The HP-MDT clinic, integrating medical, pharmaceutical, and nursing expertise, significantly improved eradication rates and safety in patients with refractory HP infection. Personalized treatment plans, patient education, and genetic testing contributed to successful outcomes with minimal adverse events., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of The American College of Gastroenterology.)

The preparation of durable and efficient photoanodes for photoelectrochemical water oxidation is of great importance in promoting the development of green hydrogen production and artificial photosynthesis. Here, n-type BiVO 4 was combined with p-type CuI to construct a CuI/BiVO 4 (CIB-1) p-n heterojunction photoanode. The composite photoanode effectively overcame the drawbacks of BiVO 4 , such as low separation and injection efficiency of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. As a result, the CIB-1 had the highest photocurrent density of 1.98 mA cm -2 , which was 2.5 times higher than pure BiVO 4 with 0.79 mA cm -2 at 1.23 V (vs RHE) under AM 1.5G light irradiation. The CIB-1 had a lower Tafel slope of 23.2 mV decade -1 compared to 47.9 mV decade -1 for BiVO 4 , so the water oxidation kinetics was remarkably advanced over CuI/BiVO 4 . Based on DFT calculations, the OER overpotential of 0.480 V for CuI/BiVO 4 was significantly lower than that of 1.546 V for BiVO 4 due to the lower free energy from OH - to oxygen over CuI/BiVO 4 compared to BiVO 4 .

Sulfonamide antibiotics (SAs) widely used have potentially negative effects on human beings and ecosystems. Adsorption and advanced oxidation methods have been extensively applied in SAs wastewater treatment. In this study, compared with Al 3+ @BC500 and Fe 3+ @BC500, La 3+ @BC500 for activating persulfate (S 2 O 8 2- ) had the best effect removal performance of sulfadiazine (SDZ) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX). Morphology, acidity, oxygen-containing functional groups, and loading of La 3+ @BC500 were analyzed by techniques, including EA, BET, XRD, XPS, FT-IR. XRD results show that with the increase of La 3+ loading, the surface characteristics of biochar gradually changed from CaCO 3 to LaCO 3 OH. Through EPR technology, it is proved that LaCO 3 OH on the surface of La 3+ @BC500 can not only activate S 2 O 8 2- to generate SO 4 - •, but also to produce •OH. In the optimization experiment, the optimal dosage of La 3+ is between 0.05 and 0.2 (mol/L)/g. SDZ had a good removal effect at pH (5-9), but SMX had a good removal effect only at pH=3. Zeta potential also proves that the material is more stable under acidic conditions. The removal process of SDZ is more in accord with pseudo-first-order kinetics (R 2 =0.9869), while SMX is more in line with pseudo-second order kinetics (R 2 =0.9926)., 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 article., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Purpose: Sarcopenia is a geriatric syndrome characterized by progressive loss of muscle mass and function. Meteorin-like (Metrnl) is a secretory protein that has protective effects on skeletal muscle injury. However, the association of Metrnl level with sarcopenia remains unclear., Methods: A total of 772 community-dwelling older adults (median age = 76 years), comprising 409 males and 363 females, from both urban and rural areas were enrolled. Serum Metrnl was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI), grip strength, and gait speed were measured for the assessment of sarcopenia., Results: We found that serum Metrnl levels were lower in patients with sarcopenia [median (IQR) = 180.1 (151.3-220.3) pg/mL] than older adults without sarcopenia [211.9 (163.2-270.0) pg/mL, P < 0.001]. Receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the optimal cut-off value of serum Metrnl level that predicted sarcopenia was 197.2 pg/mL with a sensitivity of 59.2% and a specificity of 63.8% (AUC = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.59-0.67, P < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that lower serum Metrnl level (< 197.2 pg/mL) was significantly associated with increased risk of sarcopenia (adjusted OR = 2.358, 2.36, 95% CI = 1.528-3.685, P < 0.001). Moreover, serum Metrnl concentration was positively correlated with the components of sarcopenia including ASMI (r = 0.135, P < 0.001), grip strength (r = 0.102, P = 0.005), and gait speed (r = 0.106, P = 0.003)., Conclusions: Taken together, our findings demonstrate that low serum Metrnl level is correlated with increased risk of sarcopenia in the older adults., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Ethical approval: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Sir Run Run Hospital, Nanjing Medical University (Approval No. 2019-SR-S041). Informed consent: Written informed consent was obtained from each participant., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Accurately ascertaining spatiotemporal distribution of pollution plume is critical for evaluating the effectiveness of remediation technologies and environmental risks associated with contaminated sites. This study concentrated on a typical Cr(VI) contaminated smelter being currently remediated using pump-and-treat (PAT) technology. Long-term on-site monitoring data revealed that two highly polluted regions with Cr(VI) concentrations of 162.9 mg/L and 234.5 mg/L existed within the contaminated site, corresponding to previous chromium slag yard and sewage treatment plant, respectively. The PAT technology showed significant removal performance in these highly polluted areas (>160 mg/L) after six months of pumping, ultimately achieving complete removal of the pollutants in these high-pollution areas. Numerical simulation results showed that although the current remediation scheme significantly reduced the Cr(VI) pollution degree, it did not effectively prevent the incursion of the pollution plume into the downstream residential area after 20 years. Additionally, an improved measure involving supplementary pumping wells was proposed, and its remediation effects were quantitatively evaluated. Results indicated that the environmental pollution risk of groundwater downstream could be effectively mitigated by adding pumping wells, resulting in a reduction of the pollution area by 20 % in the case of adding an internal well and 41 % with the addition of external wells after 20 years. The findings obtained in this study will provide an important reference and theoretical guidance for the reliability analysis and design improvement of the PAT remediation project., 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: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare multisystemic hereditary illness. Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) therapy is widely recognized as the primary treatment for PWS. This study aimed to examine how different PWS genotypes influence the outcome of rhGH treatment in children with PWS., Methods: A review was conducted on 146 Chinese children with PWS, genetically classified and monitored from 2017 to 2022. Unaltered and modified generalized estimating equations (GEE) were employed to examine the long-term patterns in primary outcomes (growth metrics) and secondary outcomes (glucose metabolism metrics and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1)) during rhGH therapy. The study also evaluated the prevalence of hypothyroidism, hip dysplasia, and scoliosis before and after rhGH treatment., Results: Children with PWS experienced an increase in height/length standard deviation scores (SDS) following rhGH administration. The impact of rhGH therapy on growth measurements was similar in both the deletion and maternal uniparental diploidy (mUPD) cohorts. Nevertheless, the deletion group was more prone to insulin resistance (IR) compared to the mUPD group. No significant variations in growth metrics were noted between the two groups (P > 0.05). At year 2.25, the mUPD group showed a reduction in fasting insulin (FINS) levels of 2.14 uIU/ml (95% CI, -4.26, -0.02; P = 0.048) and a decrease in homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) of 0.85 (95% CI, -1.52, -0.17; P = 0.014) compared to the deletion group. Furthermore, there was a decrease in the IGF standard deviation scores (SDS) by 2.84 (95% CI, -4.84, -0.84; P = 0.005) in the mUPD group during the second year. The frequency of hip dysplasia was higher in the mUPD group compared to the deletion group (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: rhGH treatment effectively increased height/length SDS in children with PWS, with similar effects observed in both deletion and mUPD genotypes. Children with mUPD genetype receiving rhGH treatment may experience enhanced therapeutic effects in managing PWS., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

In recent years, iodine deficiency-related diseases have been effectively controlled; the prevalence of excessive iodine-induced thyroid diseases has increased, such as hyperthyroidism. However, there are still several controversial outcomes regarding the relationship between excessive iodine intakes and hyperthyroidism. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) extensively participate in the progression of thyroid diseases; nevertheless, the relationship and mechanism between iodine exposure and miRNAs have not been explored in hyperthyroidism patients. In this study, a total of 308 pairs of hyperthyroidism patients and healthy controls were enrolled in. Logistic regression analysis showed that level of water iodine >100 μg/L was an independent risk factor for hyperthyroidism. Compared with the healthy control, the serum thyroglobulin (Tg) content and levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were significantly elevated in hyperthyroidism patients. Further, high-throughput miRNA sequencing was applied to find crucial miRNAs involved in the occurrence of hyperthyroidism related to excessive water iodine. Based on the fold change and Q value, miR-144-3p, miR-204-5p, miR-346, miR-23b-5p, and miR-193b-3p were selected for validation by qRT-PCR. Our results showed that miR-346 and miR-204-5p in the case group were significantly lower than those of the control group, and the similar results found under the level of water iodine >300 μg/L. Nonetheless, no significant difference was found at 10-100 μg/L level of water iodine. Furthermore, the ROC curve indicated that miR-346 and miR-204-5p had the ability to diagnose hyperthyroidism patients. Taken together, excessive water iodine may decrease the expression of miR-346 and miR-204-5p, which mediate the elevation of Tg and cytokines, ultimately making contribution to the development of hyperthyroidism., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Since CD4+ T cells are essential for regulating adaptive immune responses and for long lasting mucosal protection, changes in CD4+ T cell numbers and function are likely to affect protective immunity. What remains unclear is whether CD4+ T cell composition and function in the female reproductive tract (FRT) changes as women age. Here we investigated the changes in the composition and function of CD4+ T cells in the endometrium (EM), endocervix (CX), and ectocervix (ECX) with aging. We observed a significant decrease in both the total number and percentage of CD4+ T cells in the EM with increasing age, particularly in the years following menopause. CD4+ T cells within the FRT predominantly expressed CD69. The proportion of CD69+CD4+ T cells increased significantly with increasing age in the EM, CX and ECX. The composition of T helper cell subsets within the EM CD4+ T cell population also showed age-related changes. Specifically, there was a significant increase in the proportion of Th1 cells and a significant decrease in Th17 and Treg cells with increasing age. Furthermore, the production of IFNγ by CD4+ T cells in the EM, CX, and ECX significantly decreased with increasing age upon activation. Our findings highlight the complex changes occurring in CD4+ T cell frequency, phenotype, and function within the FRT as women age. Understanding these age-related immune changes in the FRT is crucial for enhancing our knowledge of reproductive health and immune responses in women., 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 Shen, vom Steeg, Patel, Rodriguez-Garcia and Wira.)

Introduction: Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) often occurs 3 weeks to 3 months after brain injury, which is mainly caused by bleeding of the bridging vein. For patients with ventriculoperitoneal (V-P) shunt, excessive drainage can also cause CSDH. We present a rare case of CSDH caused by shunt valve breakdown in brain injury., Case Report: We report a 68-year-old man with V-P shunt for 8 years. He presented with bilateral CSDH with disappearance of lateral ventricles nearly 1 month after a brain injury caused by being hit with a stick. After burr hole drainage (BHD), the patient's symptoms improved and lateral ventricles reappeared, but disappeared rapidly with CSDH recurrence within a short time. We considered the cause to be medium pressure shunt valve breakdown caused by hitting with a stick, which was confirmed by the engineer's test after the operation and excessive drainage of cerebrospinal fluid. BHD replaced the adjustable pressure shunt valve, and the patient recovered., Conclusion: V-P shunt is a common operation in neurosurgery, and postoperative shunt valve breakdown may lead to poor outcome. We report a rare case of CSDH caused by shunt valve breakdown due to excessive external forces, suggesting that patients after V-P shunt should pay attention to the protection of the shunt valve.

Background: Post-burn anxiety and depression affect considerably the quality of life and recovery of patients; however, limited research has demonstrated risk factors associated with the development of these conditions., Aim: To predict the risk of developing post-burn anxiety and depression in patients with non-mild burns using a nomogram model., Methods: We enrolled 675 patients with burns who were admitted to The Second Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China between January 2019 and January 2023 and met the inclusion criteria. These patients were randomly divided into development ( n = 450) and validation ( n = 225) sets in a 2:1 ratio. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify the risk factors associated with post-burn anxiety and depression diagnoses, and a nomogram model was constructed., Results: Female sex, age < 33 years, unmarried status, burn area ≥ 30%, and burns on the head, face, and neck were independent risk factors for developing post-burn anxiety and depression in patients with non-mild burns. The nomogram model demonstrated predictive accuracies of 0.937 and 0.984 for anxiety and 0.884 and 0.923 for depression in the development and validation sets, respectively, and good predictive performance. Calibration and decision curve analyses confirmed the clinical utility of the nomogram., Conclusion: The nomogram model predicted the risk of post-burn anxiety and depression in patients with non-mild burns, facilitating the early identification of high-risk patients for intervention and treatment., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Both rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and rosacea represent common chronic systemic autoimmune conditions. Recent research indicates a heightened RA risk among individuals with rosacea. However, the molecular mechanisms linking these diseases remain largely unknown. This study aims to uncover shared molecular regulatory networks and immune cell infiltration patterns in both rosacea and RA., Methods: The gene expression profiles of RA (GSE12021, GSE55457), and the rosacea gene expression profile (GSE6591), were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases, and obtained to screen differentially expressed genes (DEGs) by using "limma" package in R software. Various analyses including GO, KEGG, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, and weighted gene co-expression network analyses (WGCNA) were conducted to explore potential biological functions and signaling pathways. CIBERSORT was used to assess the abundance of immune cells. Pearson coefficients were used to calculate the correlations between overlapped genes and the leukocyte gene signature matrix. Flow cytometry (FCM) analysis confirmed the most abundant immune cells detected in rheumatoid arthritis and rosacea. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and qRT-PCR were used to confirm biomarkers and functions., Results: Two hundred seventy-seven co-expressed DEGs were identified from these datasets. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that these DEGs were associated with immune processes and chemokine-mediated signaling pathways. Fourteen and 17 hub genes overlapped between cytoHubba and WGCNA were identified in RA and rosacea, respectively. Macrophages and dendritic cells were RA and rosacea's most abundant immune cells, respectively. The ROC curves demonstrated potential diagnostic values of CXCL10 and CCL27, showing higher levels in the serum of patients with RA or rosacea, and suggesting possible regulation in the densities and functions of macrophages and dendritic cells from RA and rosacea, which were validated by FCM and qRT-PCR., Conclusion: Importantly, our findings may contribute to the scientific basis for biomarkers and therapeutic targets for patients with RA and rosacea in the future., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests in this work., (© 2024 Wang et al.)

Backgrounds: Fat infiltration of skeletal muscle has been recognized as a common feature of many degenerative muscle disorders. Retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4) is an adipokine that has been demonstrated to be correlated with the presence and severity of sarcopenia in the elderly. However, the exact role and the underlying mechanism of RBP4 in muscle atrophy remains unclear., Methods: Denervation-induced muscle atrophy model was constructed in wild-type and RBP4 knockout mice. To modify the expression of RBP4, mice were received intramuscular injection of retinol-free RBP4 (apo-RBP4), retinol-bound RBP4 (holo-RBP4) or oral gavage of RBP4 inhibitor A1120. Holo-RBP4-stimulated C2C12 myotubes were treated with siRNAs or specific inhibitors targeting signalling receptor and transporter of retinol 6 (STRA6)/Janus kinase 2 (JAK2)/Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway. Fat accumulation, myofibre cross-sectional area, myotube diameter and the expression of muscle atrophy markers and myogenesis markers were analysed., Results: The expression levels of RBP4 in skeletal muscles were significantly up-regulated more than 2-fold from 7 days and sustained for 28 days after denervation. Immunofluorescence analysis indicated that increased RBP4 was localized in the infiltrated fatty region in denervated skeletal muscles. Knockout of RBP4 alleviated denervation-induced fatty infiltration and muscle atrophy together with decreased expression of atrophy marker Atrogin-1 and MuRF1 as well as increased expression of myogenesis regulators MyoD and MyoG. By contrast, injection of retinol-bound holo-RBP4 aggregated denervation-induced ectopic fat accumulation and muscle atrophy. Consistently, holo-RBP4 stimulation also had a dose-dependent effect on the reduction of C2C12 myotube diameter and myofibre cross-sectional area, as well as on the increase of Atrogin-1and MuRF1 expression and decrease of MyoD and MyoG expression. Mechanistically, holo-RBP4 treatment increased the expression of its membrane receptor STRA6 (>3-fold) and promoted the phosphorylation of downstream JAK2 and STAT3. Inhibition of STRA6/JAK2/STAT3 pathway either by specific siRNAs or inhibitors could decrease the expression of Atrogin-1 and MuRF1 (>50%) and decrease the expression of MyoD and MyoG (>3-fold) in holo-RBP4-treated C2C12 myotube. RBP4 specific pharmacological antagonist A1120 significantly inhibited the activation of STRA6/JAK2/STAT3 pathway, ameliorated ectopic fat infiltration and protected against denervation-induced muscle atrophy (30% increased myofibre cross-sectional area) in mice., Conclusions: In conclusion, our data reveal that RBP4 promotes fat infiltration and muscle atrophy through a STRA6-dependent and JAK2/STAT3 pathway-mediated mechanism in denervated skeletal muscle. Our results suggest that lowering RBP4 levels might serve as a promising therapeutic approach for prevention and treatment of muscle atrophy., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Generation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) ex vivo and in vivo, especially the generation of safe therapeutic HSPCs, still remains inefficient. In this study, we have identified compound BF170 hydrochloride as a previously unreported pro-hematopoiesis molecule, using the differentiation assays of primary zebrafish blastomere cell culture and mouse embryoid bodies (EBs), and we demonstrate that BF170 hydrochloride promoted definitive hematopoiesis in vivo. During zebrafish definitive hematopoiesis, BF170 hydrochloride increases blood flow, expands hemogenic endothelium (HE) cells and promotes HSPC emergence. Mechanistically, the primary cilia-Ca2+-Notch/NO signaling pathway, which is downstream of the blood flow, mediated the effects of BF170 hydrochloride on HSPC induction in vivo. Our findings, for the first time, reveal that BF170 hydrochloride is a compound that enhances HSPC induction and may be applied to the ex vivo expansion of HSPCs., Competing Interests: Competing interests The authors declare no competing or financial interests., (© 2024. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.)

A modified biodegradable plastic (PLA/PBAT) was developed by through covalent bonding with proteinase K, porcine pancreatic lipase, or amylase, and was then investigated in anaerobic co-digestion mixed with food waste. Fluorescence microscope validated that enzymes could remain stable in modified the plastic, even after co-digestion. The results of thermophilic anaerobic co-digestion showed that, degradation of the plastic modified with Proteinase K increased from 5.21 ± 0.63 % to 29.70 ± 1.86 % within 30 days compare to blank. Additionally, it was observed that the cumulative methane production increased from 240.9 ± 0.5 to 265.4 ± 1.8 mL/gVS, and the methane production cycle was shortened from 24 to 20 days. Interestingly, the kinetic model suggested that the modified the plastic promoted the overall hydrolysis progression of anaerobic co-digestion, possibly as a result of the enhanced activities of Bacteroidota and Thermotogota. In conclusion, under anaerobic co-digestion, the modified the plastic not only achieved effective degradation but also facilitated the co-digestion process., 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.)

Background: Sarcopenia is characterized by progressive loss of muscle mass and function due to aging. DNA methylation has been identified to play important roles in the dysfunction of skeletal muscle. The aim of our present study was to explore the whole blood sample-based methylation changes of skeletal muscle function-related factors in patients with sarcopenia., Methods: The overall DNA methylation levels were analysed by using MethlTarget™ DNA Methylation Analysis platform in a discovery set consistent of 50 sarcopenic older adults (aged ≥65 years) and 50 age- and sex-matched non-sarcopenic individuals. The candidate differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were further validated by Methylation-specific PCR (MSP) in another two independent larger sets and confirmed by pyrosequencing. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine the optimum cut-off levels of fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2)&#95;30 methylation best predicting sarcopenia and area under the ROC curve (AUC) was measured. The correlation between candidate DMRs and the risk of sarcopenia was investigated by univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis., Results: Among 1149 cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) sites of 27 skeletal muscle function-related secretary factors, 17 differentially methylated CpG sites and 7 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were detected between patients with sarcopenia and control subjects in the discovery set. Further methylation-specific PCR identified that methylation of fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2)&#95;30 was lower in patients with sarcopenia and the level was decreased as the severity of sarcopenia increased, which was confirmed by pyrosequencing. Correlation analysis demonstrated that the methylation level of FGF2&#95;30 was positively correlated to ASMI (r = 0.372, P < 0.001), grip strength (r = 0.334, P < 0.001), and gait speed (r = 0.411, P < 0.001). ROC curve analysis indicated that the optimal cut-off value of FGF2&#95;30 methylation level that predicted sarcopenia was 0.15 with a sensitivity of 84.6% and a specificity of 70.1% (AUC = 0.807, 95% CI = 0.756-0.858, P < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that lower FGF2&#95;30 methylation level (<0.15) was significantly associated with increased risk of sarcopenia even after adjustment for potential confounders including age, sex, and BMI (adjusted OR = 9.223, 95% CI: 6.614-12.861, P < 0.001)., Conclusions: Our results suggest that lower FGF2&#95;30 methylation is correlated with the risk and severity of sarcopenia in the older adults, indicating that FGF2 methylation serve as a surrogate biomarker for the screening and evaluation of sarcopenia., (© 2024 The Authors. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) has emerged as a pivotal surgical intervention for the treatment of prostate cancer (PCa). However, the complexity of clinical cases, heterogeneity of PCa, and limitations in physician expertise pose challenges to rational decision-making in RARP. To address these challenges, the authors aimed to organize the knowledge of previously complex cohorts and establish an online platform named the RARP knowledge base (RARPKB) to provide reference evidence for personalized treatment plans., Materials and Methods: PubMed searches over the past two decades were conducted to identify publications describing RARP. The authors collected, classified, and structured surgical details, patient information, surgical data, and various statistical results from the literature. A knowledge-guided decision-support tool was established using MySQL, DataTable, ECharts, and JavaScript. ChatGPT-4 and two assessment scales were used to validate and compare the platform., Results: The platform comprised 583 studies, 1589 cohorts, 1 911 968 patients, and 11 986 records, resulting in 54 834 data entries. The knowledge-guided decision support tool provide personalized surgical plan recommendations and potential complications on the basis of patients' baseline and surgical information. Compared with ChatGPT-4, RARPKB outperformed in authenticity (100% vs. 73%), matching (100% vs. 53%), personalized recommendations (100% vs. 20%), matching of patients (100% vs. 0%), and personalized recommendations for complications (100% vs. 20%). Postuse, the average System Usability Scale score was 88.88±15.03, and the Net Promoter Score of RARPKB was 85. The knowledge base is available at: http://rarpkb.bioinf.org.cn ., Conclusions: The authors introduced the pioneering RARPKB, the first knowledge base for robot-assisted surgery, with an emphasis on PCa. RARPKB can assist in personalized and complex surgical planning for PCa to improve its efficacy. RARPKB provides a reference for the future applications of artificial intelligence in clinical practice., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

In 2 O 3 has been found a promising application in CO 2 hydrogenation to methanol, which is beneficial to the utilization of CO 2 . The oxygen vacancy (O v ) site is identified as the catalytic active center of this reaction. However, there remains a great challenge to understand the relations between the state of oxygen species in In 2 O 3 and the catalytic performance for CO 2 hydrogenation to methanol. In the present work, we compare the properties of multiple In 2 O 3 and Ir-promoted In 2 O 3 (Ir-In 2 O 3 ) catalysts with different Ir loadings and after being pretreated under different reduction temperatures. The CO 2 conversion rate of Ir-In 2 O 3 is more promoted than that of pure In 2 O 3 . With only a small amount of Ir loading, the highly dispersed Ir species on In 2 O 3 increase the concentration of O v sites and enhance the activity. By finely tuning the catalyst structure, Ir-In 2 O 3 with an Ir loading of 0.16 wt.% and pre-reduction treatment under 300°C exhibits the highest methanol yield of 146 mg CH3OH /(g cat ·hr). Characterizations of Raman, electron paramagnetic resonance, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, CO 2 -temperature programmed desorption and CO 2 -pulse adsorption for the catalysts confirm that more O v sites can be generated under higher reduction temperature, which will induce a facile CO 2 adsorption and desorption cycle. Higher performance for methanol production requires an adequate dynamic balance among the surface oxygen atoms and vacancies, which guides us to find more suitable conditions for catalyst pretreatment and reaction., 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. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The interaction effects between the main components (proteins (P), carbohydrates (C), and lipids (L)) of protein-rich biomass during microwave-assisted pyrolysis were investigated in depth with an exploration of individual pyrolysis and copyrolysis (PC, PL, and CL) of model compounds. The average heating rate of P was higher than those of C and L, and the interactions in all copyrolysis groups reduced the max instant heating rate. The synergistic extent ( S ) of PC and PL for bio-oil yield was 16.78 and 18.24%, respectively, indicating that the interactions promoted the production of bio-oil. Besides, all of the copyrolysis groups exhibited a synergistic effect on biochar production ( S = 19.43-28.24%), while inhibiting the gas generation, with S ranging from -20.17 to -6.09%. Regarding the gaseous products, apart from H 2 , P, C, and L primarily generated CO 2 , CO, and CH 4 , respectively. Regarding bio-oil composition, the interactions occurring within PC, PL, and CL exhibited a significantly synergistic effect ( S = 47.81-412.96%) on the formation of N -heterocyclics/amides, amides/nitriles, and acids/esters, respectively. Finally, the favorable applicability of the proposed interaction effects was verified with microalgae. This study offers valuable insights for understanding the microwave-assisted pyrolysis of protein-rich biomass, laying the groundwork for further research and process optimization.

The highly stable biomass structure formed by cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin results in incomplete conversion and carbonization under hydrothermal conditions. In this study, pretreated corn straw hydrochar (PCS-HC) was prepared using a low-temperature alkali/urea combination pretreatment method. The Mass loss rate of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin from pretreated biomass, as well as the effects of the pretreatment method on the physicochemical properties of PCS-HC and the adsorption performance of PCS-HC for alkaline dyes (rhodamine B and methylene blue), were investigated. The results showed that the low-temperature NaOH/urea pretreatment effectively disrupted the stable structure formed by cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. NaOH played a dominant role in solubilizing cellulose and the combination of low temperature and urea enhanced the ability of NaOH to remove cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Compared to the untreated hydrochar, PCS-HC exhibited a rougher surface, a more abundant pore structure, and a larger specific surface area. The unpretreated hydrochar exhibited an adsorption capacity of 64.8% for rhodamine B and 66.32% for methylene blue. However, the removal of rhodamine B and methylene blue by PCS-BC increased to 89.12% and 90.71%, respectively, under the optimal pretreatment conditions. The PCS-HC exhibited a favorable adsorption capacity within the pH range of 6-9. However, the presence of co-existing anions such as Cl - , SO 4 2- , CO 3 2- , and NO 3 - hindered the adsorption capacity of PCS-HC. Among these anions, CO 3 2- exhibited the highest level of inhibition. Chemisorption, including complexation, electrostatic attraction, and hydrogen bonding, were the primary mechanism for dye adsorption by PCS-HC. This study provides an efficient method for utilizing agricultural waste and treating dye wastewater., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The aging process of microplastics (MPs) could significantly change their physical and chemical characteristics and impact their migration behavior in soil. However, the complex effects of different cations and humic acids (HA) on the migration of aged MPs through saturated media are not clear. In this research, the migration and retention of pristine/aged PSMPs (polystyrene microplastics) under combined effects of cations (Na + , Ca 2+ ) (ionic strength = 10 mM) and HA (0, 5, 15 mg/L) were investigated and analyzed in conjunction with the two-site kinetic retention model and DLVO theory. The findings showed that the aging process accelerated PSMPs migration under all tested conditions. Aged PSMPs were less susceptible to Ca 2+ than pristine PSMPs. Under Ca 2+ conditions, pristine/aged PSMPs showed higher retention than under Na + conditions in the absence of HA. Furthermore, under Na + conditions, the migration of aged PSMPs significantly increased at higher concentrations of HA. However, under Ca 2+ conditions, the migration of aged PSMPs decreased significantly at higher concentrations of HA. In higher HA conditions, HA, Ca 2+ , and PSMPs interact to cause larger aggregations, resulting in the sedimentation of aged PSMPs. The DLVO calculations and two-site kinetic retention models' results showed the detention of PSMPs was irreversible under higher HA conditions (15 mg/L) with Ca 2+ , and aged PSMPs were more susceptible to clogging. These findings may help to understand the potential risk of migration behavior of PSMPs in the soil-groundwater 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.)

Electrochemical carbon dioxide/carbon monoxide reduction reaction offers a promising route to synthesize fuels and value-added chemicals, unfortunately their activities and selectivities remain unsatisfactory. Here, we present a general surface molecular tuning strategy by modifying Cu 2 O with a molecular pyridine-derivative. The surface modified Cu 2 O nanocubes by 4-mercaptopyridine display a high Faradaic efficiency of greater than 60% in electrochemical carbon monoxide reduction reaction to acetate with a current density as large as 380 mA/cm 2 in a liquid electrolyte flow cell. In-situ attenuated total reflectance surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy reveals stronger *CO signal with bridge configuration and stronger *OCCHO signal over modified Cu 2 O nanocubes by 4-mercaptopyridine than unmodified Cu 2 O nanocubes during electrochemical CO reduction. Density function theory calculations disclose that local molecular tuning can effectively regulate the electronic structure of copper catalyst, enhancing *CO and *CHO intermediates adsorption by the stabilization effect through hydrogen bonding, which can greatly promote asymmetric *CO-*CHO coupling in electrochemical carbon monoxide reduction reaction., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPSs) are caused by a deficiency in the enzymes needed to degrade glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in the lysosome. The storage of GAGs leads to the involvement of several systems and even to the death of the patient. In recent years, an increasing number of therapies have increased the treatment options available to patients. Early treatment is beneficial in improving the prognosis, but children with MPSs are often delayed in their diagnosis. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a method for early screening and diagnosis of the disease. Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) is an analytical method that can detect multiple substrates or enzymes simultaneously. GAGs are reliable markers of MPSs. MS/MS can be used to screen children at an early stage of the disease, to improve prognosis by treating them before symptoms appear, to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment, and for metabolomic analysis or to find suitable biomarkers. In the future, MS/MS could be used to further identify suitable biomarkers for MPSs for early diagnosis and to detect efficacy., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background and Aims: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a condition that carries a high risk of mortality and is associated with aging. CHD is characterized by the chronic inflammatory response of the coronary intima. Recent studies have shown that the methylation level of blood mononuclear cell DNA is closely associated with adverse events in CHD, but the roles and mechanisms of DNA methylation in CHD remain elusive., Methods and Results: In this study, the DNA methylation status within the epigenome of human coronary tissue in the sudden coronary death (SCD) group and control (CON) group of coronary heart disease was analyzed using the Illumina® Infinium Methylation EPIC BeadChip (850 K chip), resulting in the identification of a total of 2553 differentially methylated genes (DMGs). The differentially methylated genes were then subjected to Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis, and significant differential DNA methylation was found. Among the differentially hypomethylated genes were GAL-8, LTF, and RFPL3, while the highly methylated genes were TMEM9B, ANK3, and C6orF48. These genes were mainly enriched in 10 significantly enriched pathways, such as cell adhesion junctions, among which the differentially methylated gene GAL-8 was involved in inflammatory pathway signaling. For functional analysis of GAL-8, we first examined the differences in GAL-8 promoter methylation levels among different subgroups of human coronary tissue in the CON, CHD, and SCD groups using pyrophosphate sequencing. The results revealed reduced GAL-8 promoter methylation levels in the SCD group, while the difference between the CHD and CON groups was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The reduced GAL-8 promoter methylation level was associated with upregulated GAL-8 expression, which led to increased expression of the inflammatory markers TNF-α, IL-1β, MCP-1, MIP-2, MMP-2, and MMP-9. This enhanced inflammatory response contributed to the accumulation of foam cells, thickening of the intima of human coronary arteries, and increased luminal stenosis, which promoted the occurrence of sudden coronary death. Next, we found that GAL-8 promoter methylation levels in PBMC were consistent with human coronary tissue. The unstable angina group (UAP) had significantly lower GAL-8 promoter methylation levels than stable angina (SAP) and healthy controls (CON) (P < 0.05), and there was a significant correlation between reduced GAL-8 promoter methylation levels and risk factors for coronary heart disease. These findings highlight the association between decreased GAL-8 promoter methylation and the presence of coronary heart disease risk factors. ROC curve analysis suggests that methylation of the GAL 8 promoter region is an independent risk factor for CHD. In conclusion, our study confirmed differential expression of GAL-8, LTF, MUC4D, TMEM9B, MYOM2, and ANK3 genes due to DNA methylation in the SCD group. We also established the consistency of GAL-8 promoter methylation alterations between human coronary tissue and patient peripheral blood monocytes. The decreased methylation level of the GAL-8 promoter may be related to the increased expression of GAL-8 and the coronary risk factors., Conclusions: Accordingly, we hypothesized that reduced levels of GAL-8 promoter methylation may be an independent risk factor for adverse events in coronary heart disease., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Bing Xia, Yanlin Lu, Jingwei Liang contributed equally to this work., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To examine the risk factors for severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in a cohort of very preterm infants (VPIs) in China, as BPD is common among VPIs and associated with a high mortality rate., Methods: In this multicenter retrospective study, medical records from infants with BPD born at gestation age (GA) of <32 weeks with birth weight (BW) of <1,500 grams (g) in 7 regions of China were included. The cohort was stratified into different BPD severity groups based on their fraction of inspired oxygen requirement at a modified GA of 36 weeks or post discharge. Risk factors were identified using logistic regression analysis., Results: A significant inverse correlation was revealed between BPD severity and both GA and BW ( p <0.001). Independent risk factors for severe BPD (sBPD) were identified as invasive mechanical ventilation (≥7d), multiple blood transfusion (≥3), nosocomial infection (NI), hemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus (hsPDA), delayed initiation of enteral nutrition, and longer time to achieve total caloric intake of 110 kcal/kg. Conversely, administration of antenatal steroids was associated with reduced risk of sBPD., Conclusion: Our study not only reaffirmed the established risk factors of low GA and BW for sBPD in VPIs, but also identified additional, potentially modifiable risk factors. Further research is warranted to explore whether intervention in these modifiable factors might reduce the risk of sBPD. Clinical Trial Reg. No.: ChiCTR1900023418 ., (Copyright: © Saudi Medical Journal.)

Obesity is associated with chronic inflammation in the central nervous system (CNS), and neuroinflammation has been shown to have detrimental effects on mood and cognition. The growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR), the biologically relevant receptor of the orexigenic hormone ghrelin, is primarily expressed in the brain. Our previous study showed that neuronal GHSR deletion prevents high-fat diet-induced obesity (DIO). Here, we investigated the effect of neuronal GHSR deletion on emotional and cognitive functions in DIO. The neuron-specific GHSR-deficient mice exhibited reduced depression and improved spatial memory compared to littermate controls under DIO. We further examined the cortex and hippocampus, the major regions regulating cognitive and emotional behaviors, and found that the neuronal deletion of GHSR reduced DIO-induced neuroinflammation by suppressing proinflammatory chemokines/cytokines and decreasing microglial activation. Furthermore, our data showed that neuronal GHSR deletion suppresses neuroinflammation by downregulating AMPK-autophagy signaling in neurons. In conclusion, our data reveal that neuronal GHSR inhibition protects against DIO-induced depressive-like behavior and spatial cognitive dysfunction, at least in part, through AMPK-autophagy signaling-mediated neuroinflammation., 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 Wang, Shen, Wu, Ji, Noh, Geoffroy, Kim, Threadgill, Li, Zhou, Xiao, Zheng and Sun.)

In recent years, the incidence of thyroid cancer has been on a significant rise worldwide, and a number of environmental factors have been suspected to be risk factors for thyroid cancer, especially the relationship between iodine intake and thyroid cancer has attracted attention. In this study, we want to assess the relationship between different water iodine exposures and thyroid cancer incidence before and after water alteration in areas with high water iodine in China. Thyroid cancer patients (2009-2020) were enrolled at two hospitals, both in Heze City, Shandong Province, an area with high water iodine levels. According to the criteria of the study, 5826 cases out of 8785 cases were selected for inclusion in the study. Before and after water alteration, the incidence of thyroid cancer was highest in areas with water iodine concentrations of 200-300 μg/L in high iodine areas. In areas where water iodine decreased to adequate iodine levels, there was a strong negative correlation between the decreased level of water iodine and the incidence of thyroid cancer. In addition, in cases with pathology reports, we found that the greater the decrease in water iodine values, the markedly smaller the maximum diameter of the thyroid cancer lesions. Taken together, these findings suggest that we should continue to monitor the incidence of thyroid cancer in areas with high water iodine and continue to optimize population iodine intake to reduce the incidence of thyroid cancer., 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. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Objective: Obesity-associated chronic inflammation, aka meta-inflammation, is a key pathogenic driver for obesity-associated comorbidity. Growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR) is known to mediate the effects of nutrient-sensing hormone ghrelin in food intake and fat deposition. We previously reported that global Ghsr ablation protects against diet-induced inflammation and insulin resistance, but the site(s) of action and mechanism are unknown. Macrophages are key drivers of meta-inflammation. To unravel the role of GHSR in macrophages, we generated myeloid-specific Ghsr knockout mice (LysM-Cre;Ghsr f/f )., Methods: LysM-Cre;Ghsr f/f and control Ghsr f/f mice were subjected to 5 months of high-fat diet (HFD) feeding to induce obesity. In vivo, metabolic profiling of food intake, physical activity, and energy expenditure, as well as glucose and insulin tolerance tests (GTT and ITT) were performed. At termination, peritoneal macrophages (PMs), epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT), and liver were analyzed by flow cytometry and histology. For ex vivo studies, bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) were generated from the mice and treated with palmitic acid (PA) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). For in vitro studies, macrophage RAW264.7 cells with Ghsr overexpression or Insulin receptor substrate 2 (Irs2) knockdown were studied., Results: We found that Ghsr expression in PMs was increased under HFD feeding. In vivo, HFD-fed LysM-Cre;Ghsr f/f mice exhibited significantly attenuated systemic inflammation and insulin resistance without affecting food intake or body weight. Tissue analysis showed that HFD-fed LysM-Cre;Ghsr f/f mice have significantly decreased monocyte/macrophage infiltration, pro-inflammatory activation, and lipid accumulation, showing elevated lipid-associated macrophages (LAMs) in eWAT and liver. Ex vivo, Ghsr-deficient macrophages protected against PA- or LPS-induced pro-inflammatory polarization, showing reduced glycolysis, increased fatty acid oxidation, and decreased NF-κB nuclear translocation. At molecular level, GHSR metabolically programs macrophage polarization through PKA-CREB-IRS2-AKT2 signaling pathway., Conclusions: These novel results demonstrate that macrophage GHSR plays a key role in the pathogenesis of meta-inflammation, and macrophage GHSR promotes macrophage infiltration and induces pro-inflammatory polarization. These exciting findings suggest that GHSR may serve as a novel immunotherapeutic target for the treatment of obesity and its associated comorbidity., 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 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.)

Surface electron transport and transfer of catalysts have important consequences for persulfate (PS) activation in PS system. In this paper, an electron-rich Cu-beta zeolites catalyst was synthesized utilizing a straightforward solid-state ion exchange technique to efficiently degrade sulfadiazine. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results revealed that Cu element substitutes Al element and enters the beta molecular sieve framework smoothly. Furthermore, the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements demonstrated that the Cu-beta catalyst is primarily Cu 0 . Cu-beta zeolites catalyst can exhibit excellent catalytic activity to degrade sulfadiazine with the oxidant of PS. The optimal sulfadiazine removal performance was explored by adjusting reaction parameters, including sulfadiazine concentration, catalyst dosage, oxidant dosage, and solution pH. The sulfadiazine removal efficiency in the Cu-beta zeolites/PS system could reach 90.5% at the optimal reaction condition ([PS] 0  = 0.5 g/L, [Cu-beta zeolites] 0  = 1.0 g/L, pH = 7.0) with 50 mg/L of sulfadiazine. Meanwhile, The degradation efficiency was less affected by anionic interference (Cl - , SO 4 - , HCO 3 - ). The surface electron transport and transfer of the Cu-beta zeolites catalyst were significant causes for the remarkable degradation performance. According to electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and quenching studies, the Cu-beta zeolites/PS system was mostly dominated by SO 4 •- in the degradation of sulfadiazine. Furthermore, two possible pathways for sulfadiazine degradation were proposed according to the analysis of intermediate products detected by the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)., 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.)

Acute subdural hematoma (SDH) is a rare occurrence in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients with only two cases reported in literature. However, sudden severe acute SDH caused by CML has not been reported on. Our patient was admitted for 'sudden unconsciousness for more than 1 hour'. Computed tomography (CT) angiography revealed a large amount of acute SDH on the left side. Physical exam showed the patient's left pupil was dilated and signs of cerebral herniation were present. The preoperative coagulation profile was normal. Emergency craniotomy for hematoma clearance and decompression was performed. During the surgery, a ruptured cerebral artery was located in the perisylvian region and hemostasis was achieved through electrocautery. Pre-operative white blood count was 58,100 cell/µl, with post-operative bone marrow examination、cytogenetic analysis and RT-PCR detection revealing a diagnosis of CML, for which hydroxyurea chemotherapy was initiated. Leukocyte count of the patient gradually returned to normal. After 24 days, the patient regained consciousness and on day 30, repeat CT scan showed no SDH recurrence. The patient recovered with no neurological deficits and achieved a good prognosis.

Objective: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common malignant tumor of the head and neck, but its occurrence and progression mechanisms remain unclear. In addition-there is a lack of effective targeting drugs. The second major subunit of DNA polymerase (POLE2) catalyzes the prolongation of new strand replication and modifies exonuclease domain activity. Our previous study found that POLE2 was associated with OSCC progression, but the mechanism remains unclear., Methods: The expression of POLE2 in OSCC tissues was detected using immunological assays. Mann-Whitney U analysis was used to investigate the relationship between POLE2 gene expression and tumor classification and prognosis of OSCC. POLE2 expression was inhibited in OSCC cells, and the effects of gene and protein expression were detected using RT-PCR and Western blotting. The POLE2 knockout model was constructed by transfecting a lentiviral vector. Cell proliferation, apoptosis, and migration were detected using various assays including colony formation, MTT, flow cytometry, wound healing assay, Transwell assay, and the Human Apoptosis Antibody Array. The animal model of OSCC was established by subcutaneous injection of transfected HN6 into 4-week-old female nude mice. After 30 days, tumors were removed under anesthesia and tumor weight and dimension were recorded. Tumor cell proliferation was analyzed using Ki67 staining., Results: POLE2 gene levels were significantly higher in the OSCC tissues than in the normal tissues. In addition, POLE2 gene levels were statistically correlated with tumor classification and prognosis. Silencing POLE2 inhibited the proliferation of oral cancer cells and promoted apoptosis in vitro. Animal experiments also supported a positive correlation between POLE2 and OSCC tumor formation. We further demonstrated that POLE2 could upregulate the expression of apoptosis-related proteins such as caspase-3, CD40, CD40L, DR6, Fas, IGFBP-6, p21, and SMAC. In addition, POLE2 regulated OSCC development by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway., Conclusion: POLE2 is closely related to the progression of OSCC. Thus, POLE2 may be a potential target for OSCC treatment., (© 2023. Huazhong University of Science and Technology.)

In this work, a portable multichannel detection instrument based on time-resolved fluorescence immunochromatographic test strip (TRFIS) was proposed for on-site detecting pesticide residues in vegetables. Its hardware consisted of a silicon photodiode and excitation light source array, a mainboard of the lower machine with STMicroelectronics 32 (STM32) and a linear stepping motor. While detecting, cardboard with 6-channel TRFIS was pulled into the cassette by the stepping motor. The peak area of the test (T) line and control (C) line of each TRFIS was sampled and calculated by software, then the concentration of the detected pesticide was obtained according to the ratio of the T to C value. This instrument could sample 6-channel TRFIS within 30 s simultaneously, and it exhibited excellent accuracy with a 2.5% average coefficient of variation for each channel (n = 12). In addition, the TRFIS was constructed by using europium oxide time-resolved fluorescent microspheres to label the monoclonal antibody against acetamiprid and form a fluorescent probe, which was fixed on the binding pad. The TRFIS was used for the detection of acetamiprid in celery cabbage, cauliflower and baby cabbage. This instrument was used to complete the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the TRFIS, so as to enhance the practical application of the detection method. This TRFIS possessed excellent linearity ranging from 0.25 mg kg -1 to 1.75 mg kg -1 for the detection of acetamiprid, and the limit of detection were 0.056-0.074 mg kg -1 in the different vegetable matrix. The platform combines the accuracy and portability of traditional test strips with the highly sensitive and efficient fluorescence intensity recognition function of detection equipment, which shows a great application prospect of multi-channel rapid detection of small molecule pollutants in the field., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Alzheimer's disease begins with mild memory loss and slowly destroys memory and thinking. Cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease has been associated with the localization of the microtubule-associated protein Tau at the postsynapse. However, the correlation between Tau at the postsynapse and synaptic dysfunction remains unclear. Here, we show that Tau arrests liquid-like droplets formed by the four postsynaptic density proteins PSD-95, GKAP, Shank, Homer in solution, as well as NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate)-receptor-associated protein clusters on synthetic membranes. Tau-mediated condensate/cluster arrest critically depends on the binding of multiple interaction motifs of Tau to a canonical GMP-binding pocket in the guanylate kinase domain of PSD-95. We further reveal that competitive binding of a high-affinity phosphorylated peptide to PSD-95 rescues the diffusional dynamics of an NMDA truncated construct, which contains the last five amino acids of the NMDA receptor subunit NR2B fused to the C-terminus of the tetrameric GCN4 coiled-coil domain, in postsynaptic density-like condensates/clusters. Taken together, our findings propose a molecular mechanism where Tau modulates the dynamic properties of the postsynaptic density., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Despite its involvement in various cancers, the function of the deubiquitinase USP1 (ubiquitin-specific protease 1) is unexplored in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). In this study, we provide evidence that USP1 promotes CCA progression through the stabilization of Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1), consistent with the observation that both USP1 and PARP1 are upregulated in human CCA. Proteomics and ubiquitylome analysis of USP1-overexpressing CCA cells nominated PARP1 as a top USP1 substrate. Indeed, their direct interaction was validated by a series of immunofluorescence, co-immunoprecipitation (CO-IP), and GST pull-down assays, and their interaction regions were identified using deletion mutants. Mechanistically, USP1 removes the ubiquitin chain at K197 of PARP1 to prevent its proteasomal degradation, with the consequent PARP1 stabilization being necessary and sufficient to promote the growth and metastasis of CCA in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, we identified the acetyltransferase GCN5 as acetylating USP1 at K130, enhancing the affinity between USP1 and PARP1 and further increasing PARP1 protein stabilization. Finally, both USP1 and PARP1 are significantly associated with poor survival in CCA patients. These findings describe PARP1 as a novel deubiquitination target of USP1 and a potential therapeutic target for CCA., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: The aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase (AST/ALT) ratio, also known as De Ritis ratio, has been reportedly associated with malnutrition which plays a crucial role in sarcopenia. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between AST/ALT ratio and sarcopenia in the Chinese community-dwelling elderly., Methods: A cross-sectional study with 2751 participants (1343 men and 1408 women) aged ≥60 years was performed. Appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI), grip strength, and gait speed were measured to diagnose sarcopenia according to the latest Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) consensus. The association of AST/ALT ratio with sarcopenia was examined using logistic regression analysis., Results: The prevalence of sarcopenia in the present study was 4.4%. AST/ALT ratio was higher in the sarcopenia group than in the non-sarcopenia group (1.30 ± 0.33 vs. 1.16 ± 0.62, P  = 0.010). AST/ALT ratio was negatively correlated with the components of sarcopenia, including ASMI, grip strength, and gait speed. Logistic regression analysis indicated that high AST/ALT ratio (>1.20) was associated with increased risk of sarcopenia even after adjustment for potential confounders (adjusted OR = 2.33, 95%CI = 1.48-3.68, P  < 0.001). Stratification analyses indicated that the association of high AST/ALT ratio with high risk of sarcopenia was more significant in males and the elderly with ≥70 years., Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that high AST/ALT ratio is associated with increased risk of sarcopenia in a Chinese population of community-dwelling elderly., 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., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Neurogenic hypertension, a complex and multifactorial cardiovascular disorder, is known to be influenced by various genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. In recent years, there has been growing interest in the role of the gut microbiome in hypertension pathogenesis. The bidirectional communication between the gut microbiota and the central nervous system, known as the microbiota-gut-brain axis, has emerged as a crucial mechanism through which the gut microbiota exerts its influence on neuroinflammation, immune responses, and blood pressure regulation. Recent studies have shown how the microbiome has a substantial impact on a variety of physiological functions, such as cardiovascular health. The increased sympathetic activity to the gut may cause microbial dysbiosis, increased permeability of the gut, and increased inflammatory reactions by altering a number of intestinal bacteria producing short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and the concentrations of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the plasma. Collectively, these microbial metabolic and structural compounds stimulate sympathetic stimulation, which may be an important stage in the onset of hypertension. The result is an upsurge in peripheral and central inflammatory response. In addition, it has recently been shown that a link between the immune system and the gut microbiota might play a significant role in hypertension. The therapeutic implications of the gut microbiome including probiotic usage, prebiotics, dietary modifications, and fecal microbiota transplantation in neurogenic hypertension have also been found. A large body of research suggests that probiotic supplementation might help reduce chronic inflammation and hypertension that have an association with dysbiosis in the gut microbiota. Overall, this review sheds light on the intricate interplay between the gut microbiome and neurogenic hypertension, providing valuable insights for both researchers and clinicians. As our knowledge of the microbiome's role in hypertension expands, novel therapeutic strategies and diagnostic biomarkers may pave the way for more effective management and prevention of this prevalent cardiovascular disorder. Exploring the potential of the microbiome in hypertension offers an exciting avenue for future research and offers opportunities for precision medicine and improved patient care., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Obesity and insulin resistance are risk factors for the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Here, we report that hepatic TGF-β1 expression positively correlates with obesity and insulin resistance in mice and humans. Hepatic TGF-β1 deficiency decreased blood glucose levels in lean mice and improved glucose and energy dysregulations in diet-induced obese (DIO) mice and diabetic mice. Conversely, overexpression of TGF-β1 in the liver exacerbated metabolic dysfunctions in DIO mice. Mechanistically, hepatic TGF-β1 and Foxo1 are reciprocally regulated: fasting or insulin resistance caused Foxo1 activation, increasing TGF-β1 expression, which, in turn, activated protein kinase A, stimulating Foxo1-S273 phosphorylation to promote Foxo1-mediated gluconeogenesis. Disruption of TGF-β1→Foxo1→TGF-β1 looping by deleting TGF-β1 receptor II in the liver or by blocking Foxo1-S273 phosphorylation ameliorated hyperglycemia and improved energy metabolism in adipose tissues. Taken together, our studies reveal that hepatic TGF-β1→Foxo1→TGF-β1 looping could be a potential therapeutic target for prevention and treatment of obesity and T2D., Article Highlights: Hepatic TGF-β1 levels are increased in obese humans and mice. Hepatic TGF-β1 maintains glucose homeostasis in lean mice and causes glucose and energy dysregulations in obese and diabetic mice. Hepatic TGF-β1 exerts an autocrine effect to promote hepatic gluconeogenesis via cAMP-dependent protein kinase-mediated Foxo1 phosphorylation at serine 273, endocrine effects on brown adipose tissue action, and inguinal white adipose tissue browning (beige fat), causing energy imbalance in obese and insulin-resistant mice. TGF-β1→Foxo1→TGF-β1 looping in hepatocytes plays a critical role in controlling glucose and energy metabolism in health and disease., (© 2023 by the American Diabetes Association.)

Environmental pollution with potentially toxic elements (PTEs) has become one of the critical and pressing issues worldwide. Although these pollutants occur naturally in the environment, their concentrations are continuously increasing, probably as a consequence of anthropic activities. They are very toxic even at very low concentrations and hence cause undesirable ecological impacts. Thus, the cleanup of polluted soils and water has become an obligation to ensure the safe handling of the available natural resources. Several remediation technologies can be followed to attain successful remediation, i.e., chemical, physical, and biological procedures; yet many of these techniques are expensive and/or may have negative impacts on the surroundings. Recycling agricultural wastes still represents the most promising economical, safe, and successful approach to achieving a healthy and sustainable environment. Briefly, biochar acts as an efficient biosorbent for many PTEs in soils and waters. Furthermore, biochar can considerably reduce concentrations of herbicides in solutions. This review article explains the main reasons for the increasing levels of potentially toxic elements in the environment and their negative impacts on the ecosystem. Moreover, it briefly describes the advantages and disadvantages of using conventional methods for soil and water remediation then clarifies the reasons for using biochar in the clean-up practice of polluted soils and waters, either solely or in combination with other methods such as phytoremediation and soil washing technologies to attain more efficient remediation protocols for the removal of some PTEs, e.g., Cr and As from soils and water., 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 © 2023 Zhang, Zou, Chu, Shen, Zhang, Abbas, Albogami, Zhou and Abdelhafez.)

Bisphenols are environmental toxins with endocrine disruptor activity, yet bisphenol A (BPA) and its analogs are still widely used in manufacturing plastic products. There is evidence showing that BPA elicits inflammation in humans and animals, but the target cell types of BPA are not well understood. In this study, we sought to determine BPA's direct effect on macrophages and BPA immunotoxicity in mouse intestine. Ghrelin is an important nutrient-sensing hormone, acting through its receptor growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR) to regulate metabolism and inflammation. We found that BPA promotes intestinal inflammation, showing increased infiltrating immune cells in colons and enhanced expression of Ghsr and pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, such as Il6 and Ccl2 , in colonic mucosa. Moreover, we found that both long- and short-term BPA exposure elevated pro-inflammatory monocytes and macrophages in mouse peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and peritoneal macrophages (PM), respectively. To determine the role of GHSR in BPA-mediated inflammation, we generated Ghsr deletion mutation in murine macrophage RAW264.7 using CRISPR gene editing. In wild-type RAW264.7 cells, the BPA exposure promotes macrophage pro-inflammatory polarization and increases Ghsr and cytokine/chemokine Il6 and Ccl2 expression. Interestingly, Ghsr deletion mutants showed a marked reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokine/chemokine expression in response to BPA, suggesting that GHSR is required for the BPA-induced pro-inflammatory response. Further understanding how nutrient-sensing GHSR signaling regulates BPA intestinal immunotoxicity will help design new strategies to mitigate BPA immunotoxicity and provide policy guidance for BPA biosafety.

Background: Immune function in the genital mucosa balances reproduction with protection against pathogens. As women age, genital infections, and gynecological cancer risk increase, however, the mechanisms that regulate cell-mediated immune protection in the female genital tract and how they change with aging remain poorly understood. Unconventional double negative (DN) T cells (TCRαβ + CD4-CD8-) are thought to play important roles in reproduction in mice but have yet to be characterized in the human female genital tract. Using genital tissues from women (27-77 years old), here we investigated the impact of aging on the induction, distribution, and function of DN T cells throughout the female genital tract., Results: We discovered a novel site-specific regulation of dendritic cells (DCs) and unconventional DN T cells in the genital tract that changes with age. Human genital DCs, particularly CD1a + DCs, induced proliferation of DN T cells in a TFGβ dependent manner. Importantly, induction of DN T cell proliferation, as well as specific changes in cytokine production, was enhanced in DCs from older women, indicating subset-specific regulation of DC function with increasing age. In human genital tissues, DN T cells represented a discrete T cell subset with distinct phenotypical and transcriptional profiles compared to CD4 + and CD8 + T cells. Single-cell RNA and oligo-tag antibody sequencing studies revealed that DN T cells represented a heterogeneous population with unique homeostatic, regulatory, cytotoxic, and antiviral functions. DN T cells showed relative to CD4 + and CD8 + T cells, enhanced expression of inhibitory checkpoint molecules and genes related to immune regulatory as well as innate-like anti-viral pathways. Flow cytometry analysis demonstrated that DN T cells express tissue residency markers and intracellular content of cytotoxic molecules. Interestingly, we demonstrate age-dependent and site-dependent redistribution and functional changes of genital DN T cells, with increased cytotoxic potential of endometrial DN T cells, but decreased cytotoxicity in the ectocervix as women age, with implications for reproductive failure and enhanced susceptibility to infections respectively., Conclusions: Our deep characterization of DN T cell induction and function in the female genital tract provides novel mechanistic avenues to improve reproductive outcomes, protection against infections and gynecological cancers as women age., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Aims/hypothesis: Hyperglucagonaemia-stimulated hepatic glucose production (HGP) contributes to hyperglycaemia during type 2 diabetes. A better understanding of glucagon action is important to enable efficient therapies to be developed for the treatment of diabetes. Here, we aimed to investigate the role of p38 MAPK family members in glucagon-induced HGP and determine the underlying mechanisms by which p38 MAPK regulates glucagon action., Methods: p38α, β, γ and δ MAPK siRNAs were transfected into primary hepatocytes, followed by measurement of glucagon-induced HGP. Adeno-associated virus serotype 8 carrying p38α MAPK short hairpin RNA (shRNA) was injected into liver-specific Foxo1 knockout, liver-specific Irs1/Irs2 double knockout and Foxo1 S273D knockin mice. Foxo1 S273A knockin mice were fed a high-fat diet for 10 weeks. Pyruvate tolerance tests, glucose tolerance tests, glucagon tolerance tests and insulin tolerance tests were carried out in mice, liver gene expression profiles were analysed and serum triglyceride, insulin and cholesterol levels were measured. Phosphorylation of forkhead box protein O1 (FOXO1) by p38α MAPK in vitro was analysed by LC-MS., Results: We found that p38α MAPK, but not the other p38 isoforms, stimulates FOXO1-S273 phosphorylation and increases FOXO1 protein stability, promoting HGP in response to glucagon stimulation. In hepatocytes and mouse models, inhibition of p38α MAPK blocked FOXO1-S273 phosphorylation, decreased FOXO1 levels and significantly impaired glucagon- and fasting-induced HGP. However, the effect of p38α MAPK inhibition on HGP was abolished by FOXO1 deficiency or a Foxo1 point mutation at position 273 from serine to aspartic acid (Foxo1 S273D ) in both hepatocytes and mice. Moreover, an alanine mutation at position 273 (Foxo1 S273A ) decreased glucose production, improved glucose tolerance and increased insulin sensitivity in diet-induced obese mice. Finally, we found that glucagon activates p38α through exchange protein activated by cAMP 2 (EPAC2) signalling in hepatocytes., Conclusions/interpretation: This study found that p38α MAPK stimulates FOXO1-S273 phosphorylation to mediate the action of glucagon on glucose homeostasis in both health and disease. The glucagon-induced EPAC2-p38α MAPK-pFOXO1-S273 signalling pathway is a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

In this work, broad-spectrum aptamers for organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) were obtained by alternate target systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment screening. The secondary and tertiary structure analyses of the aptamer inferred that the neck-loop structure formed a G-triplex structure with the target. In addition, optimization of the sheared aptamer resulted in a stronger affinity ( K d = 86.74 nM), which was increased by 2 orders of magnitude compared to similar aptamers. A novel electrochemical biosensor was prepared by modifying an aptamer labeled with an electroactive substance (methylene blue) on the surface of nanoporous carbon containing Fe-Co (Fe-Co/NPC). When a target bound to the aptamer, a G-triplex structure was formed close to the electrode surface. The aptamer phosphate backbone labeled with methylene blue enhanced the electron-transfer efficiency and resulted in signal changes. The biosensor exhibited an excellent sensitivity (7.32 fM) and a wide detection range (1 × 10 -13 to 1 × 10 -3 M) for OPs under optimal conditions, enabling simultaneous detection of multiple OPs in vegetables.

A waveguide-connected deformed circular-side triangular microresonator is proposed and fabricated. Room temperature unidirectional light emission is experimentally demonstrated in the far-field pattern with a divergence angle of 38°. Single mode lasing at 1545.4 nm is realized at an injection current of 12 mA. The emission pattern changes drastically upon the binding of a nanoparticle with radius down to several nanometers, predicting applications in electrically pumped, cost-effective, portable and highly sensitive far-field detection of nanoparticles.

Introduction: The rapid growth in the population of older adults has put tremendous pressure on medical and social services in countries including China. Community care services are a feasible solution for promoting healthy aging in developing countries. This study investigated the association between community care services and the health of older adults in China., Method: Using nationally representative survey data from China, consisting of four waves conducted in 2005, 2008, 2011, and 2014, a balanced panel dataset was constructed using a sample of 4,700 older adults (33.1% aged 80 years or older, 51.0% residing in rural areas, and 48.8% women). We employed linear regression models with time-fixed effects and instrumental variable approaches to estimate the effect of community care services on the health of older adults, as well as the differences in these effects across subgroups., Results: The results showed that community care services lead to a significant improvement in both the objective and subjective health and wellbeing of older adults. Among the various service offerings, spiritual recreation services led to a significant increase in both objective and subjective health scores, while medical care services significantly improved wellbeing. This suggests a varied effect of subdivided service types. Further evidence suggests that spiritual recreation services have a significant health-enhancing effect on multiple groups of older adults, and the effect of medical care services is more effective for those living in rural areas, women, and those who are older than 80 years (all p < 0.05)., Discussion: Few studies have examined the impact of community care services on the health of older adults in developing countries. The findings present important implications for improving the health status of older adults and provide suggestions for establishing a socialized aged care system in China., 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 © 2023 Ma and Shen.)

In the work, based on self-assembly dual-site DNA tetrahedral scaffold (DTS), thionine (Thi), and 6-(Ferrocenyl)hexanethiol (Fc6S), a multiplex strategy electrochemical platform was fabricated for the simultaneous detection of profenofos (PFF) and diazinon (DZN). Thi and Fc6S were used to label aptamers for the synthesis of probes respectively. Notably, Thi and Fc6S engendered recognizable DPV peaks at different potentials to achieve simultaneous detection of PFF and DZN. In addition to increasing the conductivity of the electrode, the combination of carboxylic acid functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes and ferroferric oxide nanoparticles could also increase its higher specific surface area of the electrode interface to adsorb more DTS. Because of the mechanical rigidity of the DTS, the DTS could keep a complementary chain upright and provide more binding sites for aptamers, the binding efficiency between the complementary chain and 2 binding aptamers could be improved. Comparing the aptasensors performance of single-strand DNA with that of the DTS with complementary strands, the benefits of the DTS were highlighted in this system. Under optimal conditions, the detection limits of PFF and DZN were both 3.33 pg/mL and the detection ranges were both 1.00 × 10 1 -1.00 × 10 7 pg/mL. Meanwhile, the recoveries of PFF and DZN were 87.15%-117.34% and 91.20%-114.19%, respectively. The aptasensor could realize the simultaneous detection of PFF and DZN in vegetables. Furthermore, the aptasensor also had good stability and selectivity. This strategy could provide a good reference for developing effective aptasensors for the simultaneous detection of other small molecules and toxins., 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.)

Considering the potential effect of the ambient temperature on soil microorganisms during heavy metal immobilization by hydrochar, 60 days of soil incubation was conducted to explore the impact of ambient temperature (5, 25, and 35 °C) on the immobilization of Pb and Zn by chitosan-magnetic sawdust hydrochar (CMSH) and magnetic chitosan hydrochar (MCH). The results showed that soil pH was relatively high and total organic carbon (TOC) was slightly lower in the 35 °C treatment. The diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) available state content decreased significantly with the temperature increasing. Meanwhile, the ratios of stable Pb and Zn in the sequential extraction method proposed by the European Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) gradually increased with increasing temperature. The heatmap based on microbial community showed that elevated temperature not only favored the enrichment of metal-stable phyla, such as Chloroflexi, but was also involved in inhibiting the growth of Firmicutes, Actinobacteriota, and Proteobacteria. Meanwhile, different genera (Fonticella and Bacillus) in the Firmicutes phylum had distinct responses to temperature as well as to heavy metal immobilization effects. Subsequently, redundancy analysis confirmed that Chloroflexi and Fonticella were positively correlated with temperature and stable state metal content, while Actinobacteriota and Bacillus were negatively correlated with temperature and were positively correlated with DTPA available metal content. Moreover, Pb and Zn indicators displayed significant correlations for the dominant genera (R 2  > 0.8, p < 0.02)., 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.)

Background: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare and multisystemic genetic disorder that is characterized by severe hypotonia, hyperphagia, short stature, and global developmental delay. Although early recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) treatment has been proven to rescue some symptoms and bring additional benefits to PWS patients, studies in patients under 2 years old are scarce. Thus, this study aims to investigate the effectiveness and safety of rhGH treatment for young children., Methods: A total of 96 genetically confirmed Chinese PWS infants or toddlers (47 males) followed between 2013 and 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Sixty-five infants (early treatment group) started rhGH treatment during their first year, and 31 toddlers (later treatment group) started at the age of 1-2 years. Auxological parameters, carbohydrate metabolism parameters, thyroid function, liver function, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and radiographs were acquired before the initiation of the treatment and every 3-6 months thereafter. Height/length, weight, and weight for height were expressed as standard deviation scores (SDSs) according to WHO child growth standards., Results: The mean SDS of length/height in the early treatment group was significantly higher than that in the later treatment group throughout the observation period (all P < 0.001). The change in the length SDS between the two groups at 1 year old and 4 years old was 1.50 (95% CI, 0.88-2.13) and 0.63 (95% CI, 0.16-1.10), respectively. Compared to the later treatment group, the weight SDS in the early treatment group increased by 0.94 (95% CI, 0.37-1.52) at 1 year old and 0.84 (95% CI, 0.28-1.39) at 2 years old. No statistical significance was found after 2.5 years of age. No significant differences were observed in IGF-1, incidence of liver dysfunction, hypothyroidism or spinal deformity between the two groups., Conclusions: rhGH treatment improved growth and body composition in infants and toddlers. Furthermore, an early start of rhGH treatment is expected to have more efficacy than the later treatment group without an increase in adverse effects., (© 2023. The Author(s).)