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PM 2.5 pollution in China has decreased dramatically, but how its health effects change is not clear. There are 120 old industrial cities in China, where the sources, composition, and health effects of PM 2.5 may be significantly different with other cities. Huangshi, an old industrial city in central China, underwent intense green transformations from 2015 to 2018. In this study, we collected ambient PM 2.5 samples in 2015 and 2018 at an urban site in Huangshi. The average PM 2.5 concentration decreased from 83.44 ± 48.04 μg/m 3 in 2015 to 68.03 ± 39.41 μg/m 3 in 2018. However, the average volume-normalized dithiothreitol (DTT v ) of PM 2.5 increased from 1.38 ± 0.45 nmol/min/m 3 to 2.14 ± 1.31 nmol/min/m 3 and the DTT normalized by particulate mass (DTT m ) increased from 20.6 ± 10.1 pmol/min/μg to 40.07 ± 21.9 pmol/min/μg, indicating increased exposure risk and inherent toxicity. The increased toxicity of PM 2.5 might be related to the increased trace elements (TEs) concentrations. The positive matrix factorization and multiple linear regression methods were employed to quantify the contributions of emission sources to PM 2.5 and DTT v . The results showed that the contribution of coal combustion, industry, and dust to PM 2.5 decreased significantly from 2015 to 2018, while that of vehicle emission and secondary sources increased. Despite the decreased fraction of coal combustion and industry sources, their contribution to DTT v increased slightly, which was caused by the increased intrinsic toxicity. The increased intrinsic toxicity was possibly caused by increased TEs, such as Pb, Cu, and V. Besides, the contribution of vehicle emission to DTT v also increased. Overall, these results provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of controlling strategies in reducing particulate health impacts in old industrial cities, and stress the necessity of formulating toxicity-oriented controlling strategies, with special attention to TEs from coal combustion and industry sources as well as vehicle emissions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This paper addresses robust fault detection observer design for a class of discrete-time Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy systems with finite-frequency specifications. A novel design method is presented based on finite-frequency H - /H ∞ indices and peak-to-peak analysis. The finite-frequency H - and H ∞ indices are utilized to characterize fault sensitivity and disturbance robustness, respectively. Peak-to-peak analysis is used to derive a dynamic threshold. To further reduce the conservatism caused by predefined parameters, an iterative algorithm is developed. Both theoretical proof and simulation results show that the performance of the proposed method is not worse than the existing works., 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 International Society of Automation. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Groundwater pollution risk evaluation is an important basis for developing groundwater protection measures and management strategies, and its accuracy directly affects the effectiveness of protection measures. The heterogeneity of the aquifer significantly affects the transport process of pollutants, increasing the uncertainty of pollutant risk assessment. However, in the actual site, borehole data that reveal aquifer heterogeneity are costly, and only a limited number of borehole data are available, which cannot accurately describe the heterogeneity of the aquifer, thus limiting the accuracy of groundwater pollution risk assessment. In order to overcome the above problems, this paper proposes a groundwater pollution risk assessment framework based on the stochastic and deterministic simulation of aquifer lithology. Based on the statistical characteristics of the change of lithology type in the actual borehole, the framework uses Markov chain to generate some sets of random lithology field and transforms them into heterogeneity parameter field, so as to realize the stochastic assessment of the pollution risk of groundwater resource wells. Furthermore, combined with the pumping test data, the parameter field that is most suitable for the actual situation is selected to evaluate the pollution risk deterministically. Finally, the stochastic and deterministic results are combined to comprehensively evaluate the pollution risk of groundwater resource wells. Through a case study in a river valley plain, the feasibility of the above framework is verified, and good application effects are achieved. This study provides a feasible method for accurately assessing groundwater pollution risk, which is helpful to reduce the impact of uncertain factors on pollution risk assessment, and thus provides a more reliable basis for groundwater management and decision-making., 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 Inc. All rights reserved.)

Glacial lake ecosystems are experiencing rapid changes due to accelerated glacier retreat. As glaciers recede, their influence on downstream habitats diminishes, potentially affecting the biodiversity of glacial lake microbial communities. However, there remains a knowledge gap regarding how bacterial biodiversity patterns in glacial lakes are altered by diminishing glacial influence. Here, we investigated shifts in bacterial communities in paired water and sediment samples collected from seven glacial lakes on the Tibetan Plateau, using a space-for-time substitution approach to understand the consequences of glacier retreat. Our findings reveal that bacterial diversity in lake water increases significantly with a higher glacier index (GI), whereas sediment bacterial diversity exhibits a negative correlation with GI. Both the water and sediment bacterial communities display significant structural shifts along the GI gradient. Notably, reduced glacial influence decreases the complexity of bacterial co-occurrence networks in lake water but enhances the network complexity in sediment. This divergence in diversity and co-occurrence patterns highlights that water and sediment bacterial communities respond differently to changes in glacial influence in these lake ecosystems. This study provides insights into how diminishing glacial influence impacts the bacterial biodiversity in glacial lake water and sediments, revealing contrasting patterns between the two habitats. These findings emphasize the need for comprehensive monitoring to understand the implications of glacier retreat on these fragile ecosystems., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Spinal cord swelling commonly occurs following SCI. Previous studies suggest that PBM may reduce inflammation and scar formation after SCI. However, whether PBM can alleviate post-spinal cord injury edema and its underlying mechanisms have not yet been reported. This study aims to investigate the effects of PBM on spinal cord swelling in rats following SCI and explore the underlying mechanisms., Methods: A rat model of SCI was established, and the rats received continuous PBM therapy for two weeks. Tissue hydration, motor function, AQP4 expression, and pathological changes in the spinal cord were evaluated at different time points. In vitro, astrocytes were subjected to PBM and treated with either cucurbitacin I or TGN020 following OGD., Results: The results indicate that PBM reduces tissue swelling in rats with SCI, improves motor function recovery, and inhibits the upregulation of AQP4 and GFAP associated with SCI. In vitro, PBM reduces abnormal activation of the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway in astrocytes, leading to decreased AQP4 synthesis and astrocyte activation., Conclusions: These findings suggest that PBM reduces spinal cord swelling in rats after injury. This effect is associated with the inhibition of JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway activation in astrocytes and the reduction in AQP4 expression., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The common pochard (Aythya ferina) is a freshwater diving duck found in the Palearctic region that has been classified as vulnerable by the IUCN due to continuous and rapid population declines across their distribution. To gain a better understanding of its genetic mechanism of adaptive evolution, we successfully sequenced and assembled the first high-quality chromosome-level genome of A. ferina using Illumina, Nanopore and Hi-C sequencing technologies. A total assembly length of 1,130.78 Mbp was obtained, with over 98.81% (1,117.37Mbp) of sequence anchored to 35 pseudo-chromosomes. We predicted 17,232 protein-coding genes, 95.9% of which were functionally annotated. We identified 339 expanded and 937 contracted gene families in the genome of A. ferina, and detected 95 genes that have been positively selected. The significantly enriched Gene Ontology and enriched pathways were related to energy metabolism, immune, nervous, and sensory systems, suggests that these factors likely played an important role in its evolution. Importantly, we recovered signatures of positive selection on genes related to vasoconstriction that may be associated with thermoregulatory adaptations of A. ferina for underwater diving. Overall, the high-quality genome assembly and annotation in this study provides valuable genomic resources for ecological and evolutionary studies, as well as toward the conservation of A. ferina., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Blood lipid profiles are associated with various nutritional elements and dietary factors. This study aimed to explore the association between total dietary vitamin E intake and remnant cholesterol (RC), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)., Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using NHANES 2007-2018 data. A total of 8,639 eligible participants (45.58% men and 54.42% women) with an average age of 46.12 ± 16.65 years were included in this study. Weighted multivariate linear regression and subgroup analyses were used to examine the association between vitamin E intake and RC, TC, HDL-C, and LDL-C. Smooth curve fitting was used to explore potential non-linear associations., Results: After adjusting for other covariates, multivariate linear regression analysis showed that higher vitamin E intake was negatively associated with plasma RC (β = -0.22, 95% CI: -0.27, -0.16), TC (β = -0.33, 95% CI: -0.51, -0.16), LDL-C (β = -0.25, 95% [confidence interval] CI: -0.40, -0.10) and positively associated with HDL-C (β = 0.13, 95% CI: 0.07, 0.20) in US adults. Subgroup analysis indicated that age may influence the association between vitamin E intake and RC. At the same time, gender may also affect the association between vitamin E intake and HDL-C., Conclusion: Higher vitamin E intake was negatively associated with plasma RC, TC, LDL-C and positively associated with HDL-C., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Team-based physical activity (PA) can improve social cognition; however, few studies have investigated the neurobiological mechanism underlying this benefit. Accordingly, a hyper-scanning protocol aimed to determine whether the interbrain synchrony (IBS) is influenced by an acute bout of team-based PA (i.e., tandem rope skipping). Specifically, we had socially avoidant participants (SOA, N=15 dyads) and their age-matched controls (CO, N=16 dyads) performed a computer-based cooperative task while EEG was recorded before and after two different experimental conditions (i.e., 30-min of team-based PA versus sitting). Phase locking value (PLV) was used to measure IBS. Results showed improved frontal gamma band IBS after the team-based PA compared to sitting when participants received successful feedback in the task (M skipping = 0.016, M sittting  = -0.009, p = 0.082, η p 2  = 0.387). The CO group showed a larger change in frontal and central gamma band IBS when provided failure feedback in the task (M skipping  = 0.017, M sittting  = -0.009, p = 0.075, η p 2  = 0.313). Thus, results suggest that socially avoidant individuals may benefit from team-based PA via improved interbrain synchrony. Moreover, our findings deepen our understanding of the neurobiological mechanism by which team-based PA may improve social cognition among individuals with or without social avoidance., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Radiation therapy plays a crucial role in cancer treatment, necessitating precise delivery of radiation to tumors while sparing healthy tissues over multiple days. Computed tomography (CT) is integral for treatment planning, offering electron density data crucial for accurate dose calculations. However, accurately representing patient anatomy is challenging, especially in adaptive radiotherapy, where CT is not acquired daily. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides superior soft-tissue contrast. Still, it lacks electron density information, while cone beam CT (CBCT) lacks direct electron density calibration and is mainly used for patient positioning. Adopting MRI-only or CBCT-based adaptive radiotherapy eliminates the need for CT planning but presents challenges. Synthetic CT (sCT) generation techniques aim to address these challenges by using image synthesis to bridge the gap between MRI, CBCT, and CT. The SynthRAD2023 challenge was organized to compare synthetic CT generation methods using multi-center ground truth data from 1080 patients, divided into two tasks: (1) MRI-to-CT and (2) CBCT-to-CT. The evaluation included image similarity and dose-based metrics from proton and photon plans. The challenge attracted significant participation, with 617 registrations and 22/17 valid submissions for tasks 1/2. Top-performing teams achieved high structural similarity indices (≥0.87/0.90) and gamma pass rates for photon (≥98.1%/99.0%) and proton (≥97.3%/97.0%) plans. However, no significant correlation was found between image similarity metrics and dose accuracy, emphasizing the need for dose evaluation when assessing the clinical applicability of sCT. SynthRAD2023 facilitated the investigation and benchmarking of sCT generation techniques, providing insights for developing MRI-only and CBCT-based adaptive radiotherapy. It showcased the growing capacity of deep learning to produce high-quality sCT, reducing reliance on conventional CT for treatment planning., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Matteo Maspero reports financial support was provided by EWUU alliance. Manya Afonso, Maureen van Eijnatten reports financial support was provided by EWUU alliance. Runqi Wang, Tao Song, Zhihao Zhang, Long Wang reports a relationship with Subtle Medical that includes: employment. Alexandra Alain-Beaudoin, Silvain Bériault reports a relationship with Elekta Ltd that includes: employment. Alexandra Alain-Beaudoin, Silvain Beriault has patent pending to Elekta Ltd. Pengxin Yu reports a relationship with Infervision Medical Technology Co., Ltd that includes: employment. Gengwan Li, Xueru Zhang reports a relationship with Canon Medical Systems Corporation that includes: employment. Lujia Zhong, Zhiwei Deng reports financial support was provided by University of Southern California. Valentin Boussot reports financial support was provided by French National Research Agency. Valentin Boussot reports financial support was provided by Rennes Métropole. Cédric Hémon reports financial support was provided by Elekta AB. Cédric Hémon reports financial support was provided by CominLabs. Valentin Boussot reports a relationship with University of Rennes that includes: employment. Cédric Hémon reports a relationship with University of Rennes that includes: employment. Cédric Hémon reports a relationship with Centre Eugène Marquis that includes: employment. Lu Bai, Shaobin Wang reports a relationship with MedMind Technology Co. Ltd that includes: employment. Lu Bai and Shaobing Wang had adopted some training ideas from Du Yi who is a staff in Institute of Medical Technology, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China Derk Mus, Bram Kooiman reports a relationship with MRI Guidance BV that includes: employment. Chelsea Sargeant reports a relationship with Elekta AB that includes: funding grants and travel reimbursement. Edward Henderson reports a relationship with Manchester Cancer Research Centre that includes: funding grants and travel reimbursement. Zijie Chen, Enpei Wang reports a relationship with Shenying Medical Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd that includes: employment. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: The inflammatory response and scar formation after spinal cord injury (SCI) limit nerve regeneration and functional recovery. Our research group has previously shown that the expression of astrocyte-derived lipocalin 2 (Lcn2) is upregulated after SCI, which correlates with neuronal apoptosis and functional recovery. Therefore, we speculate that astrocyte-specific knockdown of Lcn2 after SCI may lead to a better prognosis., Methods: Tissue RNA sequencing, Western blotting, PCR, and immunofluorescence assays were conducted to assess the expression of Lcn2 following SCI in mice. Adeno-associated virus 9 (AAV9) transfection was employed to specifically reduce the expression of Lcn2 in astrocytes, and subsequent evaluations of scarring and inflammation were conducted. In vitro experiments involved treating primary astrocytes with TGF-β or an A1-induced mixture (C1q, TNF-α and IL-1α) following Lcn2 knockdown. Finally, the intrathecal injection of recombinant Lcn2 (ReLcn2) protein was conducted post-injury to further confirm the role of Lcn2 and its underlying mechanism in SCI., Results: Lcn2 expression was elevated in astrocytes after SCI at 7 dpi (days post injury). Lcn2 knockdown in astrocytes is beneficial for neuronal survival and functional recovery after SCI, and is accompanied by a reduced inflammatory response and inhibited scar formation. The inhibition of SMAD-associated signaling activation was identified as a possible mechanism, and in vitro experiments further confirmed this finding. ReLcn2 further activated SMAD-associated signaling and aggravated motor function after SCI., Conclusion: The upregulation of Lcn2 expression in astrocytes is involved in neuroinflammation and scar formation after SCI, and the activation of SMAD-associated signaling is one of the underlying mechanisms., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors consent to this article for publication. The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between variant loci significantly associated with sports-related traits in the GWAS Catalog database and sprint/power athlete status, as well as to explore the polygenic profile of elite athletes. Methods: Next-generation sequencing and microarray technology were used to genotype samples from 211 elite athletes who had achieved success in national or international competitions in power-based sports and from 522 non-athletes, who were healthy university students with no history of professional sports training. Variant loci collected from databases were extracted after imputation. Subsequently, 80% of the samples were randomly selected as the training set, and the remaining 20% as the validation set. Results: Association analysis of variant loci was conducted in the training set, and individual Total Genotype Score (TGS) were calculated using genotype dosage and lnOR, followed by the establishment of a logistic model, with predictive performance evaluated in the validation set. Association analysis was performed on 2075 variant loci, and after removing linked loci (r 2 > 0.2), 118 Tag SNPs ( p ≤ 0.05) were identified. A logistic model built using 30 Tag SNPs ( p ≤ 0.01) showed better performance in the validation set (AUC = 0.707). Conclusions: Our study identified 30 new genetic molecular markers and demonstrated that elite sprint/power athlete status is polygenic.

Objective: This study explores the impact of pyroptosis-related genes (PRG) on the prognosis of liver cancer (LC)., Methods: 421 samples (371 tumor samples and 50 normal samples) from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were included in this study. GSE14520 dataset (data of RNA expression and relevant clinicopathological features), GSE125449 dataset (single-cell data in LC) and HCCDB18 dataset (validation on the reliability of the model) were downloaded as appropriate. Download the PRG and its corresponding pathway information from the gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) website. The consensus clustering was performed by ConsensusClusterPlus package. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using limma package, and prognostic features were constructed using un/multivariate and Lasso Cox regression. Pathway enrichment analysis was conducted by ssGSEA method. Receiver Operating Characteristic and the survival analysis were conducted by timeROC and Survminer packages. The Seurat package was used for single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis. For cellular validation, following the quantification on the key genes via reverse-transcription quantitative PCR, the Transwell and scratch assays were applied to evaluate the in-vitro invasion and migration of LC cells Huh-7., Results: 12 prognosis-related genes were identified to be related to the progression of LC. Three subtypes including C1, C2 and C3 were categorized using the 12 prognosis-related genes and PRGs significantly related to the prognosis of LC patients. The worst and best prognosis was seen in C3 subtype and C2 subtype, respectively. Hallmark pathway enrichment analysis has shown the concurrent immunoactivation and immune escape in C3 subtype. A RiskScore model was constructed using 8 key genes (KPNA2, UCK2, FTCD, CBX2, RAB32, HMMR, S100A9 and ANXA10) from the DEGs of three subtypes. The RiskScore system as an independent prognostic factor dividing the patients into high and low risk groups, and patients of the high-risk group had poor prognosis in both test set and validation set. A nomogram model combining the risk score had the extreme higher benefit. Further, 6 subclusters were identified from scRNA-seq analysis, where the highest PYROPTOSIS score was seen in Monocytic-Macrophages. The quantification on the key genes has suggested the high expressions of KPNA2, UCK2, CBX2, RAB32, HMMR and S100A9 and the low expressions of FTCD and ANXA10 in LC cells Huh-7. Particularly, UCK2 knockdown evidently diminished the number of invaded and migrated LC cells in vitro ., Conclusion: The risk model associated with pyproptosis is crucial for the tumor immunity of LC and may serve as a prognostic indicator for patients suffering from LC. Our findings will offer new perspectives for immunotherapies targeting LC., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Gout represents an autoinflammatory disorder instigated by monosodium urate crystals. Its primary manifestation involves the recruitment of diverse immune cell populations, including neutrophils and macrophages. Macrophages assume a pivotal role in the initiation of acute gouty inflammation and subsequent inflammatory cascades. However, recent investigations have revealed that the impact of macrophages on gout is nuanced, extending beyond a solely detrimental influence. Macrophages, characterized by different subtypes, exhibit distinct functionalities that either contribute to the progression or regression of gout. A strategy aimed at modulating macrophage polarization, rather than merely inhibiting inflammation, holds promise for enhancing the efficacy of acute gout treatment. This review centres on elucidating potential mechanisms underlying macrophage polarization in the onset and resolution of gouty inflammation, offering novel insights into the immune equilibrium of macrophages in the context of gout., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Background: The combination of cyclin-dependent kinases 4/6 (CDK4/6) inhibitors and endocrine therapy is the standard treatment for patients with hormone receptor-positive (HR+)/HER2-negative (HER2-) advanced breast cancer. However, the role of CDK4/6 inhibitors in early breast cancer remains controversial., Methods: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CDK4/6 inhibitors combined with endocrine therapy versus endocrine therapy alone in patients with HR+, HER2- early breast cancer. A systematic review of Cochrane, PubMed and EMBASE databases was conducted. The efficacy endpoints of adjuvant therapy were invasive disease-free survival (IDFS), overall survival (OS) and distant relapse-free survival (DRFS). The efficacy endpoint included complete cell cycle arrest (CCCA) and complete pathologic response (PCR) with neoadjuvant therapy. Grade 3/4 adverse events (AEs) were assessed as safety outcomes., Results: Eight randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included in the study. CDK4/6 inhibitors combined with endocrine therapy showed a significant improvement in IDFS (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.81, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.68-0.97, P = 0.024), but not DRFS (HR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.56-1.29, P = 0.106) or OS (HR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.77-1.19, P = 0.692) in adjuvant therapy. In the neoadjuvant therapy setting, CDK4/6 inhibitors improved CCCA compared with the control group (RR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.33-3.26, P = 0.001). The risk of 3/4 grade AEs increased significantly with the addition of CDK4/6 inhibitors to endocrine therapy., Conclusion: The addition of CDK4/6 inhibitors in HR+/HER2- early breast cancer patients significantly improved IDFS in adjuvant therapy and CCCA in neoadjuvant. However, CDK4/6 inhibitors also showed significant toxicities during therapy., Systematic Review Registration: Identifier CRD42024530704., 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 Zhang, Zhao and Chen.)

Peptidylarginine deiminase 4 (PAD4)-dependent neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation is a new neutrophil death mechanism. Increased NET formation has been demonstrated to be associated with gouty inflammation. Macrophages release proinflammatory mediators and chemokines in acute gouty inflammation and subsequently lead to inflammatory cascades. However, whether NETs regulate macrophage function and polarization and further contribute to gout development remains unclear. Herein, we investigated the relationship between monosodium urate (MSU) crystal-induced NETs and macrophages and the associated mechanisms in gouty inflammation. Elevated NET formation and CD86 + macrophage infiltration were observed in human gouty arthritis (GA). In vitro, MSU crystal-induced NETs or NET-associated histone H3 treatments modulated nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation, M1 polarization, and metabolic changes in macrophages. These effects were eliminated by hexokinase-2 (HK-2) silencing. Moreover, NET formation and inflammation were significantly reduced in PAD4-/- GA mice. Pharmacological inhibition of NET formation with Cl-Amidine or NET degradation with DNase Ⅰ significantly reduced M1 polarization of macrophages and ameliorated inflammation in GA mice. In sum, MSU crystal-induced NETs promote M1 polarization and NLRP3 activation in macrophages via targeting HK-2. Cell-free DNA and histone H3 may be the driving elements behind the NET-induced M1 macrophage polarization, NLRP3 activation, and metabolic changes. Targeting NETs could be a potential therapeutic strategy for gout flare., 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 Inc. All rights reserved.)

Several studies have investigated the gut bacterial composition of wild ungulates in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. However, the relationship between their gut microbiome dendrograms and their phylogenetic tree remains unclear. In this study, we analyzed 45 amplicons (V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene) from five wild ungulates- Pseudois nayaur , Pantholops hodgsonii , Gazella subgutturosa , Bos grunniens , and Equus kiang -from the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau to clarify the relationship between their phylogenies and gut microbiome dendrograms. The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis indicated that G. subgutturosa is closely related to P. nayaur ; however, these results were inconsistent with their phylogenetic trees. Additionally, the indicator genera in the microbiome of each wild ungulate showed strong associations with the diets and habitats of their host. Thus, diet and space niche differentiation may primarily account for the differences between the gut microbiome characteristics of these wild ungulates and their phylogeny. In summary, our research provides insights into the evolutionary factors influencing the gut microbiome of wild ungulates in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors., (© 2024 The Author(s). Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The prediction of evapotranspiration (ET0) is crucial for agricultural ecosystems, irrigation management, and environmental climate regulation. Traditional methods for predicting ET0 require a variety of meteorological parameters. However, obtaining data for these multiple parameters can be challenging, leading to inaccuracies or inability to predict ET0 using traditional methods. This affects decision-making in critical applications such as agricultural irrigation scheduling and water management, consequently impacting the development of agricultural ecosystems. This issue is particularly pronounced in economically underdeveloped regions. Therefore, this paper proposes a machine learning-based evapotranspiration estimation method adapted to evapotranspiration conditions. Compared to traditional methods, our approach relies less on the variety of meteorological parameters and yields higher prediction accuracy. Additionally, we introduce a 'region of evapotranspiration adaptability' division method, which takes into account geographical differences in ET0 prediction. This effectively mitigates the negative impact of anomalies or missing data from individual meteorological stations, making our method more suitable for practical agricultural irrigation and ecosystem water resource management. We validated our approach using meteorological data from 25 stations in Heilongjiang, China. Our results indicate that non-adjacent geographical areas, despite different climatic conditions, can have similar impacts on ET0 prediction. In summary, our method facilitates accurate ET0 prediction, offering new insights for the development of agricultural irrigation and ecosystems, and further contributes to agricultural food supply., (© 2024. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to International Society of Biometeorology.)

Background: Patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) often suffer from anxiety disorders. While upadacitinib has shown effectiveness in reducing various disease activity indicators in active PsA, its impact on anxiety disorders in PsA patients needs further investigation., Methods: In this 12-week randomized, open-label, controlled trial, PsA patients with coexisting anxiety were randomly assigned to either the upadacitinib group or the adalimumab group in a 1:1 ratio. The upadacitinib group received a daily dose of 15 mg, while the adalimumab group received 40 mg every 2 weeks. The primary outcome measured the change in Hospital Anxiety Self-Assessment Scale (HADS-A) total scores after the 12-week intervention. Secondary outcomes included changes in the Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI), the percentage of participants meeting the ACR20 criteria compared to baseline after 12 weeks, and the percentage of participants achieving a grade 0 or 1 in the psoriasis static Investigator's overall assessment (sPGA) at week 12 with an improvement of at least 2 points from baseline (sPGA 0/1). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the means of normally distributed variables between the upadacitinib and adalimumab groups., Discussion: The impact of upadacitinib on anxiety in PsA patients remains uncertain. This 12-week open randomized controlled trial aims to provide insights into disease progression and underscore the importance of addressing PsA-related anxiety during treatment., Trial Registration: ChiCTR2400079755. Registered on January 11, 2024, with ChiCTR. https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=216538., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Blockade of the programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) pathway is an attractive strategy for immunotherapy, but the clinical application of small molecule PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors remains unclear. In this work, based on BMS-202 and our previous work YLW-106, a series of compounds with benzo[d]isothiazol structure as scaffold were designed and synthesized. Their inhibitory activity against PD-1/PD-L1 interaction was evaluated by a homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence (HTRF) assay. Among them, LLW-018 (27c) exhibited the most potent inhibitory activity with an IC 50 value of 2.61 nM. The cellular level assays demonstrated that LLW-018 exhibited low cytotoxicity against Jurkat T and MDA-MB-231. Further cell-based PD-1/PD-L1 blockade bioassays based on PD-1 NFAT-Luc Jurkat cells and PD-L1 TCR Activator CHO cells indicated that LLW-018 could interrupt PD-1/PD-L1 interaction with an IC 50 value of 0.88 μM. Multi-computational methods, including molecular docking, molecular dynamics, MM/GBSA, MM/PBSA, Metadynamics, and QM/MM MD were utilized on PD-L1 dimer complexes, which revealed the binding modes and dissociation process of LLW-018 and C 2 -symmetric small molecule inhibitor LCH1307. These results suggested that LLW-018 exhibited promising potency as a PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor for further investigation., 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 Masson SAS.)

The process and function that underlie the assembly of root-associated microbiomes may be strongly linked to the survival strategy of plants. However, the assembly and functional changes of root-associated microbial communities in different desert plants in natural desert ecosystems are still unclear. Thus, we studied the microbial communities and diversity of root endosphere (RE), rhizosphere soil (RS), and bulk soil (BS) among three representative desert plants ( Alhagi sparsifolia , Tamarix ramosissima , and Calligonum caput-medusae ) in three Xinjiang desert regions {Taklimakan (CL), Gurbantünggüt (MSW), and Kumtag (TLF)} in China. This study found that the soil properties {electrical conductivity (EC), soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN) and phosphorus (TP), available nitrogen (AN) and phosphorus (AP)} of C. caput-medusae were significantly lower than those of A. sparsifolia and T. ramosissima , while the root nutrients (TN and TP) of A. sparsifolia were significantly higher compared to C. caput-medusae and T. ramosissima . The beta diversity of bacteria and fungi (RE) among the three desert plants was significantly different. The common OTU numbers of bacteria and fungi in three compartments (RE, RS, and BS) of the three desert plants were ranked as RS > BS > RE. The bacterial and fungal (RE) Shannon and Simpson indexes of C. caput-medusae were significantly lower as compared to those of A. sparsifolia and T. ramosissima . Additionally, bacterial and fungal (RE and RS) node numbers and average degree of C. caput-medusae were lower than those found in A. sparsifolia and T. ramosissima . Root and soil nutrients collectively contributed to the composition of root-associated bacterial (RE, 12.4%; RS, 10.6%; BS, 16.6%) and fungal communities (RE, 34.3%; RS, 1.5%; BS, 17.7%). These findings demonstrate variations in the bacterial and fungal populations across different plant species with distinct compartments (RE, RS, and BS) in arid environments. More importantly, the study highlights how much soil and plant nutrients contribute to root-associated microbial communities.

Low-pressure systems (LPSs) are among the most critical weather systems, producing excessive precipitation that causes air temperatures to drop and rise considerably. Acute temperature changes directly affect poultry feed intake (FI) and laying performance. To explore the effects of LPSs on hens, the parameters of air temperature, relative humidity, egg production, and feed utilization efficiency were evaluated during different LPSs in three houses. Results indicated that about 2.8 ± 0.7 d, 2.4 ± 0.5 d, and 2.4 ± 0.5 d before the LPS landfall in houses 1, 2, and 3, respectively, the indoor air temperature started to decrease, with the average decreases being 1.7 °C ± 0.4 °C, 2.4 °C ± 0.6 °C, and 1.8 °C ± 0.4 °C, respectively. Significant differences were observed between different LPSs for reducing indoor air temperature ( p < 0.05) in the three houses. In house 1, the egg production rates (EPRs) were decreased by 6.6% and 1.1% when LPSs 1 and 2 landed. The average egg weight (AEW) and FI during the LPS landfall were significantly higher than those before the LPS landfall ( p < 0.01). Under successive LPSs landfall in the three houses, the EPRs initially reduced by 3.9%, 4.0%, and 0.5%, respectively, but the second LPS event increased the EPRs by 1.8%, 5.3%, and 1.0%, respectively. Furthermore, the LPS landfall increased the feed conversion ratio (FCR e ) in the three houses, all above 2.00. In conclusion, LPSs can reduce heat stress, lower the EPRs, and lead to higher FI, FCR e , and AEW.

Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Background: Panax quinquefolius L, widely recognized for its valuable contributions to medicine, has aroused considerable attention globally. Different from the extensive research has been dedicated to the root of P. quinquefolius , its berry has received relatively scant focus. Given its promising medicinal properties, this study was focused on the structural characterizations and anti-inflammatory potential of acidic polysaccharides from the P. quinquefolius berry., Materials and Methods: P. quinquefolius berry was extracted with hot water, precipitated by alcohol, separated by DEAE-52-cellulose column to give a series of fractions. One of these fractions was further purified via Sephadex G-200 column to give three fractions. Then, the main fraction named as AGBP-A3 was characterized by methylation analysis, NMR spectroscopy, etc. Its anti-inflammatory activity was assessed by RAW 264.7 cell model, zebrafish model and molecular docking., Results: The main chain comprised of α -L-Rhap, α -D-GalAp and β -D-Galp, while the branch consisted mainly of α -L-Araf, β -D-Glcp, α -D-GalAp, β -D-Galp. The RAW264.7 cell assay results showed that the inhibition rates against IL-6 and IL-1 β secretion at the concentration of 625 ng/mL were 24.83 %, 11.84 %, while the inhibition rate against IL-10 secretion was 70.17 % at the concentration of 312 ng/mL. In the zebrafish assay, the migrating neutrophils were significantly reduced in number, and their migration to inflammatory tissues was inhibited. Molecular docking predictions correlated well with the results of the anti-inflammatory assay., Conclusion: The present study demonstrated the structure of acidic polysaccharides of P. quinquefolius berry and their effect on inflammation, providing a reference for screening anti-inflammatory drugs., (© 2024 The Korean Society of Ginseng. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V.)

Purpose: Accumulating evidence suggests that neurotensin (NTS) and neurotensin receptors (NTSRs) play key roles in lung cancer progression by triggering multiple oncogenic signaling pathways. This study aims to develop Cu-labeled neurotensin receptor 1 (NTSR1)-targeting agents with the potential for both imaging and therapeutic applications., Method: A series of neurotensin receptor antagonists (NRAs) with variable propylamine (PA) linker length and different chelators were synthesized, including [ 64 Cu]Cu-CB-TE2A-iPA-NRA ([ 64 Cu]Cu-4a-c, i = 1, 2, 3), [ 64 Cu]Cu-NOTA-2PA-NRA ([ 64 Cu]Cu-4d), [ 64 Cu]Cu-DOTA-2PA-NRA ([ 64 Cu]Cu-4e, also known as [ 64 Cu]Cu-3BP-227), and [ 64 Cu]Cu-DOTA-VS-2PA-NRA ([ 64 Cu]Cu-4f). The series of small animal PET/CT were conducted in H1299 lung cancer model. The expression profile of NTSR1 was also confirmed by IHC using patient tissue samples., Results: For most of the compounds studied, PET/CT showed prominent tumor uptake and high tumor-to-background contrast, but the tumor retention was strongly influenced by the chelators used. For previously reported 4e, [ 64 Cu]Cu-labeled derivative showed initial high tumor uptake accompanied by rapid tumor washout at 24 h. The newly developed [ 64 Cu]Cu-4d and [ 64 Cu]Cu-4f demonstrated good tumor uptake and tumor-to-background contrast at early time points, but were less promising in tumor retention. In contrast, our lead compound [ 64 Cu]Cu-4b demonstrated 9.57 ± 1.35, 9.44 ± 2.38 and 9.72 ± 4.89%ID/g tumor uptake at 4, 24, and 48 h p.i., respectively. Moderate liver uptake (11.97 ± 3.85, 9.80 ± 3.63, and 7.72 ± 4.68%ID/g at 4, 24, and 48 h p.i.) was observed with low uptake in most other organs. The PA linker was found to have a significant effect on drug distribution. Compared to [ 64 Cu]Cu-4b, [ 64 Cu]Cu-4a had a lower background, including a greatly reduced liver uptake, while the tumor uptake was only moderately reduced. Meanwhile, [ 64 Cu]Cu-4c showed increased uptake in both the tumor and the liver. The clinical relevance of NTSR1 was also demonstrated by the elevated tumor expression in patient tissue samples., Conclusions: Through the side-by-side comparison, [ 64 Cu]Cu-4b was identified as the lead agent for further evaluation based on its high and sustained tumor uptake and moderate liver uptake. It can not only be used to efficiently detect NTSR1 expression in lung cancer (for diagnosis, patient screening, and treatment monitoring), but also has the great potential to treat NTSR-positive lesions once chelating to the beta emitter 67 Cu., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Although high ultraprocessed food (UPF) consumption has been linked with increased mortality risk in the general population, whether UPFs harm participants with a history of cancer remains unclear., Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the association of UPF consumption with mortality among participants with a history of cancer., Methods: Prospective cohort analysis was conducted on 13,640 participants with a history of cancer from the UK Biobank. UPFs were defined by the Nova classification. UPF consumption was calculated as the weight proportion of UPFs in the total food consumption. Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess the association between UPF consumption and mortality among participants with a history of cancer., Results: The median UPF consumption was 29.25% (interquartile range [IQR]: 19.46%-40.62%) for males and 25.81% (IQR: 16.61%-36.35%) for females in the total diet among participants with a history of cancer. During a median follow-up of 10.77 years, 1611 deaths were documented. Multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) among participants in the highest quartile of UPF consumption relative to the lowest were 1.17 (1.02, 1.35) for all-cause mortality and 1.22 (1.03, 1.44) for cancer-related mortality., Conclusions: Higher UPF consumption after the diagnosis among participants with a history of cancer is associated with higher risk of mortality., (Copyright © 2024 American Society for Nutrition. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This paper proposes an advanced deep learning model that integrates the Diffusion-Transformer structure and parallel attention mechanism for the tasks of growth estimation and disease detection in jujube forests. Existing methods in forestry monitoring often fall short in meeting the practical needs of large-scale and highly complex forest areas due to limitations in data processing capabilities and feature extraction precision. In response to this challenge, this paper designs and conducts a series of benchmark tests and ablation experiments to systematically evaluate and verify the performance of the proposed model across key performance metrics such as precision, recall, accuracy, and F1-score. Experimental results demonstrate that compared to traditional machine learning models like Support Vector Machines and Random Forests, as well as common deep learning models such as AlexNet and ResNet, the model proposed in this paper achieves a precision of 95%, a recall of 92%, an accuracy of 93%, and an F1-score of 94% in the task of disease detection in jujube forests, showing similarly superior performance in growth estimation tasks as well. Furthermore, ablation experiments with different attention mechanisms and loss functions further validate the effectiveness of parallel attention and parallel loss function in enhancing the overall performance of the model. These research findings not only provide a new technical path for forestry disease monitoring and health assessment but also contribute rich theoretical and experimental foundations for related fields.

Guided bone regeneration (GBR) membranes play an important role in oral bone regeneration. However, enhancing their bone regeneration potential and antibacterial properties is crucial. Herein, silk fibroin (SF)/polycaprolactone (PCL) core-shell nanofibers loaded with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) were prepared using emulsion electrospinning. The nanofibrous membranes were characterized via scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, water contact angle (CA) measurement, mechanical properties testing, drug release kinetics, and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl radical (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay. Mouse pre-osteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells were used to assess the biological characteristics, cytocompatibility, and osteogenic differentiation potential of the nanofibrous membrane. Additionally, the antibacterial properties against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) were evaluated. The nanofibers prepared by emulsion electrospinning exhibited a stable core-shell structure with a smooth and continuous surface. The tensile strength of the SF/PCL membrane loaded with EGCG was 3.88 ± 0.15 Mpa, the water CA was 50°, and the DPPH clearance rate at 24 h was 81.73% ± 0.07%. The EGCG release rate of membranes prepared by emulsion electrospinning was reduced by 12% within 72 h compared to that of membranes prepared via traditional electrospinning. In vitro experiments indicate that the core-shell membranes loaded with EGCG demonstrated good cell compatibility and promoted adhesion, proliferation, and osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells. Furthermore, the EGCG-loaded membranes exhibited inhibitory effects on E. coli and S. aureus . These findings indicate that core-shell nanofibrous membranes encapsulated with EGCG prepared using emulsion electrospinning possess good antioxidant, osteogenic, and antibacterial properties, making them potential candidates for research in GBR materials., (Creative Commons Attribution license.)

The exploration of traumatic spinal fractures (TSFs) within the senior demographic has not been thoroughly scrutinized, particularly with respect to variations across genders, age groups, seasonal periods, and causative factors. This retrospective analysis aimed to dissect differences in the prevalence and characteristics of TSFs among the elderly, factoring in gender, age, seasonal timing, and causation. A retrospective analysis was conducted on the medical and imaging records of 1,415 patients, all aged 60 years or older, who were diagnosed with TSFs from 2013 to 2019. This study categorized the data by gender, age groups (60-70, 70-80, and 80 years or older), seasons, and the cause of injuries, including road traffic crashes (RTCs), falls from low heights (LHF), falls from high heights (HHF), and injuries incurred during everyday activities and agricultural labor (DFI). Male patients exhibited notably higher incidences of RTCs, high-height falls (HHFs), outdoor incidents, comas post-injury, fractures of the lower limbs (LLFs), pelvic fractures (PFs), rib fractures (RFs), intra-thoracic injuries (ITIs), intra-abdominal injuries (IAIs), cervical fractures, and spinal cord injuries (SCIs). With advancing age, there was a marked decline in occurrences of RTCs, HHFs, outdoor incidents, RFs, craniocerebral injuries (CCIs), ITIs, cervical fractures, and SCIs, while the incidences of DFIs, indoor incidents, and thoracic and lumbar (T + L) fractures notably increased. During autumn, LLF occurrences were significantly reduced, whereas the winter season saw an increase in thoracic fractures. Spring time was associated with a higher frequency of lumbar fractures and noncontiguous spinal fractures (NSFs). Significant distinctions were observed in the age distribution, injury circumstances, associated injuries, and SCIs between high-energy impacts (RTCs and HHFs) and low-energy traumas (LHFs and DFIs). In the elderly demographic, TSFs exhibited discernible distinctions based on gender, age, seasonal variations, and etiological factors, impacting the nature and circumstances of injuries, associated traumas, complications, fracture sites, and the occurrence of SCIs., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Human Maxillary Sinus Membrane Stem Cells (hMSMSCs) contribute significantly to bone formation following maxillary sinus floor augmentation (MSFA). The biological behavior of mesenchymal stem cells is notably influenced by varying concentrations of magnesium (Mg 2+ ), strontium (Sr 2+ ), and zinc (Zn 2+ ) ions; however, their specific effects on hMSMSCs have not been comprehensively studied. We isolated hMSMSCs and identified their mesenchymal stem cell characteristics by flow cytometry and multilineage differentiation experiments. Subsequently, the hMSMSCs were cultured in media containing different concentrations of these metal ions. The proliferation and viability of hMSMSCs were assessed using CCK-8 and Calcein AM/PI staining. After osteogenic induction, cells were evaluated for alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, ALP staining, and Alizarin Red staining. Additionally, qRT-PCR was used to detect differences in osteogenic gene expression, and immunofluorescence staining was used to observe variations in OCN protein levels. The results indicated that 1 mM Mg 2+ , 0.01 mM Sr 2+ , and 0.001 mM Zn 2+ significantly improved the proliferation and activity of hMSMSCs. These concentrations also notably enhanced ALP secretion, increased bone-related gene expression, and augmented osteocalcin expression and formation of extracellular calcium nodules, thereby improving osteogenic differentiation. However, higher concentrations of Mg 2+ , Sr 2+ , and Zn 2+ decreased cell viability and osteogenic differentiation. Mg 2+ , Sr 2+ , and Zn 2+ promote osteogenic differentiation and proliferation of hMSMSCs in a concentration-dependent manner, indicating that the type and concentration of ions in the extracellular environment can significantly alter hMSMSCs behavior, which is a crucial consideration for material design in maxillary sinus elevation applications., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: and Purpose: Outdoor play is widely acknowledged for its benefits to physical health and psychological well-being, yet its relationship with school readiness remains understudied in preschoolers. To address this gap in the literature, this study investigated how outdoor play relates to cognitive and psychosocial development among a nationally representative sample of preschoolers., Materials and Method: Data on the duration of outdoor play (on weekdays and weekends) and specific cognitive and psychosocial outcome variables (i.e., early learning skills, self-regulation, social-emotional development, and flourishing) were collected via questionnaires provided to the caregivers of preschoolers. Logistic regressions were performed to examine the associations between outdoor play with cognitive and psychosocial outcomes while adjusting for covariates and calculate the odds ratio with 95 % confidence intervals (CI)., Results: Among the 10,682 preschoolers (i.e., 3-5y) included in this study (i.e., 5558 boys, Mage = 3.98 ± 0.99 years), there was a lower percentage of preschoolers engaged in outdoor play for over 3 h per day on weekdays (33.39 %) compared to weekends (56.85 %). Outdoor play in preschoolers is positively associated with various domains of school readiness, and engaging in outdoor play for more than 3 h per day is associated with more beneficial outcomes., Conclusion: The findings of this cross-sectional study suggest that promoting outdoor play among preschoolers can be an effective strategy for enhancing cognitive, social, and emotional development in this age group although further intervention studies are required to buttress this assumption empirically., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Gastrointestinal (GI) disorders are highly prevalent and severely diminish life quality. It is yet unknown which dietary pattern is optimal for the prevention of GI disorders. Among 141 450 participants from UK Biobank with a median follow-up of 15 years, we comprehensively assessed 13 dietary patterns in relation to 6 GI disorders. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models demonstrated that adherence to healthy diets was associated with lower risk of GI disorders, with the strongest associations observed for the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet (HR Q4 vs. Q1 = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.81, 0.88), the Alternate Mediterranean Diet (AMED) (HR Q4 vs. Q1 = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.81, 0.88), and the Alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010 (AHEI-2010) (HR Q4 vs. Q1 = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.82, 0.89). AHEI-2010 (HRs ranging from 0.76 to 0.90) and DASH (HRs ranging from 0.75 to 0.88) showed inverse associations with every individual GI disorder. Furthermore, comorbidities decreased significantly in number with higher AMED and DASH diet scores ( P for trend <0.001). Finally, the associations of AHEI-2010, AMED and DASH with GI disorders diminished most intensely after removing the component of fruits or whole grains. The combined intake of fruits and whole grains was inversely associated with the risk of overall GI disorders (HR T3 vs. T1 = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.86, 0.93). In conclusion, AHEI-2010 and DASH were the most recommended dietary patterns for the prevention of GI disorders. Fruits and whole grains are the most significant contributors to the protective effect.

Background: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients are implicated in poor prognoses and increased mortality rates. Metastasis, as a leading cause of LUAD-related deaths, requires further investigation. Highly metastatic cancer cells often exhibit extensive characteristics of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). This study attempted to identify novel targets associated with LUAD metastasis and validate their specific molecular mechanisms., Methods: Bioinformatics was conducted to determine NTSR1 expression in LUAD and the enriched pathways. Immunohistochemical analysis was used to assess NTSR1 expression in LUAD tissue. qRT-PCR examined expressions of NTSR1 and Wnt/β-Catenin pathway-related genes in LUAD cells. Transwell assayed cell migration and invasion. Cell adhesion experiments were conducted to evaluate cell adhesion capacity. Western blot analysis was employed to examine expression of EMT, Wnt/β-Catenin pathway, and cell adhesion markers., Results: NTSR1 was upregulated in LUAD tissues and cells, and enriched in EMT pathway. Knockdown of NTSR1 reduced migration, invasion, and adhesion abilities in LUAD cells, and inhibited EMT progression and Wnt/β-Catenin pathway. Rescue experiments demonstrated that β-Catenin activator SKL2001 reversed repressive influence of NTSR1 knockdown on LUAD cell malignant phenotypes and EMT progression., Conclusion: The data obtained in this study suggested that NTSR1 stimulated EMT and metastasis in LUAD via Wnt/β-Catenin pathway. This finding may provide options for overcoming LUAD metastasis., 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.)

This study presents an efficient approach for the precise detection of chlorine gas (Cl 2 ) and hydrogen chloride (HCl), harmful pollutants frequently emitted from chlor-alkali and various industrial processes. These substances, even in trace amounts, pose significant health risks. Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS), known for its sensitivity in pollutant detection, traditionally struggles to differentiate between Cl 2 and HCl due to the similarity of their product ions, Cl - . To overcome this limitation, we introduce a novel technique combining dopant-assisted negative photoionization ion mobility spectrometry (DANP-IMS) with an automatic semiconductor cooling system. This unique combination utilizes the differential cryogenic removal efficiencies of Cl 2 and HCl to segregate these gases before analysis. By applying DANP-IMS, we achieved selective measurement of Cl - ion signal intensities under both standard and cryogenic conditions, facilitating the accurate quantification of total chlorine and Cl 2 levels. We then determined HCl concentrations by deducting the Cl 2 signal from the total chlorine readings. Our approach demonstrated detection limits of 2.0 parts per billion (ppb) for Cl 2 and 0.8 ppb for HCl, across a linear detection range of 0-200 ppb. Moreover, our method's capability for real-time atmospheric monitoring of Cl 2 and HCl near industrial sites underscores its utility for environmental monitoring, offering a robust solution for the separate and precise measurement of these pollutants.

The commercial applications of lead halide perovskites are hindered by their negative environmental impact and inherent instability. Consequently, developing environmentally friendly copper-based perovskite materials is crucial for future solid-state lighting and display applications. In this study, an ultrafast high-power ultrasonic synthesis strategy was utilized to achieve uniform nucleation and growth of Cs 3 Cu 2 X 5 (X = Cl, Br, I) nanocrystals (NCs) that possess remarkable luminescence properties, hydroxyl protection, and ligand-free characteristics. These Cs 3 Cu 2 X 5 NCs exhibited a tunable spectral range spanning from 446 to 525 nm, accompanied by photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs) varying from 0.2% to 79.2%. The spectral attributes of the NCs were effectively controlled by modulating the halide type and composition. It is worth noting that density functional theory (DFT) calculations offer valuable insights into the synthesis of NCs and the selection of suitable alcohol solvents. Moreover, we successfully fabricated an efficient and stable white light-emitting diode (WLED) with a high luminous efficiency of 23 lm W -1 and CIE color coordinates of (0.3266, 0.3487). Our work provides a new strategy to synthesize Cs 3 Cu 2 X 5 NCs and holds promise for their potential application in display and lighting devices.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a global health concern. Mind-body exercises like Tai Chi and Yoga are suggested as non-pharmacological interventions for COPD management. This meta-analysis evaluates mind-body exercises' impact on lung function and exercise capacity in stable COPD patients, aiming to assess their effectiveness in rehabilitation. A systematic search across various databases identified relevant randomized controlled trials until April 2024. Primary outcomes included lung function tests (FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, FEV1%) and Six-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) results. The Standardized Mean Difference (SMD) measured intervention effects. Fifteen studies with 1047 participants were analyzed. Mind-body exercises significantly improved FEV1 (SMD = 0.87), FEV1/FVC (SMD = 0.19), FEV1% (SMD = 0.43), and 6MWT (SMD = 1.21) compared to standard care. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses confirmed result stability despite some heterogeneity.In conclusion, Mind-body exercises enhance lung function and exercise capacity in stable COPD patients. Integrating them into comprehensive rehabilitation programs is advisable. Further research should explore the specific impacts of different exercise types and intensities., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

While the dopaminergic system is important for cognitive processes, it is also sensitive to the influence of physical activity (PA). We summarize current evidence on whether PA-related changes in the human dopaminergic system are associated with alterations in cognitive performance, discuss recent advances, and highlight challenges and opportunities for future research., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Lifestyle factors after cancer diagnosis could influence cancer survival. This study aimed to investigate the joint effects of smoking, physical activity, alcohol consumption, diet and sleep duration on all-cause, cancer and non-cancer mortality of cancer survivors in UK biobank., Methods: The follow-up period concluded in December 2021, with post-diagnostic lifestyle factors assessed at baseline. A lifestyle score ranging from 0 to 5 was assigned based on adherence to the selected lifestyle factors. The study employed Cox regression models for hazard ratios (HRs) and Kaplan-Meier for survival rates, with stratified and sensitivity analyses to assess the robustness of our findings under various assumptions., Results: During a median follow-up of 12.7 years, 5652 deaths were documented from 34,184 cancer survivors. Compared to scoring 0-1, the HRs (95% CIs) for all-cause mortality with lifestyle scores of 2, 3, 4, and 5 were 0.70 (95% CI: 0.64, 0.76), 0.57 (0.52, 0.62), 0.50 (0.45, 0.54) and 0.43 (0.38, 0.48), respectively. Specific cancer types, particularly digestive, breast, female reproductive, non-solid, and skin cancers, showed notable benefits from adherence to healthy lifestyle, with the HRs of 0.55 (0.39, 0.79), 0.54 (0.42, 0.70), 0.32 (0.19, 0.53), 0.58 (0.39, 0.86), and 0.36 (0.28, 0.46) for lifestyle score of 5, respectively. Stratified analyses indicated the association was particularly significant among those with normal/lower BMI and higher Townsend Deprivation Index (P interaction  = 0.001 and < 0.001, respectively)., Conclusions: Healthier lifestyles were significantly linked with reduced mortality among cancer survivors. These findings highlight the need for adherence to healthy lifestyle habits to improve survival., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Recent climate warming and associated glacier retreat have dramatically changed the environmental conditions and microbial inhabitants of proglacial lakes. However, our understanding of the effects of climate warming and glacial influence on microbial biodiversity in these lakes remain relatively limited. Here, we studied bacterioplankton communities in 22 proglacial lakes on the Tibetan Plateau, spanning a range of nearly 7 °C in mean annual temperature (MAT), and examined the effects of climate and glaciers on their biodiversity by a space-to-time substitution. MAT emerged as the primary environmental driver of bacterioplankton biodiversity compared to glacial influence, increasing species richness and decreasing β-diversity. We identified 576 low-MAT (cold-preferred) species and 2,088 high-MAT (warm-preferred) species, and found that low-MAT species are less environmentally adapted, with their numbers declining as temperature increased. These results advance our understanding of temperature-driven bacterioplankton dynamics by disentangling the contrasting responses and adaptations of cold-preferred and warm-preferred species. Our findings highlight the vulnerability of cold-specialist taxa and the potential biodiversity losses associated with climate warming in the rapidly changing proglacial lakes., 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 Ltd.)

Soil salinization adversely affects soil fertility and plant growth in arid region worldwide. However, as the drivers of nutrient cycling, the response of microbial communities to soil salinization is poorly understood. This study characterized bacterial communities in different soil layers along a natural salinity gradient in the Karayulgun River Basin, located northwest of the Taklimakan desert in China, using the 16S rRNA Miseq-sequencing technique. The results revealed a significant filtering effect of salinity on the bacterial community in the topsoil. Only the α-diversity (Shannon index) in the topsoil (0-10 cm) significantly decreased with increasing salinity levels, and community dissimilarity in the topsoil was enhanced with increasing salinity, while there was no significant relationship in the subsoil. BugBase predictions revealed that aerobic, facultatively anaerobic, gram-positive, and stress-tolerant bacterial phenotypes in the topsoil was negatively related to salinity. The average degree and number of modules of the bacterial co-occurrence network in the topsoil were lower under higher salinity levels, which contrasted with the trends in the subsoil, suggesting an unstable bacterial network in the topsoil caused by higher salinity. The average path length among bacterial species increased in both soil layers under high salinity conditions. Plant diversity and available nitrogen were the main drivers affecting community composition in the topsoil, while available potassium largely shaped community composition in the subsoil. This study provides solid evidence that bacterial communities adapt to salinity through the adjustment of microbial composition based on soil depth. This information will contribute to the sustainable management of drylands and improved predictions and responses to changes in ecosystems caused by climate change., 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.)

Soybeans ( Glycine max L.), originating in China, were introduced to South America in the late 19th century after passing through North America. South America is now a major soybean-producing region, accounting for approximately 40% of the global soybean production. Crops like soybeans gradually adapt to the local climate and human-selected conditions, resulting in beneficial variations during cultivation in different regions. Comparing the phenotypic and genetic variations in soybeans across different regions is crucial to determining the variations that may enhance soybean productivity. This study identified seed-related traits and conducted a genetic diversity analysis using 46 breeding soybean varieties from China and Uruguay. Compared to the Chinese soybean germplasm, the Uruguayan equivalent had a lower 100-grain weight, higher oil content, lower protein content, and higher soluble sugar content. Using ZDX1 gene chips, genetic typing was performed on the 46 breeding varieties. Cluster analysis based on SNP sites revealed significant differences in the genetic basis of Sino-Uruguayan soybean germplasm. Selection analysis, including nucleotide polymorphism (π) and fixation indexes (Fst), identified several genomic regions under selection between Sino-Uruguayan soybean germplasm. The selected intervals significantly enriched gene ontology (GO) terms related to protein metabolism. Additionally, differentiation occurred in genes associated with the oil content, seed weight, and cyst nematodes between Sino-Uruguayan soybean germplasm, such as GmbZIP123 and GmSSS1 . These findings highlight the differences in seed-related phenotypes between Sino-Uruguay soybean germplasm and provide genomic-level insights into the mechanisms behind phenotypic differences, offering valuable references for understanding soybean evolution and molecular breeding., 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. The reviewer YH declared a past co-authorship with the authors YL, ZL and LQ to the handling editor., (Copyright © 2024 Sun, Zhang, Liu, Ceretta, Zhang, Guo, Li, Liu, Gu, Ao and Qiu.)

Gut microbiota of the bumblebee is critical as it modulates the health and fitness of the host. However, the mechanisms underlying the formation and maintenance of the diversity of bumblebee gut bacteria over a long period of evolution have yet to be elucidated. In particular, the gut bacterial diversity and community assembly processes of Bombus pyrosoma across the Chinese border remain unclear. In this study, we systematically carried out unprecedented sampling of 513 workers of the species Bombus pyrosoma across the Chinese landscape and used full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing to examine their gut microbiota diversity and biogeography. The gut microbiota composition and community structure of Bombus pyrosoma from different geographical locations were diverse. On the whole, the gut bacteria Gilliamella and Snodgrassella are dominant in bumblebees, but opportunistic pathogens Serratia and Pseudomonas are dominant in some sampling sites such as Hb15, Gs1, Gs45, Qhs15, and Ssx35. All or part of environmental factors such as latitude, annual mean temperature, elevation, human footprint, population density, and annual precipitation can affect the alpha diversity and community structure of gut bacteria. Further analysis showed that the assembly and shift of bumblebee gut bacterial communities under geographical variation were mainly driven by the stochastic drift of the neutral process rather than by variable selection of niche differentiation. In conclusion, our unprecedented sampling uncovers bumblebee gut microbiome diversity and shifts over evolutionary time., Importance: The microbiotas associated with organisms facilitates host health and fitness, and the homeostasis status of gut microbiota also reflects the habitat security faced by the host. In addition, managing gut microbiota is important to improve bumblebee health by understanding the ecological process of the gut microbiome. Thus, we first carried out an runprecedented sampling of 513 workers of the species Bombus pyrosoma across the Chinese landscape and used full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing to uncover their gut microbiota diversity and biogeography. Our study provides new insights into the understanding of gut microbiome diversity and shifts for Chinese Bumblebee over evolutionary time., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Transition-metal carbides with metallic properties have been extensively used as electrocatalysts due to their excellent conductivity and unique electronic structures. Herein, NbC nanoparticles decorated carbon nanofibers (NbC@CNFs) are proposed as an efficient and robust catalyst for electrochemical synthesis of ammonia from nitrate/nitrite reduction, which achieves a high Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 94.4 % and a large ammonia yield of 30.9 mg h -1  mg -1 cat. . In situ electrochemical tests reveal the nitrite reduction at the catalyst surface follows the *NO pathway and theoretical calculations reveal the formation of NbC@CNFs heterostructure significantly broadens density of states nearby the Fermi energy. Finite element simulations unveil that the current and electric field converge on the NbC nanoparticles along the fiber, suggesting the dispersed carbides are highly active for nitrite reduction., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Objective: There is evidence that complex relationships exist between motor functions, brain structure, and cognitive functions, particularly in the aging population. However, whether such relationships observed in older adults could extend to other age groups (e.g., younger adults) remains to be elucidated. Thus, the current study addressed this gap in the literature by investigating potential associations between motor functions, brain structure, and cognitive functions in a large cohort of young adults., Methods: In the current study, data from 910 participants (22-35 yr) were retrieved from the Human Connectome Project. Interactions between motor functions (i.e., cardiorespiratory fitness, gait speed, hand dexterity, and handgrip strength), brain structure (i.e., cortical thickness, surface area, and subcortical volumes), and cognitive functions were examined using linear mixed-effects models and mediation analyses. The performance of different machine-learning classifiers to discriminate young adults at three different levels (related to each motor function) was compared., Results: Cardiorespiratory fitness and hand dexterity were positively associated with fluid and crystallized intelligence in young adults, whereas gait speed and handgrip strength were correlated with specific measures of fluid intelligence (e.g., inhibitory control, flexibility, sustained attention, and spatial orientation; false discovery rate [FDR] corrected, p < 0.05). The relationships between cardiorespiratory fitness and domains of cognitive function were mediated by surface area and cortical volume in regions involved in the default mode, sensorimotor, and limbic networks (FDR corrected, p < 0.05). Associations between handgrip strength and fluid intelligence were mediated by surface area and volume in regions involved in the salience and limbic networks (FDR corrected, p < 0.05). Four machine-learning classifiers with feature importance ranking were built to discriminate young adults with different levels of cardiorespiratory fitness (random forest), gait speed, hand dexterity (support vector machine with the radial kernel), and handgrip strength (artificial neural network)., Conclusions: In summary, similar to observations in older adults, the current study provides empirical evidence (i) that motor functions in young adults are positively related to specific measures of cognitive functions, and (ii) that such relationships are at least partially mediated by distinct brain structures. Furthermore, our analyses suggest that machine-learning classifier has a promising potential to be used as a classification tool and decision support for identifying populations with below-average motor and cognitive functions., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Heterostructured visible-light-responsive photocatalysts represent a prospective approach to achieve efficient solar-to-chemical energy conversion. Herein, we propose a facile self-assembly technique to synthesize NiO nanoparticles/C 3 N 5 nanosheets (NOCN) heterojunctions for hydrogen (H 2 ) evolution catalysis and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) production under visible light. In this regard, the black NiO nanoparticles (NPs) were tightly anchored on the surface of C 3 N 5 nanosheets (CNNS) to construct S-scheme NOCN heterojunction, enabling efficient charge separation and high redox capability. Obtained results elucidated that the incorporated NiO NPs significantly promote light-harvesting efficiency and photo-to-thermal capacity over the NOCN composites. The enhanced photothermal effect facilitates the charge carrier transfer rate across the heterojunction and boosts the surface reaction kinetics. Accordingly, the photocatalytic performances of CNNS for H 2 release and H 2 O 2 production can be manipulated by introducing NiO NPs. The modified photocatalytic properties of NOCN composites are ascribed to the synergistic effects of all integrated components and the S-scheme heterojunction formation. Impressively, the high H 2 evolution photocatalysis efficiency of NOCN nano-catalysts in seawater certifies their potential environmental applicability. Among all, the 12-NOCN nano-catalyst exhibits a higher photocatalytic efficiency for H 2 release (112.2 μmol∙g -1 ∙h -1 ) and H 2 O 2 production (91.2 μmol∙L -1 ∙h -1 ). Besides, the 12-NOCN nano-catalyst reveals excellent recyclability and structural stability. Additionally, the possible mechanism for photothermal-assisted photocatalysis is proposed. This work affords a feasible pathway to design photothermal-assisted S-scheme heterojunctions for diverse photocatalytic applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In this paper, a CNN-MLP model (CMM) is proposed for COVID-19 lesion segmentation and severity grading in CT images. The CMM starts by lung segmentation using UNet, and then segmenting the lesion from the lung region using a multi-scale deep supervised UNet (MDS-UNet), finally implementing the severity grading by a multi-layer preceptor (MLP). In MDS-UNet, shape prior information is fused with the input CT image to reduce the searching space of the potential segmentation outputs. The multi-scale input compensates for the loss of edge contour information in convolution operations. In order to enhance the learning of multiscale features, the multi-scale deep supervision extracts supervision signals from different upsampling points on the network. In addition, it is empirical that the lesion which has a whiter and denser appearance tends to be more severe in the COVID-19 CT image. So, the weighted mean gray-scale value (WMG) is proposed to depict this appearance, and together with the lung and lesion area to serve as input features for the severity grading in MLP. To improve the precision of lesion segmentation, a label refinement method based on the Frangi vessel filter is also proposed. Comparative experiments on COVID-19 public datasets show that our proposed CMM achieves high accuracy on COVID-19 lesion segmentation and severity grading.

Background: Traumatic hemorrhagic shock (THS) is a complex pathophysiological process resulting in multiple organ failure. Intestinal barrier dysfunction is one of the mechanisms implicated in multiple organ failure. The present study aimed to explore the regulatory role of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 3 (MKK3) in THS-induced intestinal injury and to elucidate its potential mechanism., Methods: Rats were subjected to trauma and hemorrhage to establish a THS animal model. MKK3-targeted lentiviral vectors were injected via the tail vein 72 h before modeling. Twelve hours post-modeling, the mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were monitored, and histological injury to the intestine was assessed via H&E staining and transmission electron microscopy. Mitochondrial function and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) were evaluated. IEC-6 cells were exposed to hypoxia to mimic intestinal injury following THS in vitro., Results: MKK3 deficiency alleviated intestinal injury and restored mitochondrial function in intestinal tissues from THS-induced rats and hypoxia-treated IEC-6 cells. In addition, MKK3 deficiency promoted Sirt1/PGC-1α-mediated mitochondrial biogenesis and restricted Pink1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy in the injured intestine and IEC-6 cells. Furthermore, the protective effect of MKK3 knockdown against hypoxia-induced mitochondrial damage was strengthened upon simultaneous LC3B/Pink1/Parkin knockdown or weakened upon simultaneous Sirt1 knockdown., Conclusion: MKK3 deficiency protected against intestinal injury induced by THS by promoting mitochondrial biogenesis and restricting excessive mitophagy., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Binge drinking causes a range of problems especially damage to the nervous system, and the specific neural mechanism of brain loss and behavioral abnormalities caused by which is still unclear. Extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK) maintain neuronal survival, growth, and regulation of synaptic plasticity by phosphorylating specific transcription factors to regulate expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Dual-specific phosphatase 1 (DUSP1) and DUSP6 dephosphorylate tyrosine and serine/threonine residues in ERK1/2 to inactivate them. To investigate the molecular mechanism by which alcohol affects memory and emotion, a chronic intermittent alcohol exposure (CIAE) model was established. The results demonstrated that mice in the CIAE group developed short-term recognition memory impairment and anxiety-like behavior; meanwhile, the expression of DUSP1 and DUSP66 in the mPFC was increased, while the levels of p-ERK and BDNF were decreased. Micro-injection of DUSP1/6 inhibitor BCI into the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) restored the dendritic morphology by reversing the activity of ERK-BDNF and ultimately improved cognitive and emotional impairment caused by CIAE. These findings indicate that CIAE inhibits ERK-BDNF by increasing DUSP1/6 in the mPFC that may be associated with cognitive and emotional deficits. Consequently, DUSP1 and DUSP6 appear to be potential targets for the treatment of alcoholic brain disorders., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Unforeseen failures in girth welds present a significant challenge for the pipeline industry. This study utilizes 3D Digital Image Correlation (DIC) assisted cross-weld tensile testing to analyze the strain response of high-strength thick-walled pipelines, providing essential insights into the strain migration and fracture mechanisms specific to girth welds. The results reveal that the welding process significantly affects the mechanical distribution within the girth weld. The tested Shielded Metal Arc Welded (SMAW-ed) pipe exhibited undermatched girth welds due to high heat input, while Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) introduced a narrower weld and Heat-Affected Zone (HAZ) with higher hardness than the base metal, indicative of overmatched girth welds. Strain migration, resulting from a combination of metallurgical heterogeneous materials and geometrical reinforcement strengthening, progressed from the softer HAZ to the base metal in the SMAW-ed sample with reinforcement, ultimately leading to fracture in the base metal. In contrast, the GMAW-ed sample shows no strain migration. Reinforcement significantly improves the tensile strength of girth welds and effectively prevents failure in the weld region. Sufficient reinforcement is crucial for minimizing the risk of failure in critical areas such as the weld metal and HAZ, particularly in SMAW-ed pipes.