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N -methylpyrrolidone (NMP) is an excellent advanced solvent that can be easily absorbed by the human body and has the characteristics of flammability and explosion. To reduce the risk, the environmental concentrations of NMP need to be measured. A series of covalent organic frameworks (COF) connected by an imine bond have been successfully prepared at room temperature by changing the synthesis time catalyzed by scandium(III) trifluoromethanesulfonate (Sc(OTf) 3 ). The effect of the synthesis time on the sample properties was compared by XRD, FT-IR, XPS, SEM, TEM, and BET. The results showed that synthesis time had almost no effect on the morphology, specific surface area, and functional groups of the COF samples but had a significant impact on the pore size distribution, residual bonds, and other defects, which in turn affected the gas sensing performance. The sensor results showed that all samples had good sensing performance for NMP, among which the sample synthesized for 48 h had the best sensing performance, with a limit of detection of 692 ppb and good stability and repeatability. The excellent performance of the COF samples benefits from the large specific surface area, hydrogen bonding interactions, electrostatic attraction, and high defects. This study provides an effective method for NMP detection and expands the application range of the COF materials.

In order to effectively control the large deformation of coal pillar and roadway during entry retained along gob side with small coal pillar, taking 1311 and 1312 working faces of a coal mine in Shanxi Province as engineering background, the structural characteristics of overlying rock are studied, and the stress source of entry retained along gob side with small coal pillar and the principle of roof cutting and pressure relief are analyzed, then the roof cutting and pressure relief technology of shaped charge blasting with combined and grouped of deep and shallow holes is put forward. According to the geological conditions of 1311 working face, through the calculation of caving zone and crack zone height of the working face, the analysis of roof breaking and instability conditions and the calculation of crack zone blasting radius, the key parameters of roof cutting by deep and shallow hole combined blasting are determined. Through the numerical simulation and analysis of roof cutting and pressure relief in different key strata, the variation law of vertical stress acting on small coal pillar is obtained, as follows: no roof cutting > only cut layer 2 > only cut layer 1 > cut layer 3 + partial layer 2 > cut layer 1 ~ 3; Based on these, a cooperative control scheme of "roof cutting and pressure relief by shaped charge blasting with combined and grouped of deep and shallow holes" + "anchor-cable combined support" + "coal pillar strengthened" is put forward. The field industrial test results show that the control effect of small coal pillar and roadway surrounding rock is good., Competing Interests: Declarations Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval Not applicable. Consent to publish All authors of this article consent to publish., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Brucella abortus ( B.abortus ) is a zoonotic bacterial pathogen that causes chronic host infections. The eradication of brucellosis using antibiotic therapy is often incomplete or slow. In a mouse model, the predominance of alternatively activated macrophages (also known as M2) plays an essential role in sustaining chronic infection. The underlying functional mechanism by which M2 sustains chronic infection remains unclear. Here, we show that B. abortus can enter M2 via triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) and promotes the upregulation of TREM2 expression of M2 in a type IV secretion system (T4SS)-dependent manner. Increased TREM2 enhances B. abortus growth within M2 by suppressing intracellular ROS production, preventing M2 pyroptosis via suppression of mitochondrial ROS (mROS), and promoting M2 proliferation by increasing β-catenin expression. In line with these results, downregulation of TREM2 expression suppressed B. abortus intracellular growth and M2 proliferation and induced M2 pyroptosis. In our mouse model, upregulation of TREM2 expression sustained the accumulation of M2 and B. abortus chronic infection, whereas downregulation of TREM2 expression restricted M2 proliferation and chronic infection. Collectively, our results suggest that targeting TREM2 may be a potential adjunct to antibiotic therapy for the prevention of chronic Brucella infection., 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, Yan, Zhang, Liu, Wang and Peng.)

Metabolic reprogramming is pivotal in cancer stem cell (CSC) self-renewal. However, the intricate regulatory mechanisms governing the crosstalk between metabolic reprogramming and liver CSCs remain elusive. Here, using a metabolic CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screen, we identify ATP6V1D, a subunit of the vacuolar-type H + -translocating ATPase (V-ATPase), as a key metabolic regulator of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) stemness. Elevated ATP6V1D expression correlates with poor clinical outcomes in HCC patients. ATP6V1D knockdown inhibits HCC stemness and malignant progression both in vitro and in vivo . Mechanistically, ATP6V1D enhances HCC stemness and progression by maintaining macroautophagic/autophagic flux. Specifically, ATP6V1D not only promotes lysosomal acidification, but also enhances the interaction between CHMP4B and IST1 to foster ESCRT-III complex assembly, thereby facilitating autophagosome-lysosome fusion to maintain autophagic flux. Moreover, silencing CHMP4B or IST1 attenuates HCC stemness and progression. Notably, low-dose bafilomycin A 1 targeting the V-ATPase complex shows promise as a potential therapeutic strategy for HCC. In conclusion, our study highlights the critical role of ATP6V1D in driving HCC stemness and progression via the autophagy-lysosomal pathway, providing novel therapeutic targets and approaches for HCC treatment. Abbreviations: 3-MA: 3-methyladenine; ANT: adjacent normal liver tissues; ATP6V1D: ATPase H+ transporting V1 subunit D; BafA1: bafilomycin A 1 ; CHMP: charged multivesicular body protein; co-IP: co-immunoprecipitation; CSC: cancer stem cell; ESCRT: endosomal sorting complex required for transport; HCC: hepatocellular carcinoma; IF: immunofluorescence; IHC: immunohistochemical; LCSCs: liver cancer stem cells; qRT-PCR: quantitative real time PCR; V-ATPase: vacuolar-type H + - translocating ATPase; WB: western blot.

Hutchinson-Gilfor progeria syndrome (HGPS) is caused by a mutation in Lamin A resulting in the production of a protein called progerin. The accumulation of progerin induces inflammation, cellular senescence and activation of the P53 pathway. In this study, through public dataset analysis, we identified Syntaxin Binding Protein 5 (STXBP5) as an influencing factor of progerin expression. STXBP5 overexpression accelerated the onset of senescence, while STXBP5 deletion suppressed progerin expression, delayed senility, and decreased the expression of senescence-related factors. STXBP5 and progerin have synergistic effects and a protein-protein interaction. Through bioinformatics analysis, we found that STXBP5 affects ageing-related signalling pathways such as the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, the hippo pathway and the interleukin 17 (IL17) signalling pathway in progerin-expressing cells. In addition, STXBP5 overexpression induced changes in transposable elements (TEs), such as the human endogenous retrovirus H internal coding sequence (HERVH-int) changes. Our protein coimmunoprecipitation (Co-IP) results indicated that STXBP5 bound directly to progerin. Therefore, decreasing STXBP5 expression is a potential new therapeutic strategy for treating ageing-related phenotypes in patients with HGPS., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Phosphoric acid (PA) leakage and volume expansion are critical factors limiting long-term stable operation of PA-doped polybenzimidazole (PBI) for high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Enhancing the interaction between the polymer matrix and PA provides an effective way to minimize PA loss and inhibit excessive membrane swelling. The covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are helpful in improving the performance of PA-PBI membranes due to the robust frameworks, adjustable structures, and good compatibility with polymers. Here, in this work, we synthesized porous COFs named TTA-DFP containing triazine rings and pyridine groups at room temperature for as short as 2 h without oxygen isolation. TTA-DFP was then blended with commercial poly[2,2'-( p -oxidiphenylene)-5,5'-benzimidazole] (OPBI) to prepare composite membranes. The abundant alkaline N sites in TTA-DFP exhibit strong interactions with PA and OPBI, which not only provide more proton transport pathways to promote proton conduction but also immobilize PA in acidophilic micropores to reduce PA leakage. The composite membranes exhibit a much lower volume swelling ratio than that of the OPBI membrane. The PA retention of the composite membrane after 120 h of treatment at 80 °C and 40% relative humidity can reach as high as 84.6%. Particularly, the proton conductivity of the composite membrane doped with 15 wt% TTA-DFP achieves 0.112 S cm -1 at 180 °C without humidification with a swelling ratio of 24.1%. In addition, it has an optimal peak power density of 824.4 mW cm -2 at 180 °C, which is 1.7 times that of the OPBI membrane. The stability of the composite membrane is much better than that of OPBI at a current density of 0.3 A cm -2 at 140 °C for 120 h.

The dysregulation of membrane protein expression has been implicated in tumorigenesis and progression, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we aimed to identify membrane proteins that modulate HCC viability. To achieve this, we performed a CRISPR activation screen targeting human genes encoding membrane-associated proteins, revealing TMX2 as a potential driver of HCC cell viability. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments demonstrated that TMX2 promoted growth and tumorigenesis of HCC. Clinically, TMX2 was an independent prognostic factor for HCC patients. It was significantly upregulated in HCC tissues and associated with poor prognosis of HCC patients. Mechanistically, TMX2 was demonstrated to promote macroautophagy/autophagy by facilitating KPNB1 nuclear export and TFEB nuclear import. In addition, TMX2 interacted with VDAC2 and VADC3, assisting in the recruitment of PRKN to defective mitochondria to promote cytoprotective mitophagy during oxidative stress. Most interestingly, HCC cells responded to oxidative stress by upregulating TMX2 expression and cell autophagy. Knockdown of TMX2 enhanced the anti-tumor effect of lenvatinib. In conclusion, our findings emphasize the pivotal role of TMX2 in driving the HCC cell viability by promoting both autophagy and mitophagy. These results suggest that TMX2 May serve as a prognostic marker and promising therapeutic target for HCC treatment. Abbreviation : CCCP: Carbonyl cyanide 3-chlorophenylhydrazone; Co-IP: co-immunoprecipitation; CRISPR: clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat; ER: endoplasmic reticulum; HCC: hepatocellular carcinoma; KPNB1: karyopherin subunit beta 1; PRKN: parkin RBR E3 ubiquitin protein ligase; ROS: reactive oxygen species; TFEB: transcription factor EB; TMX2: thioredoxin related transmembrane protein 2; VDAC2: voltage dependent anion channel 2; VDAC3: voltage dependent anion channel 3; WB: western blot.

Buffaloes cannot mount a robust adaptive immune response to secondary infection by Fasciola gigantica. Even if excretory and secretory products (ESPs) exhibit potent immunoregulatory effects during primary infection, research on ESPs in secondary infection is lacking, even though the ESP components that are excreted/secreted during secondary infection are unknown. Therefore, qualitative analysis of ESP during secondary infection was performed and compared with that of primary infection to deepen the recognition of secondary infection and facilitate immunoregulatory molecules screening. Buffaloes were divided into three groups: A (n = 3, noninfected), B (n = 3, primary infection) and C (n = 3, secondary infection). Buffaloes in the primary (0 weeks post infection; wpi) and secondary (-4 and 0 wpi) infection groups were infected with 250 metacercariae by oral administration. Then, sera were collected from groups at different wpi, and interacting proteins were precipitated by coimmunoprecipitation (Co-IP), qualitatively analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), and annotated by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses to infer their potential functions. In group C, 324 proteins were identified, of which 76 proteins were consistently identified across 7 time points (1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 13, and 16 wpi). Compared with 87 proteins consistently identified in group B, 22 proteins were identified in group C. Meanwhile, 34 proteins were only identified in group C compared to 200 proteins identified in group B. Protein pathway analysis indicated that these proteins were mainly involved in the cellular processes and metabolism of F. gigantica. Among them, 14-3-3θ was consistently identified in group C and may be involved in various cellular processes and innate immune signalling pathways. Members of the HSP family were identified in both groups B and C and may function in both primary and secondary infection processes. The proteins discovered in the present study will help to deepen the understanding of the molecular interactions between F. gigantica and buffalo during secondary infection and facilitate the identification of new potential immunoregulatory molecules., 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.)

To investigate the effect of 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) on in vitro rumen gas production, fermentation characteristics, and bacterial community profiles, five levels of 5-ALA (0, 100, 500, 1000, and 5000 mg/kg DM) were supplemented into a total mixed ration (concentrate/forage = 40:60) as substrate in an in vitro experiment. Results showed that as the supplementation level of 5-ALA increased, asymptotic gas production (b) decreased linearly and quadratically ( p < 0.01) while the dry matter degradation rate increased quadratically ( p < 0.01). Meanwhile, the propionate concentration of 72 h incubation fluid increased linearly ( p = 0.03) and pH value increased linearly and quadratically ( p < 0.01), while the concentrations of butyrate, isobutyrate, valerate, isovalerate, and NH 3 -N and the ratio of acetate/propionate (A/P) decreased linearly and quadratically ( p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in any alpha diversity indices of bacterial communities among the various 5-ALA levels ( p < 0.05). PCoA and PERMANOVA analysis revealed that the bacterial profiles showed a statistical difference between the treatment 5-ALA at 1000 mg/kg DM and the other levels except for 5000 mg/kg DM ( p < 0.05). Taxonomic classification revealed a total of 18 and 173 bacterial taxa at the phylum and genus level with relative abundances higher than 0.01% in at least half of the samples, respectively. LEfse analysis revealed that 19 bacterial taxa were affected by 5-ALA levels. Correlation analysis showed that Actinobacteriota was positively correlated with the gas production parameter b, the ratio of A/P, and the concentration of butyrate, isovalerate, and NH 3 -N ( p < 0.05) and negatively correlated with pH ( p < 0.05). WPS-2 exhibited a negative correlation with the gas production parameter b, the ratio of A/P, and the concentration of butyrate, valerate, isobutyrate, isovalerate, and NH 3 -N ( p < 0.05), along with a weaker positive correlation with pH ( p = 0.04). The Bacteroidales BS11 gut group was negatively correlated with the concentration of propionate but positively correlated with gas production parameter b and the concentration of butyrate and NH 3 -N ( p < 0.05). The Lachnospiraceae NK3A20 group was found to have a positive correlation with gas production parameter b, the ratio of A/P, and the concentration of butyrate, isobutyrate, isovalerate, valerate, total VFA, and NH 3 -N ( p < 0.05), but a highly negative correlation with pH ( p < 0.01). Differential metabolic pathways analysis suggested that metabolic pathways related to crude protein utilization, such as L-glutamate degradation VIII (to propanoate), L-tryptophan degradation IX, and urea cycle, increased with 5-ALA levels. In summary, including 5-ALA in the diet might improve energy and protein utilization by reducing the abundance of Actinobacteriota , the Bacteroidales BS11 gut group , the Lachnospiraceae NK3A20 group , and certain pathogenic bacteria and increasing the abundance of WPS-2.

Background: The resistance to endocrine therapy can lead to recurrence and metastasis of breast cancer (BC), affecting the survival period. Tiaogan Bushen Xiaoji (TGBSXJ) Formula, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) decoction, has been widely used in the treatment of estrogen receptor-positive (ER + ) BC. However, the underlying mechanism of TGBSXJ Formula in ER + BC treatment has not been totally elucidated., Methods: Network pharmacology (NP) and RNA sequencing were used to predict the candidate ingredients and explore the potential targets of TGBSXJ Formula. Then, the results of NP and RNA sequencing were investigated by in vitro experiments., Results: Active ingredients of TGBSXJ Formula mainly included Mangiferin, Rutin, Anemarrhena asphodeloides saponin BII, Ganoderic acid A and Acacetin, etc. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was created based on the active ingredients of TGBSXJ Formula and target genes of ER + BC, in which TGF-β, MMP2 and SMAD3 were defined as the hub genes. In vitro experiments showed that TGBSXJ Formula significantly inhibited the viability, colony ability and migration of ER + BC cells, and significantly increased the sensitivity to TAM. Western blot analysis showed that TGBSXJ Formula significantly downregulated TGF-β, E-cadherin, MMP2, MMP9, N-cadherin, p-Smad2 and p-Smad3 in ER + BC cells., Conclusion: TGBSXJ Formula increases the sensitivity of ER + BC cells to TAM by inhibiting the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work., (© 2024 Lu et al.)

Objectives: To estimate the number of pregnancies complicated by vasa previa annually in nine developed countries, and the potential preventable stillbirths associated with undiagnosed cases. We also assessed the potential impact of universal screening for vasa previa on reducing stillbirth rates., Methods: We utilized nationally-reported birth and stillbirth data from public databases in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Sweden, Portugal, and Australia. Using the annual number of births and the number and rate of stillbirths in each country, and the published incidence of vasa previa and stillbirth rates associated with the condition, we estimated the expected annual number of cases of vasa previa, those that would result in a livebirth, and the potential preventable stillbirths with and without prenatal diagnosis., Results: There were 6,099,118 total annual births with 32,550 stillbirths, corresponding to a summary stillbirth rate of 5.34 per 1,000 pregnancies. The total expected vasa previa cases was estimated to be 5,007 (95 % CI: 3,208-7,201). The estimated number of livebirths would be 4,937 (95 % CI: 3,163-7,100) and 3,610 (95 % CI: 2,313-5,192) in pregnancies with and without a prenatal diagnosis of VP. This implies that prenatal diagnosis would potentially prevent 1,327 (95 % CI: 850-1,908) stillbirths in these countries, corresponding to a potential reduction in stillbirth rate by 4.72 % (95 % CI: 3.80-5.74) if routine screening for vasa previa was performed., Conclusions: Our study highlights the importance of universal screening for vasa previa and suggests that prenatal diagnosis of prevention could potentially reduce 4-5 % of stillbirths., (© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.)

Objective: To explore the clinical safety and effectiveness of self-draining ureteral stent with thread in kidney transplant recipients in renal transplantation., Methods: This study is a prospective cohort clinical study in the Department of Urology of Peking University People's Hospital from November 2022 to January 2024. The ureteral stent with thread group, in which a 2-0 Mersilene suture of 20-30 cm was used at the bladder end of the ureteral stent during the operation. On the 9th day after the operation, the suture attached to the end of the ureteral stent was expelled out of the urethral orifice with the urine when the catheter was removed. The ureteral stent could be removed along with the suture. As to the cystoscope group, a ureteral stent was routinely placed during kidney transplantation, and the ureteral stent was removed under local infiltration anesthesia through cystoscopy after the operation. The pain scores [numerical rating scale (NRS)-11] during catheter removal and the incidence of urinary tract infections were observed and compared between the two groups. t test was used to compare the pain scores of indwelling ureteral stents and ureteral stents removal between the two groups, and Chi-square test was used to compare the occurrence of urinary system complications within 3 months after operation between the two groups. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant., Results: As of March 2024, all the recipients were followed up for an average of 6 months (3 to 12 months) postoperatively. A total of 46 kidney transplantation patients were included, with 21 in the ureteral stent with thread group and 25 in the cystoscope group. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in age distribution, male-to-female ratio, and deceased versus live donor grafts. Three months after renal transplantation, there were 15 cases of urinary tract infection in the cystoscope group and 4 cases in the ureteral stent with thread group ( P =0.007). No significant urinary fistula, wound infection, or ureteral stenosis occurred in either group. No stent-related complications, stent migration, or stone formation were observed. The postoperative bladder spasm symptom scores for indwelling ureteral stents in the cystoscope group and the ureteral stent with thread group were 4.4±2.5 and 4.6±2.4, respectively, with no statistically significant difference ( t =0.29, P =0.773). However, the pain scores during ureteral stent removal were 4.9±1.6 and 3.0±1.0 in the two groups, respectively, with a statistically significant diffe-rence ( t =5.017, P < 0.001). The total costs of indwelling and removing ureteral stents in the cystoscopy group and the ureteral stent with thread group were 6 452.0 (5 539.5, 6 452.0) yuan and 3 225.0 (3 225.0, 3 225.0) yuan, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.001)., Conclusion: Compared with the conventional transplanted kidney ureteral stent, the self-discharge ureteral stent technique with sutures is simpler, has a shorter ureteral stent inlay time, reduces the symptoms of bladder spasms, significantly reduces the cost of catheterization, and has fewer postoperative urinary system complications. It is a worthy improved surgical method to be promoted.

Objective: The prevalence of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms suggestive of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (LUTS/BPH) is notably high and potentially elevates the likelihood of depressive symptoms. This study was designed to employ both cross-sectional and longitudinal methodologies to explore the correlation between LUTS/BPH and depressive symptoms among middle-aged and elderly men in China., Methods: This investigation utilized data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), with the initial dataset from 2015 serving as the baseline and subsequent data from 2018 and 2020 facilitating longitudinal analysis. The study encompassed a baseline cohort of 5156 men aged 45 years and above, and an expansive longitudinal analytical sample of 23,530 participants spanning from 2015 to 2020. The assessment of depressive symptoms was conducted using the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depressive Symptoms Scale (CESD-10). To investigate the factors associated with LUTS/BPH, the relationship between LUTS/BPH and depressive symptoms, and to evaluate the incidence rate of depressive symptoms onset based on LUTS/BPH status, multivariate logistic analyses and logistic regression models were employed., Results: Our results reveal a markedly higher incidence of depressive symptoms among individuals with LUTS/BPH, at 30.16 %, compared to 22.94 % in those without LUTS/BPH. This pattern was consistent in both mild and moderate depressive symptoms categories. However, the prevalence of severe depressive symptoms did not exhibit a significant disparity between the two groups. Longitudinal analysis spanning from 2015 through 2018 and 2020 further corroborated these observations. Individuals with LUTS/BPH showed a substantially higher incidence of depressive symptoms across all severity levels compared to those without LUTS/BPH. Specifically, the presence of LUTS/BPH was linked to a 53 % heightened risk of mild depressive symptoms, a 45 % increase in moderate depressive symptoms, and an alarming 229 % surge in severe depressive symptoms risk between 2015 and 2018. Additionally, from 2015 to 2020, there was a 30 % increased risk for mild depressive symptoms, a 41 % rise for moderate depressive symptoms, and a 106 % escalation in the risk of severe depressive symptoms among those with LUTS/BPH., Conclusion: In middle-aged and older Chinese adults, LUTS/BPH were correlated with an elevated risk of depressive symptoms., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Perineural invasion (PNI) is an adverse prognostic feature of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, the understanding of the interactions between tumors and neural signaling within the tumor microenvironment is limited. In the present study, we found that MUC21 servers as an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in PDAC. Furthermore, we demonstrated that MUC21 promoted the metastasis and PNI of PDAC cells by activating JNK and inducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Mechanistically, glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor, secreted by Schwann cells, phosphorylates the intracellular domain S543 of MUC21 via CDK1 in PDAC cells, facilitating the interaction between MUC21 and RAC2. This interaction leads to membrane anchoring and activation of RAC2, which in turn activates the JNK/ZEB1/EMT axis, ultimately enhancing the metastasis and PNI of PDAC cells. Our results present a novel mechanism of PNI, suggesting that MUC21 is a potential prognostic marker and therapeutic target for PDAC., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

Thyroid cancer is the most common type of endocrine cancer, and most patients have a good prognosis. However, the thyroid cancer differentiation status strongly affects patient response to conventional treatment and prognosis. Therefore, exploring the molecular mechanisms that influence the differentiation of thyroid cancer is very important for understanding the progression of this disease and improving therapeutic options. In this study, SETMAR as a key gene that affects thyroid cancer differentiation is identified. SETMAR significantly regulates the proliferation, epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT), thyroid differentiation-related gene expression, radioactive iodine uptake, and sensitivity to MAPK inhibitor-based redifferentiation therapies of thyroid cancer cells. Mechanistically, SETMAR methylates dimethylated H3K36 in the SMARCA2 promoter region to promote SMARCA2 transcription. SMARCA2 can bind to enhancers of the thyroid differentiation transcription factors (TTFs) PAX8, and FOXE1 to promote their expression by enhancing chromatin accessibility. Moreover, METTL3-mediated m6A methylation of SETAMR mRNA is observed and showed that this medication can affect SETMAR expression in an IGF2BP3-dependent manner. Finally, the METTL3-14-WTAP activator effectively facilitates the redifferentiation of thyroid cancer cells via the SETMAR-SMARCA2-TTF axis utilized. The research provides novel insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying thyroid cancer dedifferentiation and provides a new approach for therapeutically promoting redifferentiation., (© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), characterized by repeated narrow or collapse of the upper airway during sleep, resulting in periodic reductions or cessations in ventilation, consequent hypoxia, hypercapnia, increased sympathetic activity and sleep fragmentation, places a serious burden on society and health care. Intermittent hypoxia (IH), which cause central nervous system (CNS) inflammation, and ultimately lead to neuropathy, is thought to be a crucial contributor to cognitive impairment in OSAS. Wnt signaling pathway exerts an important role in the regulation of CNS disorders. Particularly, it may be involved in the regulation of neuroinflammation and cognitive dysfunction. However, its underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. Accumulating evidence demonstrated that Wnt signaling pathway may inhibited in a variety of neurological disorders. Recently studies revealed that SUMOylation was participated in the regulation of neuroinflammation. Members of Wnt/β-catenin pathway may be targets of SUMOylation. In vitro and in vivo molecular biology experiments explored the regulatory mechanism of SUMOylation on Wnt/β-catenin in IH-induced neuroinflammation and neuronal injury, which demonstrated that IH induced the SUMOylation of β-catenin, microglia mediated inflammation and neuronal damage. Moreover, SENP1 regulated the de-SUMOylation of β-catenin, triggered Wnt/β-catenin pathway, and alleviated neuroinflammation and neuronal injury, thus improving IH-related mice cognitive dysfunction., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

As trimethylamine (TMA) is widely used in agriculture and industry, inhalation of TMA can cause very serious negative effects on human health. However, most of the current gas sensors for detecting TMA are commonly performed at high temperatures and cannot meet market needs. Inspired by this, we prepared imine covalent organic frameworks (TB-COF) synthesized from two monomers, 1,3,5-tris(4-aminophenyl)benzene (TAPB) and 1,3,5-benzotricarboxaldehyde (BTCA), using acetic acid as a catalyst at room temperature. Based on this, three sensors were prepared for gas sensitivity testing, namely, TA, BT, and TB-COF sensors. The three sensors were tested for 15 different gases at room temperature. From the whole gas sensitivity data, the TB-COF sensor made by compositing TA and BT has a higher sensitivity (6845.9%) to TMA at 500 ppm, which is 6.1 and 5.4 times higher than the response of TA and BT sensors, respectively. The TB-COF sensor adsorbs and desorbs TMA in a controlled 23 s cycle with a low detection limit of 28.6 ppb. This result indicates that TB-COF prepared at room temperature can be used as a gas-sensitive sensing material for real-time monitoring of TMA. The gas sensing results demonstrate the great potential of COFs for sensor development and application and provide ideas for further development of COFs-based gas sensors.

As a sustainable and promising approach of removing of nitrogen oxides (NO x ), catalytic reduction of NO x with H 2 is highly desirable with a precise understanding to the structure-activity relationship of supported catalysts. In particular, the dynamic evolution of support at microscopic scale may play a critical role in heterogeneous catalysis, however, identifying the in situ structural change of support under working condition with atomic precision and revealing its role in catalysis is still a grand challenge. Herein, we visually capture the surface lattice expansion of WO 3-x support in Pt-WO 3-x catalyst induced by NO in the exemplified reduction of NO with H 2 using in situ transmission electron microscopy and first reveal its important role in enhancing catalysis. We find that NO can adsorb on the oxygen vacancy sites of WO 3-x and favorably induce the reversible stretching of W-O-W bonds during the reaction, which can reduce the adsorption energy of NO on Pt 4 centers and the energy barrier of the rate-determining step. The comprehensive studies reveal that lattice expansion of WO 3-x support can tune the catalytic performance of Pt-WO 3-x catalyst, leading to 20% catalytic activity enhancement for the exemplified reduction of NO with H 2 . This work reveals that the lattice expansion of defective support can tune and optimize the catalytic performance at the atomic scale., Competing Interests: Competing interests statement:The authors declare no competing interest.

Background: The insulin/insulin-like signalling (IIS) pathway is common in mammals and invertebrates, and the IIS pathway is unknown in Fasciola gigantica. In the present study, the IIS pathway was reconstructed in F. gigantica. We defined the components involved in the IIS pathway and investigated the transcription profiles of these genes for all developmental stages of F. gigantica. In addition, the presence of these components in excretory and secretory products (ESPs) was predicted via signal peptide annotation., Results: The core components of the IIS pathway were detected in F. gigantica. Among these proteins, one ligand (FgILP) and one insulin-like molecule binding protein (FgIGFBP) were analysed. Interestingly, three receptors (FgIR-1/FgIR-2/FgIR-3) were detected, and a novel receptor, FgIR-3, was screened, suggesting novel functions. Fg14-3-3ζ, Fgirs, and Fgpp2a exhibited increased transcription in 42-day-old juveniles and 70-day-old juveniles, while Fgilp, Fgigfb, Fgsgk-1, Fgakt-1, Fgir-3, Fgpten, and Fgaap-1 exhibited increased transcription in metacercariae. FgILP, FgIGFBP, FgIR-2, FgIR-3, and two transcription factors (FgHSF-1 and FgSKN-1) were predicted to be present in FgESPs, indicating their exogenous roles., Conclusions: This study helps to elucidate the signal transduction pathway of IIS in F. gigantica, which will aid in understanding the interaction between flukes and hosts, as well as in understanding fluke developmental regulation, and will also lay a foundation for further characterisation of the IIS pathways of trematodes., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has emerged as the leading cause of death from prostate cancer (PCa) in recent decades, bringing a great disease burden worldwide. Men with preexisting CVD have an increased risk for major adverse cardiovascular events when treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). The present study aimed to explore the prevalence and risk evaluation of CVD among people with newly diagnosed PCa in China., Methods: Clinical data of newly diagnosed PCa patients were retrospectively collected from 34 centers in China from 2010 to 2022 through convenience sampling. CVD was defined as myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, heart failure, stroke, ischemic heart disease, and others. CVD risk was estimated by calculating Framingham risk scores (FRS). Patients were accordingly divided into low-, medium-, and high-risk groups. χ2 or Fisher's exact test was used for comparison of categorical variables., Results: A total of 4253 patients were enrolled in the present study. A total of 27.0% (1147/4253) of patients had comorbid PCa and CVD, and 7.2% (307/4253) had two or more CVDs. The enrolled population was distributed in six regions of China, and approximately 71.0% (3019/4253) of patients lived in urban areas. With imaging and pathological evaluation, most PCa patients were diagnosed at an advanced stage, with 20.5% (871/4253) locally progressing and 20.5% (871/4253) showing metastasis. Most of them initiated prostatectomy (46.6%, 1983/4253) or regimens involving ADT therapy (45.7%, 1944/4253) for prostate cancer. In the present PCa cohort, 43.1% (1832/4253) of patients had hypertension, and half of them had poorly controlled blood pressure. With FRS stratification, as expected, a higher risk of CVD was related to aging and metabolic disturbance. However, we also found that patients with treatment involving ADT presented an originally higher risk of CVD than those without ADT. This was in accordance with clinical practice, i.e., aged patients or patients at advanced oncological stages were inclined to accept systematic integrative therapy instead of surgery. Among patients who underwent medical castration, only 4.0% (45/1118) received gonadotropin releasing hormone antagonists, in stark contrast to the grim situation of CVD prevalence and risk., Conclusions: PCa patients in China are diagnosed at an advanced stage. A heavy CVD burden was present at the initiation of treatment. Patients who accepted ADT-related therapy showed an original higher risk of CVD, but the awareness of cardiovascular protection was far from sufficient., (Copyright © 2024 The Chinese Medical Association, produced by Wolters Kluwer, Inc. under the CC-BY-NC-ND license.)

Biochar preparation and application is an anticipated pathway for the resource utilization of biogas residue. In this study, biochars were prepared by the pyrolysis of biogas residue from food waste anaerobic digestion (named as BRBCs) under various pyrolysis temperatures (300, 500, 700, and 900 °C), and the effect of pyrolysis temperatures on the physicochemical characteristics of BRBCs was examined. The adsorption performance toward ciprofloxacin (CIP), a typical antibiotic in waterbodies, was also investigated. The results showed that pyrolysis temperature significantly changed the physicochemical properties of BRBCs. In addition, the minerals in the biogas residue, especially SiO 2 , were rearranged to form a mesoporous structure in biochar through a self-template strategy (without activator). BRBC prepared at 900 °C exhibited a high specific surface area and pore volume, well-developed mesopore structure, and more carbon structure defects, and exhibited the largest CIP adsorption capacity with 70.29 mg g -1 , which was ascribed to the combined interaction of pore diffusion, π-π interactions, hydrogen bonding, complexation, and electrostatic forces. Furthermore, the adsorption of CIP by BRBC900 was well described by two-compartment kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models. BRBC900 showed good adsorption performance toward CIP at pH 7-9. The adsorption of CIP by BRBC is a spontaneous, exothermic, entropy-increasing process. Moreover, BRBC also presented a good recycling potential. Therefore, the preparation of mesoporous biochar based on a self-template strategy not only provides an option for the resource utilization of biogas residue but also offers a new option for the treatment of antibiotic wastewater., 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.)

Objectives: Seroma represents the most prevalent postoperative complication following laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair, particularly in the case of large inguinoscrotal hernias. This randomized controlled trial was undertaken with the objective of assessing the effects of internal orifice narrowing achieved by suturing the divided distal hernia sac in laparoscopic repair of indirect inguinoscrotal hernias., Methods: A total of 58 patients aged 18 years or older, were randomized into two groups: Group I, which underwent internal orifice narrowing, and Group II, which served as the control without narrowing. The study's primary endpoint was the incidence and volume of seroma in the inguinal region on postoperative days 1 and 7, as well as at 1, 3, and 6 months following the procedure. Secondary outcomes encompassed metrics like total operative time, acute and chronic pain levels, duration of hospital stay, recurrence rates, and the occurrence of any additional complications., Results: In comparison to the control group, the experimental group exhibited a significantly lower incidence of seroma formation at 7 days (P = 0.001). Furthermore, the ultrasonic assessment indicated a reduced seroma volume in the operative group on postoperative day 7 (8.84 ± 17.71 vs. 52.39 ± 70.78 mL; P < 0.001). Acute pain levels and hospital stay were similar between the two groups (1.22 ± 0.76 vs. 1.04 ± 0.53, P = 0.073; 1.22 ± 0.07 vs. 1.19 ± 0.08, P = 0.627, respectively). Notably, neither chronic pain nor early recurrence, nor any other postoperative complications were observed in either group throughout the follow-up period, which extended for at least 6 months (range: 6-18 months)., Conclusion: In the context of laparoscopic inguinoscrotal hernia repair, the incidence and volume of seroma can be significantly reduced through the implementation of internal orifice narrowing achieved by suturing the divided distal hernia sac. And, this reduction in seroma formation was not associated elevation in postoperative pain levels or recurrence rates., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Industrializing water electrolyzers demands better electrocatalysts, especially for the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The prevailing OER catalysts are Ir or Ru-based nanomaterials, however, they still suffer from insufficient stability. An alternative yet considerably less explored approach is to upgrade Rh, a known stable but moderately active element for OER electrocatalysis, via rational structural engineering. Herein, a precise synthesis of assembled RhRuFe trimetallenes (RhRuFe TMs) with an average thickness of 1 nm for boosting overall water splitting catalysis is reported. Favorable mass transport and optimized electronic structure collectively render RhRuFe TMs with an improved OER activity of an overpotential of 330 mV to deliver 10 mA cm -2 , which is significantly lower than the Rh/C control (by 601 mV) and reported Rh-based OER electrocatalysts. In particular, the RhRuFe TMs-based water splitting devices can achieve the current density of 10 mA cm -2 at a low voltage of 1.63 V, which is among the best in the Rh-based bifunctional catalysts for electrolyzers. The addition of Fe in RhRuFe TMs can modulate the strain/electron distribution of the multi-alloy, which regulates the binding energies of H * and OH * in hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions for achieving the enhanced bifunctional OER and HER catalysis is further demonstrated., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Objective: To establish an automatic diagnostic system based on machine learning for preliminarily analysis of urodynamic study applying in lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD)., Methods: The eight most common conditions of LUTDs were included in the present study. A total of 527 eligible patients with complete data, from the year of 2015 to 2020, were enrolled in this study. In total, two global parameters (patients' age and sex) and 13 urodynamic parameters were considered to be the input for machine learning algorithms. Three machine learning approaches were applied and evaluated in this study, including Decision Tree (DT), Logistic Regression (LR), and Support Vector Machine (SVM)., Results: By applying machine learning algorithms into the 8 common LUTDs, the DT models achieved the AUC of 0.63-0.98, the LR models achieved the AUC of 0.73-0.99, and the SVM models achieved the AUC of 0.64-1.00. For mutually exclusive diagnoses of underactive detrusor and acontractile detrusor, we developed a classification model that classifies the patients into either of these two diseases or double-negative class. For this classification method, the DT models achieved the AUC of 0.82-0.85 and the SVM models achieved the AUC of 0.86-0.90. Among all these models, the LR and the SVM models showed better performance. The best model of these diagnostic tasks achieved an average AUC of 0.90 (0.90 ± 0.08)., Conclusions: An automatic diagnostic system was developed using three machine learning models in urodynamic studies. This automated machine learning process could lead to promising assistance and enhancements of diagnosis and provide more useful reference for LUTD treatment., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Background: Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is broadly recognized to be associated with neurobehavioral deficits, which have significant impacts on developing-aged children and adolescents. Therefore, our study aimed to quantify the proportion of neurobehavioral impairments attributed to SDB in general children and adolescents by population attributable fraction (PAF)., Methods: The study was registered at PROSPERO (ID: CRD42023388143). We collected two types of literature on the prevalence of SDB and the risk of SDB-related neurobehavioral deficits from ten electronic databases and registers, respectively. The pooled effect sizes (P e , P c , RR) by random-effects meta-analysis were separately substituted into Levin's formula and Miettinen's formula to calculate PAFs., Results: Three prevalence literature and 2 risk literature, all with moderate/high quality, were included in the quantitative analysis individually. The prevalence of SDB was 11% (95%CI 2%-20%) in children and adolescents (P e ), while the SDB prevalence was 25% (95%CI 7%-42%) in neurobehavioral patients (P c ). SDB diagnosis at baseline was probably associated with about threefold subsequent incidence of neurobehavioral deficits (pooled RR 3.24, 95%CI 1.25-8.41), after multi-adjustment for key confounders. Up to 19.8% or 17.3% of neurobehavioral consequences may be attributed to SDB from Levin's formula and Miettinen's formula, respectively., Conclusions: A certain number of neurobehavioral consequences may be attributable to SDB. It is essential for clinicians to identify and treat SDB timely, as well as screen for SDB in patients with neurobehavioral impairments. More longitudinal studies of SDB and neurobehavioral deficits are needed in the future to further certify the association between them., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Invasive breast carcinoma (BRCA) is associated with poor prognosis and high risk of mortality. Therefore, it is critical to identify novel biomarkers for the prognostic assessment of BRCA., Methods: The expression data of polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) in BRCA and the corresponding clinical information were extracted from TCGA and GEO databases. PLK1 expression was validated in diverse breast cancer cell lines by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blotting. Single sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) was performed to evaluate immune infiltration in the BRCA microenvironment, and the random forest (RF) and support vector machine (SVM) algorithms were used to screen for the hub infiltrating cells and calculate the immunophenoscore (IPS). The RF algorithm and COX regression model were applied to calculate survival risk scores based on the PLK1 expression and immune cell infiltration. Finally, a prognostic nomogram was constructed with the risk score and pathological stage, and its clinical potential was evaluated by plotting calibration charts and DCA curves. The application of the nomogram was further validated in an immunotherapy cohort., Results: PLK1 expression was significantly higher in the tumor samples in TCGA-BRCA cohort. Furthermore, PLK1 expression level, age and stage were identified as independent prognostic factors of BRCA. While the IPS was unaffected by PLK1 expression, the TMB and MATH scores were higher in the PLK1-high group, and the TIDE scores were higher for the PLK1-low patients. We also identified 6 immune cell types with high infiltration, along with 11 immune cell types with low infiltration in the PLK1-high tumors. A risk score was devised using PLK1 expression and hub immune cells, which predicted the prognosis of BRCA patients. In addition, a nomogram was constructed based on the risk score and pathological staging, and showed good predictive performance., Conclusions: PLK1 expression and immune cell infiltration can predict post-immunotherapy prognosis of BRCA patients., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to report regarding the present study., (© 2024 Shen et al.)

In the present study, we reconstructed the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) signaling pathway for Fasciola gigantica, which is a neglected tropical pathogen. We defined the components involved in the TGF-β signaling pathway and investigated the transcription profiles of these genes for all developmental stages of F. gigantica. In addition, the presence of these components in excretory and secretory products (FgESP) was predicted via signal peptide annotation. The core components of the TGF-β signaling pathway have been detected in F. gigantica; classical and nonclassical single transduction pathways were constructed. Four ligands have been detected, which may mediate the TGF-β signaling pathway and BMP signaling pathway. Two ligand-binding type II receptors were detected, and inhibitory Smad7 was not detected. TLP, BMP-3, BMP-1, and ActRIb showed higher transcription in 42-day juvenile and 70-day juvenile, while ActRIIa, Smad1, ActRIIb, Smad8, KAT2B, and PP2A showed higher transcription in egg. TLM, Ski, Smad6, BMPRI, p70S6K, Smad2, Smad3, TgfβRI, Smad4, and p300 showed higher transcription in metacercariae. Four ligands, 2 receptors and 3 Smads are predicted to be present in the FgESP, suggesting their potential extrinsic function. This study should help to understand signal transduction in the TGF-β signaling pathway in F. gigantica. In addition, this study helps to illustrate the complex mechanisms involved in developmental processes and F. gigantica - host interaction and paves the way for further characterization of the signaling pathway in trematodes., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The colorless and odorless ethylene glycol is prone to unknowingly causing poisoning, making preventive monitoring of ethylene glycol necessary. In this paper, scandium (III) trifluoromethanesulfonate was used as a catalyst to successfully prepare covalent organic framework (COF) nanospheres linked by imines at room temperature. The COF nanospheres were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, FT-IR, UV-Vis and BET. The results show that COF nanospheres have rough surfaces and a large number of mesoporous structures, which greatly increase the active sites on the surface of the sensing material and enhance the gas sensing performance. The sensing results showed that the prepared imine-conjugated COF nanospheres exhibited a good response-recovery ability for 10 consecutive response-recovery cycles for ethylene glycol at room temperature and had a theoretical detection limit of 40 ppb. In addition, the responses of COF nanospheres to nearly 20 interfering gases, including HCl, HNO 3 , phenol, formaldehyde and aniline, are relatively low compared to the response to ethylene glycol, indicating that the COF nanospheres have high selectivity towards ethylene glycol. The COF nanospheres show good sensitivity and selectivity for the detection of ethylene glycol, which should be attributed to the large specific surface area, hydrogen bonding interactions, and high defects. This work provides an effective method for the detection of ethylene glycol and expands the application field of COF materials.

Renal cell cancer (RCC) is one of the most common cancer, and the incidence of clear cell renal cell cancer rank at the first among multiple subtypes of RCC. Tumor heterogeneity and limited therapies expedite researches and studies on prognostic biomarkers and molecular mechanism. SEMA3G mediates various bimolecular processes but few studies have assessed the influence of SEMA3G on ccRCC. The expression of SEMA3G at mRNA level in ccRCC was analyzed using 4 TCGA datasets. The expression at protein level was verified by immunohistochemistry and western blot. Biological pathway was explored by GSEA and western blot. At both mRNA and protein level, SEMA3G expressed significantly lower in ccRCC tissues compared with normal renal tissues, and the expression was highly associated with clinical stage and pathological grade. Low expression of SEMA3G indicated a poorer overall survival and disease specific survival. Transwell and wound-healing assays showed that overexpressed SEMA3G inhibited the cell motility of renal cancer cells. Upregulated SEMA3G suppressed the invasion and proliferation of both 769-P and 786-O cells. Wnt signaling pathway was tested to work in the interfering of SEMA3G on tumorigenesis and progression of ccRCC. The results provide novel insight into the role of SEMA3G in ccRCC, suggesting the prognostic value and potential suppressor role of SEMA3G., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest No direct or indirect commercial, personal, academic, political, religious or ethical incentive is associated with publishing this article., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Liver fibrosis is mainly caused by excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix and structural changes in the liver, ultimately leading to cirrhosis if left untreated. Reducing hyaluronan synthesis by inhibiting hyaluronic acid deposition or regulating the expression of hyaluronic synthase can ameliorate liver fibrosis symptoms. In this study, we aimed to improve the bioavailability and liver-targeting capacity of hydroxymethyl coumarin (4-MU) using a newly developed phospholipid complex chitosan nanoparticle (4-MU PC/CNP) optimized using the Box-Behnken design. The composite nanocarrier delivery system was formulated using solvent evaporation technology, and formulation and process parameters were evaluated. Furthermore, 4-MU PC/CNPs and their pharmacokinetics were characterized. The established 4-MU PC/CNPs had an average particle size of 153.07 ± 0.29 nm, a polydispersity index value of 0.383, and a positive zeta potential of ∼35.4 mV. Compared with 4-MUs, 4-MU PC/CNPs exhibited significantly improved water solubility, faster plasma clearance and tissue distribution, and better liver targeting. Pharmacokinetic analysis showed that the oral bioavailability of 4-MU in 4-MU PC/CNPs was significantly higher than that of simple 4-MU. In conclusion, 4-MU PC improved drug lipid (oil-water distribution coefficient of 1.31 ± 0.03) and water solubilities (2.05 times the drug substance). 4-MU PC/CNPs significantly improved 4-MU oral bioavailability, representing a promising approach for enhancing drug solubility. This study demonstrates that the targeting parameters of 4-MU PC/CNPs in the liver were all greater than 1, indicating that they specifically targeted the liver, thereby potentially alleviating liver fibrosis .

We experimentally investigated and demonstrated an ultralow noise hybrid amplifier that combines second-order distributed Raman amplifier (DRA) and first-order lumped Raman amplifier (LRA) in a cascaded approach. This approach allows for the reutilization of pump light from the LRA as the seed light in the second-order DRA, and simultaneous full-band dispersion compensation is realized by using dispersion compensation fiber in the LRA. This approach also supports broadband gain flattening based on the separated DRA and LRA configuration. The transmission application of the proposed amplifier was investigated using a set of 10 external cavity lasers (ECLs) in the C-band and 8 ECLs in the L-band. Ranging from 1531.12 nm to 1595.49 nm across C + L band, the proposed hybrid amplifier gives a maximum on-off gain of 27.2 dB and an average gain of 23.4 dB, with an extremely low effective noise figure (NF) of lower than -2.9 dB. Intensity modulation direct detection (IMDD) signal transmission is carried out at two different data rates across these 18 wavelengths in the C + L band: (1) 56 Gbps/λ PAM-4 signal; (2) 112 Gbps/λ PAM-4 signal. The results show that the error free transmissions are demonstrated over 101.6 km EX2000 fiber using both signals with 7% HD-FEC and 20% SD-FEC, respectively.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), high blood pressure (HBP), and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have a close clinical relationship, but whether and how OSA affects HBP and T2DM is unclear., Study Design and Methods: Two-step, two-sample Mendelian randomization techniques were applied using single-nucleotide polymorphisms as genetic instruments for exposure and mediators, thus minimizing bias due to confounding factors and reverse causality. The total effect of OSA on HBP and T2DM was categorized into direct and mediating effects based on the mediating factors., Results: Two-sample MR analysis showed that OSA increased the risk of HBP (odds ratio [OR] = 1.010, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.002-1.018; P = 0.0121) and T2DM (OR = 1.140, 95% CI, 1.059-1.228; P = 0.0005). In the process of OSA caused by HBP, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) (female, 4.47% mediation; male, 2.76% mediation), total testosterone (TT) (male, 3.72% mediation), bioavailable testosterone (BioT) (female, 7.74% mediation), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (3.25% mediation), and apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) (1.31% mediation) were individual contributors. SHBG (female, 4.10% mediation; male, 1.58% mediation), TT (male, 3.69% mediation), BioT (female, 2.58% mediation), HDL-C (3.32% mediation), ApoA1 (2.14% mediation), and omega-6 fatty acids (2.33% mediation) may have mediating roles to varying degrees in the process of OSA caused by T2DM., Interpretation: This MR study showed that OSA is a risk factor for HBP and T2DM, and the evaluation of mediators may help further reveal the specific mechanism by which OSA causes HBP and T2DM., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work., (© 2023 Shen et al.)

Objectives: To derive accurate estimates of the incidence of vasa praevia (VP) in a routine population of unselected pregnancies., Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis., Data Sources: A search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and the Cochrane database was performed to review relevant citations reporting outcomes in pregnancies with VP from January 2000 until 5 April 2023., Eligibility Criteria for Selection of Studies: Prospective or retrospective cohort or population studies that provided data regarding VP cases in routine unselected pregnancies during the study period. We included studies published in the English language after the year 2000 to reflect contemporary obstetric and neonatal practice., Data Extraction and Synthesis: Two reviewers independently screened the retrieved citations and extracted data. The methodological quality of studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses was used to ensure standardised reporting of studies., Results: A total of 3847 citations were screened and 82 full-text manuscripts were retrieved for analysis. There were 24 studies that met the inclusion criteria, of which 12 studies reported prenatal diagnosis with a systematic protocol of screening. There were 1320 pregnancies with VP in a total population of 2 278 561 pregnancies; the weighted pooled incidence of VP was 0.79 (95% CI: 0.59 to 1.01) per 1000 pregnancies, corresponding to 1 case of VP per 1271 (95% CI: 990 to 1692) pregnancies. Nested subanalysis of studies reporting screening for VP based on a specific protocol identified 395 pregnancies with VP in a population of 732 654 pregnancies with weighted pooled incidence of 0.82 (95% CI: 0.53 to 1.18) per 1000 pregnancies (1 case of VP per 1218 (95% CI: 847 to 1901) pregnancies)., Conclusion: The incidence of VP in unselected pregnancies is 1 in 1218 pregnancies. This is higher than is previously reported and can be used as a basis to assess whether screening for this condition should be part of routine clinical practice. Incorporation of strategies to screen for VP in routine clinical practice is likely to prevent 5% of stillbirths., Prospero Registration Number: CRD42020125495., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)

Importance: Both the morbidity and mortality of prostate cancer are increasing worldwide. Updated evaluations of prostate cancer burden and its global, regional and national patterns are essential for formulating effective preventive strategies., Objective: To investigate prostate cancer incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) between 1990 and 2019 to facilitate preventive measures and control planning., Methods: Annual incident cases, deaths, DALYs, age-standardized incidence rates (ASIRs), age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs), and age-standardized DALYs rates (ASDRs) of prostate cancer between 1990 and 2019 were derived from the Global Burden of Diseases study 2019. Percentage changes in incident cases, deaths and DALYs and estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs) in ASIRs, ASMRs and ASDRs were calculated to quantify temporal trends. Correlations between EAPCs and socio-demographic index (SDI) and universal health coverage index (UHCI) were evaluated by Pearson correlation analyses., Results: Globally, the number of incident cases, deaths, and DALYs of prostate cancer increased by 116.11%, 108.94%, and 98.25% from 1990 to 2019, respectively. The ASIR increased by an average of 0.26% (95% CI: 0.14%, 0.37%) per year between 1990 and 2019, while the ASMR and ASDR decreased by an average of - 0.75% (95% CI: - 0.84%, - 0.67%) and - 0.71% (95% CI: - 0.78%, - 0.63%) per year in this period, respectively. Epidemic trends in the burdens of prostate cancer were not uniform throughout different groups of SDI or geography. The burdens of prostate cancer varied across SDI regions, with an increasing trend in ASIR, ASMR, and ASDR in low and low-middle SDI regions between 1990 and 2019. A significant positive correlation between the EAPC in ASIR and UHCI was observed in countries with a UHCI < 70 (ρ = 0.37, p < 0.001)., Interpretation: Prostate cancer remains a major global health burden due to the increase in incident cases, deaths, and DALYs in the past three decades. These increases are likely to continue as the population ages, which indicates a potential talent gap in the trained healthcare workforce. The diversity of prostate cancer development models implies the importance of specific local strategies tailored for each country's risk factor profile. Prevention, early detection and more effective treatment strategies for prostate cancer are essential., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Advancing electrocatalysts for alkaline hydrogen oxidation/evolution reaction (HOR/HER) is essential for anion exchange membrane-based devices. The state-of-the-art Pt-based electrocatalysts for alkaline HOR suffer from low intrinsic activities and severe CO poisoning due to the challenge of simultaneously optimizing surface adsorption toward different adsorbates. Herein, this challenge is overcome by tuning an atomic MoO x layer with high oxophilicity onto PtMo nanoparticles (NPs) with optimized H ad , OH ad , and CO ad adsorption for boosting anti-CO-poisoning hydrogen-cycle electrocatalysis in alkaline media. For alkaline HOR, this catalyst exhibits high kinetics and an exchange current density of 3.19 mA µg Pt -1 at 50 mV versus reversible hydrogen electrode and 0.83 mA cm Pt -2 , 10.3- and 3.8-fold higher than those of commercial Pt/C, respectively. For alkaline HER, it achieves an unprecedented overpotential of 37 mV at 10 mA cm -2 . Experimental and theoretical studies show that the orchestrated electronic and oxophilic regulation of the PtMo/MoO x interface NPs simultaneously optimizes H ad and OH ad adsorption for boosting alkaline hydrogen electrocatalysis, whereas reactive oxygen from the amorphous MoO x atomic layer lowers the CO oxidation reaction barrier, leading to superior anti-poisoning ability even at 100 ppm CO., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Telomeres, at the ends of chromosomes, protect chromosomes from fusion and preserve genomic stability. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying telomere attrition-induced genome instability remain to be understood. We systematically analyzed the expression of retrotransposons and performed genomic sequencing of different cell and tissue types with telomeres of varying lengths due to telomerase deficiency. We found that critically short telomeres altered retrotransposon activity to promote genomic instability in mouse embryonic stem cells, as evidenced by elevated numbers of single nucleotide variants, indels and copy number variations (CNVs). Transpositions of retrotransposons such as LINE1 resulting from the short telomeres can also be found in these genomes with elevated number of mutations and CNVs. Retrotransposon activation is linked to increased chromatin accessibility, and reduced heterochromatin abundance correlates with short telomeres. Re-elongation of telomeres upon recovery of telomerase partly represses retrotransposons and heterochromatin accumulation. Together, our findings suggest a potential mechanism by which telomeres maintain genomic stability by suppressing chromatin accessibility and retrotransposon activity., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: As a natural host of Fasciola gigantica , buffalo is widely infected by F. gigantica . Its impact on buffalo production has caused great losses to the husbandry sector, and repeat infection is non-negligible. In buffaloes experimentally infected with F. gigantica , primary and secondary infection have yielded the same rate of fluke recovery, indicating a high susceptibility of buffalo to F. gigantica , which contributes to the high infection rate. Determining the immunological mechanism of susceptibility will deepen the understanding of the interaction between F. gigantica and buffalo. Here, we explored the immune response of buffaloes against primary and secondary F. gigantica infection, with a focus on cytokines' dynamics explored through serum cytokine detection., Methods: Buffaloes were assigned to three groups: group A (noninfected, n  = 4), group B (primary infection, n  = 3), and group C (secondary infection, n  = 3). Group B was infected via oral gavage with 250 viable F. gigantica metacercariae, and group C was infected twice with 250 metacercariae at an interval of 4 weeks. The second infection of group C was performed simultaneously with that of group B. Whole blood samples were collected pre-infection (0 weeks) and at 1-6, 10, and 12  weeks after that. The serum levels of seven cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-13, TGF-β, and IL-17) were simultaneously determined using ELISA and further analyzed., Results: In the present study, no significant changes in Th1-type cytokines production were detected in early infection, both in primary and secondary infections, while the Th2-type response was strongly induced. A comparison of primary and secondary infection showed no significant difference in the cytokine secretion, which may indicate that the re-infection at 4 weeks after primary infection could not induce a robust adaptive immune response. The full extent of interaction between buffalo and F. gigantica in re-infection requires further study., 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 Meng, Zhai, Guo, Zheng, Li, Wen, Zhang and Di.)

We report ultralow-noise transmission over a 102-km single-mode fiber using a purely nonlinear amplification scheme consisting of a second-order distributed Raman amplifier (DRA) and a phase-sensitive amplifier (PSA) based on periodically poled LiNbO 3 waveguides. The hybrid DRA/PSA features a broadband gain over the C and L bands and an ultralow-noise advantage, with a less than -6.3 dB effective noise figure in the DRA stage and a 1.6 dB optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) improvement in the PSA stage. Compared with the unamplified link, the OSNR is improved by 10.2 dB for a 20-Gbaud 16QAM signal in the C band, resulting in error-free detection (a bit-error rate of less than 3.8 × 10 -3 ) for the signal with a low link input power of -25 dBm. Mitigation of nonlinear distortion is also achieved by the proposed nonlinear amplified system due to the subsequent PSA.

Human expanded potential stem cells (hEPSC) have been derived from human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. Here direct derivation of hEPSC from human pre-implantation embryos is reported. Like the reported hEPSC, the embryo-derived hEPSC (hEPSC-em) exhibit a transcriptome similar to morula, comparable differentiation potency, and high genome editing efficiency. Interestingly, the hEPSC-em show a unique H3 lysine-4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) open chromatin conformation; they possess a higher proportion of H3K4me3 bound broad domain (>5 kb) than the reported hEPSC, naive, and primed embryonic stem cells. The open conformation is associated with enhanced trophoblast differentiation potency with increased trophoblast gene expression upon induction of differentiation and success in derivation of trophoblast stem cells with bona fide characteristics. Hippo signaling is specifically enriched in the H3K4me3 broad domains of the hEPSC-. Knockout of the Hippo signaling gene, YAP1 abolishes the ability of the embryo-derived EPSC to form trophoblast stem cells., (© 2023 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Two-dimensional nanomaterial-based membranes have earned broad attention because of their excellent capability of separation performance in a mixture that can challenge the conventional membrane materials utilized in the organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) field. Boron nitride (BN) nanosheet membranes have displayed superb stability and separation ability in aqueous and organic solutions compared to the widely researched analogous graphene-based membranes; nevertheless, the concentration polarization of organic dye pollutants fades their separation performance and eclipses their potential adoption as a feasible technology. Herein, PDDA-modified BN (PBN) and sodium alginate-modified BN (SBN) nanosheet membranes with a thinner laminar structure are facially fabricated to improve the molecule separation performance compared to that of the pristine BN membrane. In aqueous separation application, the SBN membranes (2 μm) can reject positively charged dyes up to 100% and the PBN membrane (2 μm) could reject negatively charged dyes up to 100%. Impressively, the PBN membranes (3 μm) and SBN membranes (3 μm) demonstrate record high performances in OSN, with a permeance of 809 L m -2 h -1 bar -1 and 97.71% rejection to acid fuchsin in acetonitrile and 290 L m -2 h -1 bar -1 and 94.94% rejection to Azure B in dimethyl sulfoxide, respectively. The charged PBN and SBN nanosheet membranes demonstrate stable separation capability, exhibiting their potential for practical water and organic solvent purification processes.

The aim of this study was to explore cervical carcinoma and screen a suitable gene as the biomarker used for prognosis evaluation as well as pain therapy. Low expression levels of solute carrier family 24 member 3 (SLC24A3) was involved in the appearance and development of numerous malignancies. Nevertheless, the prognostic value of SLC24A3 expression with cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma (CESC) patients remains uncertain. During the present study, SLC24A3 expression in CESC was retrieved from TCGA, GEO, and MSigDB databases. Based on TCGA and GEO profiles, we performed survival and difference analyses about SLC24A3 both in two GEO (GSE44001 and GSE63514) and TCGA-CESC cohorts (all p < 0.05), indicating that SLC24A3 was low expressed in tumors and associated with higher overall survival in CESC patients. Additionally, we programmed a series of analyses, including genomic profiling, enrichment analysis, immune infiltration analysis, and therapy-related analysis to identify the mechanism of the SLC24A3 in the process of cancer in CESC. Meanwhile, qRT-PCR was used to validate that the expression of SLC24A3 mRNA in Hela and SiHa cell lines was significantly lower than in PANC-1 and HUCEC cell lines. Our finding elucidated that the SLC24A3, a sodium-calcium regulator of cells, is an indispensable factor which can significantly influence the prognosis of patients with CESC and could provide novel clinical evidence to serve as a potential biological indicator for future diagnosis and pain therapy., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 Shuguang Zhou et al.)

The 22nd chromatography component (F22) of the Fasciola gigantica excretory-secretory products ( Fg ESP) shows better diagnostic value than the Fg ESP, and diagnostic methods based on F22 have also been established. Thus, exploring its immunomodulatory function and potential as a molecular vaccine candidate is attractive. In the present study, the effect of F22 on the mitogen-induced proliferation of buffalo peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in the innate immune response was preliminarily studied using the Fg ESP as a control. PBMCs were incubated with concanavalin A (ConA) and phytohemagglutinin (PHA) at optimal (1 µg/well) or suboptimal (0.25 µg/well) doses coupled with Fg ESP and F22 at different doses (1-16 µg/well). Cell proliferation was then assessed by microenzyme reaction colorimetry (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay). In addition, the components of F22 were also explored by mass spectrometry and then subjected to Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis to infer their functions. The results indicated that Fg ESP decreased the proliferation of PBMCs stimulated with ConA and PHA at specific doses, whereas F22 significantly decreased the proliferation of PBMCs stimulated with ConA and PHA at both optimal and suboptimal doses ( p < 0.05). Two hundred and sixteen proteins were identified in F22, and these included 86 proteins that could be assigned to more than one pathway and some with robust immunomodulatory ability. Further studies should be performed to investigate the immunomodulatory function of F22 in the adaptive immune response, and the components of F22 can be further studied as potential vaccine candidate molecules.

Introduction: Small bowel (SB) bleeding is one of the common gastrointestinal problems, particularly in elders. The study aimed to find the causes of refractory bleeding and overcome the challenges and difficulties of surgical treatment for SB refractory bleeding., Methods: All patients with SB refractory bleeding who underwent surgical treatment were included in this study. Patients' characteristics, surgical finding, and follow-up assessments were reviewed and analyzed through Hospital Information System records from October 1, 2014, to November 30, 2020. All analyses were performed using SPSS v23.0., Results: The causes of SB bleeding include vascular lesions (angioectasia, arteriovenous malformations, and dieulafoy lesions) 29.6%, tumors (Polyps, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, Adenocarcinoma, and other) 24.5%, diverticular 18.4%, ulcers/erosion 15.3%, inflammatory bowel disease 7.1%, and other 5.1%. Patients (age below 60 y) were highly developed SB bleeding caused by diverticular 26.4% compared with patients (age 60 y or older) 8.9%, whereas bleeding caused by vascular lesions was significantly higher in patients (age 60 y or older) 37.8%. Other causes, such as tumors and inflammatory bowel disease, showed no significant difference related in age. Exploratory laparotomy was the standard method of bowel extrinsic examination. The intraoperative enteroscopy enterotomy (IOE-E) and IOE-combined were performed in 52 patients (1:1). IOE-E shows lower postoperative morbidity and shorter time of operation P <0.05 compared with the IOE-combined approach., Conclusions: Age and exhaustive patient history can assist in finding out the etiology. IOE-E is safe, and coordination between surgeon and endoscopist is necessary for IOE if an identifiable source cannot be found in endoscopy or exploratory laparotomy alone., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Taking advantage of 3 million English-language posts by Facebook public pages, this study answers the following questions: How did the amount of COVID-19 vaccine-related messages evolve? How did the moral expressions in the messages differ among sources? How did both the sources and the five moral foundations in posts influence the number of likes to posts, after controlling for the public page's features (e.g., age, followers)? Our research findings suggest that moral expression is prevalent in the COVID-19 vaccination posts, surpassing nonmoral content. Media sources, despite the high volume of posts, on average elicited fewer likes than all other sources. Although care and fairness were the two most used moral foundations, they were negatively related to likes. In contrast, the least used two moral values of authority and sanctity were positively related to likes. We conclude with a discussion of theoretical contributions and a recommendation of possible interventions., (© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To evaluate whether bladder wall thickness (BWT) measured by CT can be used to predict bladder outlet obstruction in men with low urinary tract symptoms (LUTS)., Methods: From 2015 to 2018, a total of 120 men with lower urinary tract symptoms who underwent both urodynamic studies and CT tests of the lower abdomen or pelvis were involved. Bladder wall thickness values were measured by CT scanning., Results: Based on the urodynamic studies, 120 men were categorized into two groups, including 70/120 men (58.3%) in the bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) group and 50/120 men (41.7%) in the non-BOO group. The mean BWT was thicker in the BOO group than in the non-BOO group (3.87 vs. 2.75 mm, p < 0.001). The mean maximum bladder capacity (MBC) was lower in the BOO group than in the non-BOO group (263.42 vs. 308.96 ml, p < 0.001). The mean detrusor pressure at maximum urinary flow rate (PdetQmax) was higher in the patients in the BOO group than in those in the non-BOO group (102.28 vs. 49.25 cmH 2 O, p < 0.001). The ROC curve showed that BWT was a good predictor with an AUC of 0.855 (95% CI 0.785-0.924, p < 0.001). At the cutoff value of 3.20 mm, the predictive sensitivity of BWT for BOO was 72.9%, and the specificity was 90%., Conclusion: Increased bladder wall thickness was correlated with bladder outlet obstruction in men with LUTS. Bladder wall thickness measured by CT scans may be a noninvasive parameter to predict bladder outlet obstruction in men with LUTS., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Background: Internet-related technologies have rapidly developed and started to impact the traditional medical practices, which combined wireless communication technology as well as "cloud service" technology with electronic fetal heart monitoring have become a mainstream tendency., Objective: To investigate the clinical application value of remote fetal heart rate monitoring mode (RFHRM) on late pregnancy during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic., Methods: From March 2021 to February 2022, we recruited 800 cases of pregnant women received prenatal examination at the Anhui Province Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital. These pregnant women were randomly divided into two groups: the control group (n= 400), which was given traditional management, and the observation group (n= 400), which received remote monitoring technology on this basis. The two groups were compared with neonatal asphyxia, pregnancy outcomes, Edinburgh postnatal depression scale scores (EPDS), prenatal examination expenses and total time consumption., Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in pregnancy outcome and neonatal outcome (P> 0.05). However, total EPDS score of 12.5% pregnant women in the observation group were higher than 12. The TPE group had significantly higher mean EPDS scores compared with the RFHRM group (7.79 ± 3.58 vs 5.10 ± 3.07; P< 0.05). The results showed a significant difference in maternity expenses (2949.83 ± 456.07 vs 2455.37 ± 506.67; P< 0.05) and total time consumption (42.81 ± 7.60 vs 20.43 ± 4.16; P< 0.05) between the groups., Conclusion: Remote fetal heart rate monitoring via internet served as an innovative, acceptable, safe and effective reduced-frequency prenatal examination model without affecting the outcome of perinatology of pregnant women with different risk factors.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) emerge as important orchestrators of biological processes in embryonic stem cells (ESCs). LncRNA Lx8-SINE B2 was recently identified as an ESC-specific lncRNA that marks pluripotency. Here, we studied the function of lncRNA Lx8-SINE B2 in ESCs. Depletion of Lx8-SINE B2 disrupted ESC proliferation, repressed the expression of pluripotency genes, activated differentiation genes, and inhibited reprogramming to induced pluripotent stem cells. The reduction of the colony formation ability of ESCs upon Lx8-SINE B2 knockdown was accompanied by the elongation of the G1 phase and the shortening of the S phase. Transcriptome analysis revealed that Lx8-SINE B2 deficiency affected multiple metabolic pathways, particularly glycolysis. Mechanistically, Lx8-SINE B2 functions as a cytoplasmic lncRNA and interacts with the glycolytic enzyme Eno1 as shown by RNA pull-down and RNA localization analysis. Lx8-SINE B2 and Eno1 interact with and regulate each other's expression, hence promoting the expression of metabolic genes and influencing glycolysis. In conclusion, we have identified lncRNA Lx8-SINE B2 as a novel regulator of ESC proliferation, cell cycle, and metabolism through working with Eno1., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Introduction: Widespread Fasciola gigantica infection in buffaloes has caused great economic losses in buffalo farming. Studies on F. gigantica excretory and secretory products ( Fg ESP) have highlighted their importance in F. gigantica parasitism and their potential in vaccine development. Identifying Fg ESP components involved in F. gigantica -buffalo interactions during different periods is important for developing effective strategies against fasciolosis., Methods: Buffaloes were assigned to non-infection ( n  = 3, as control group) and infection ( n  = 3) groups. The infection group was orally administrated 250 metacercariae. Sera were collected at 3, 10, and 16 weeks post-infection (wpi) for the non-infection group and at 0 (pre-infection), 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 13, and 16 wpi for the infection group. Fg ESP components interacting with sera from the non-infection and infection groups assay were pulled down by co-IP and identified using LC-MS/MS. Interacting Fg ESP components in infection group were subjected to Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) metabolic pathway and gene ontology (GO) functional annotation to infer their potential functions., Results and Discussion: Proteins of Fg ESP components identified in the non-infection group at 3, 10, and 16 wpi accounted for 80.5%, 84.3%, and 82.1% of all proteins identified in these three time points, respectively, indicating surroundings did not affect buffalo immune response during maintenance. Four hundred and ninety proteins were identified in the infection group, of which 87 were consistently identified at 7 time points. Following GO analysis showed that most of these 87 proteins were in biological processes, while KEGG analysis showed they mainly functioned in metabolism and cellular processing, some of which were thought to functions throughout the infection process. The numbers of specific interactors identified for each week were 1 ( n  = 12), 3 ( n  = 5), 6 ( n  = 8), 8 ( n  = 15), 10 ( n  = 23), 13 ( n  = 22), and 16 ( n  = 14) wpi, some of which were thought to functions in specific infection process. This study screened the antigenic targets in Fg ESP during a dense time course over a long period. These findings may enhance the understanding of molecular F. gigantica -buffalo interactions and help identify new potential vaccine and drug target candidates., 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 © 2022 Zheng, Jiang, Kong, Guo, Zhang and Di.)

Direct in vivo investigation of human placenta trophoblast's susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 is challenging. Here we report that human trophoblast stem cells (hTSCs) and their derivatives are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, which reveals heterogeneity in hTSC cultures. Early syncytiotrophoblasts (eSTBs) generated from hTSCs have enriched transcriptomic features of peri-implantation trophoblasts, express high levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), and are productively infected by SARS-CoV-2 and its Delta and Omicron variants to produce virions. Antiviral drugs suppress SARS-CoV-2 replication in eSTBs and antagonize the virus-induced blockage of STB maturation. Although less susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, trophoblast organoids originating from hTSCs show detectable viral replication reminiscent of the uncommon placental infection. These findings implicate possible risk of COVID-19 infection in peri-implantation embryos, which may go unnoticed. Stem cell-derived human trophoblasts such as eSTBs can potentially provide unlimited amounts of normal and genome-edited cells and facilitate coronavirus research and antiviral discovery., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests A patent application related to the data presented here has been filed on behalf of the Centre for Translational Stem Cell Biology., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The frequency-range interference patterns of the acoustic field in the shadow zone of deep water correlate with the source location. However, extraction of such interference structure requires a broadband source and fails for narrowband signals. In this work, the narrowband depth-time interference patterns of the acoustic field from a moving source are investigated. Two types of time intervals in the observed patterns are derived based on the ray theory. These time intervals are correlated with the multipath arrival angles, which in turn imply the source range. The simulations and the experimental results demonstrate stable range estimations using the interference patterns.