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Qingqing Xie,1 Caixia Sun,2 Zhenghua Fei,1 Xujing Yang1 1Department of Radiation and Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325000, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Nursing, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325000, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xujing YangDepartment of Radiation and Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, No. 2 Fuxue Lane, Wenzhou, 325000, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail wzyyysj7979@126.comBackground: Tumor immunotherapy is a promising therapeutic strategy for patients with advanced cancers, and some tumors have profound and durable tumor regression. However, immunotherapy is still in the clinical trial stage with elusive long-term effects and complications as a new strategy. It is unclear whether patients possess an accurate understanding of the clinical benefits associated with these agents.Objective: To investigate the anxiety and depression of patients with advanced cancer who received immunotherapy using programmed death-1 or programmed death-ligand 1 after multiline treatment failure, explore the influencing factors, and provide a reference for clinical medical staff and psychological support for patients.Methods: The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to calculate the anxiety and depression scores before and after 1, 2, and 3 courses of treatment, respectively. The patients with anxiety and depression were counted. Purposive sampling was used to conduct face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 21 patients to find out the reasons. The obtained data were analyzed and collated using Colaizzi’s phenomenological method.Results: One hundred and twenty-six patients with advanced cancers were included in the study. Before and after 1, 2 and 3 courses of treatment, 18.26%, 23.0%, 50% and 54% of patients suffered from anxiety and depression, respectively. The proportion of patients with anxiety and depression during immunotherapy kept increasing, mainly due to therapeutic efficacy below expectation, lack of timely information after treatment, lack of awareness of treatment and drugs, and lack of family and social support.Conclusion: Patients with advanced tumors after multiline treatment failure are susceptible to anxiety and depression during immunotherapy. It is necessary to test the emotional state of patients in time and carry out early intervention. Nursing staffs and medical staffs should adopt personalized measures to meet the psychological needs of patients.Keywords: anxiety, depression, cancer, immunotherapy, quality of life

A light-driven redox deracemization to prepare optically pure cyclamines from their racemates is developed. This reaction provides a wide range of chiral indolines and tetrahydroquinolines with high yields and enantioselectivities.

In the case of low-rate peeling, an adhesive can undergo a large tensile deformation through the viscous flow and form the fingering pattern at the peeling interface, resulting in homogeneous stripes on the peeled surface. In the case of high-rate peeling, no larger viscous deformation occurs, and no surface patterns will be generated. However, it is still unclear how the surface pattern evolves when an adhesive is peeled from a relatively low rate to a high rate. Here, by peeling an adhesive tape at 180° over a wide range of rates, we find that the adhesive tape can undergo a steady peeling. As the peeling rate increases, it is observed that the surface pattern in the peeled adhesive tape tends to evolve from the initial striped pattern to a crescent pattern, then to a spotted pattern. Even in the case of the stick-slip peeling at a small angle, the patterned region also presents the same evolutionary trend. By exploiting a high-speed camera to track the deformation process of the adhesive, it is found that this evolution is actually driven by the cohesive failure of the peeling adhesive. We describe the failure process, revealing the formation mechanism of the crescent pattern. We also discuss the effect of the peeling rate on the interface instability morphology by combining the finite element simulations, elucidating how the surface pattern evolves with the peeling rate.

Introduction: Insulin has an effect on neurodegenerative diseases. However, the role and mechanism of insulin in vascular dementia (VD) and its underlying mechanism are unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects and mechanism of insulin on VD.Methods: Experimental rats were randomly assigned to control (CK), Sham, VD, and insulin (INS) + VD groups. Insulin was administered by intranasal spray. Cognitive function was evaluated using the Morris's water maze. Nissl's staining and immunohistochemical staining were used to assess morphological alterations. Apoptosis was evaluated using TUNEL-staining. Transcriptome and metabolome analyses were performed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs), respectively.Results: Insulin significantly improved cognitive and memory functions in VD model rats (p < 0.05). Compared with the VD group, the insulin + VD group exhibited significantly reduced the number of Nissl's bodies numbers, apoptosis level, GFAP-positive cell numbers, apoptosis rates, and p-tau and tau levels in the hippocampal CA1 region (p < 0.05). Transcriptomic analysis found 1,257 and 938 DEGs in the VD vs. CK and insulin + VD vs. VD comparisons, respectively. The DEGs were mainly enriched in calcium signaling, cAMP signaling, axon guidance, and glutamatergic synapse signaling pathways. In addition, metabolomic analysis identified 1 and 14 DEMs between groups in negative and positive modes, respectively. KEGG pathway analysis indicated that DEGs and DEMs were mostly enriched in metabolic pathway.Conclusion: Insulin could effectively improve cognitive function in VD model rats by downregulating tau and p-tau expression, inhibiting astrocyte inflammation and neuron apoptosis, and regulating genes involved in calcium signaling, cAMP signaling, axon guidance, and glutamatergic synapse pathways, as well as metabolites involved in metabolic pathway.

L-ribulose, a kind of high-value rare sugar, could be utilized to manufacture L-form sugars and antiviral drugs, generally produced from L-arabinose as a substrate. However, the production of L-ribulose from L-arabinose is limited by the equilibrium ratio of the catalytic reaction, hence, it is necessary to explore a new biological enzymatic method to produce L-ribulose. Ribose-5-phosphate isomerase (Rpi) is an enzyme that can catalyze the reversible isomerization between L-ribose and L-ribulose, which is of great significance for the preparation of L-ribulose. In order to obtain highly active ribose-5-phosphate isomerase to manufacture L-ribulose, ribose-5-phosphate isomerase A (OsRpiA) from Ochrobactrum sp. CSL1 was engineered based on structural and sequence analyses. Through a rational design strategy, a triple-mutant strain A10T/T32S/G101N with 160% activity was acquired. The enzymatic properties of the mutant were systematically investigated, and the optimum conditions were characterized to achieve the maximum yield of L-ribulose. Kinetic analysis clarified that the A10T/T32S/G101N mutant had a stronger affinity for the substrate and increased catalytic efficiency. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulations indicated that the binding of the substrate to A10T/T32S/G101N was more stable than that of wild type. The shorter distance between the catalytic residues of A10T/T32S/G101N and L-ribose illuminated the increased activity. Overall, the present study provided a solid basis for demonstrating the complex functions of crucial residues in RpiAs as well as in rare sugar preparation.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the differences in the diagnosis and treatment outcomes between radioactive iodine-induced sialadenitis (RAIS) and chronic obstructive parotitis (COP). The study cohort comprised 47 consecutive patients diagnosed with RAIS and 50 patients with COP. All patients were treated by interventional endoscopy. Clinical, sialography, and endoscopy characteristics and treatment outcomes were compared between the two groups. Compared with the COP group, the RAIS group included more females (male:female ratio 1:8.4 vs 1:2.1; P = 0.011) and had a younger onset age (42 vs 50 years; P = 0.001) and shorter disease duration prior to hospital visit (5.4 vs 34.8 months; P0.001). In the RAIS group, sialography revealed obliteration of the main duct (20.4% vs 0%; P0.001), non-visualization of the main gland (23.7% vs 0%; P0.001), and incomplete contrast filling of the main gland (19.4% vs 6.4%; P = 0.008), which were scarcely observed in the COP group. Endoscopy revealed a higher percentage of duct atresia in RAIS compared to COP (20.4% vs 0%; P0.001). During follow-up, a higher percentage of RAIS patients had duct atresia and gland atrophy (49.5% vs 1.1%, P0.001). Compared with COP, RAIS more commonly involves younger females and has a shorter disease duration. Atresia of the main duct and atrophy of the gland parenchyma occur more often despite the use of interventional endoscopy.

Available evidence is incomplete and inconsistent in the outcomes of heart failure (HF) patients with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF), and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). There are also limited data on the proportions and long-term prognosis among the three HF phenotypes in China. We aimed to characterize the 5 year prognosis in three HF phenotypes according to EF in a cohort of hospitalized HF patients undergoing coronary angiography in southern China.Hospitalized patients with HF were enrolled from the Cardiorenal ImprovemeNt registry (CIN; ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04407936) between January 2007 and December 2014. HF phenotypes were defined as HFpEF (EF ≥ 50%), HFmrEF (EF 41-49%), and HFrEF (EF ≤ 40%). Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards models were constructed to examine differences in 5 year outcomes in HF patients with different phenotypes. A total of 4880 HF patients [mean age: 61.8 ± 10.3, male: 3156 (64.7%)] were included: 2768 (57%) had HFpEF, 1015 (21%) had HFmrEF, and 1097 (22%) had HFrEF. Patients with HFrEF were older than those with HFpEF (62.5 ± 10.6 vs. 61.3 ± 10.1, P 0.001) and more likely to be male (78.0% vs. 55.9%, P 0.001). With 5 year follow-up through the end of December 2019, 1624 (27.6%) patients died. Controlling confounding variables, declined EF category was independently associated with increased 5 year mortality {HFrEF 25.2% vs. HFpEF 13.4%, adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 1.85 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.45 to 2.35]; HFmrEF 18.1% vs. HFpEF 13.4%, aHR: 1.40 [95% CI: 1.08 to 1.81]; HFrEF 25.2% vs. HFmrEF 18.1%, aHR: 1.32 [95% CI: 1.02 to 1.71]}.In this Chinese cohort, patients with HFrEF account for less than a fourth of HF patients. One-sixth individuals with HF died in 5 years. HFrEF was associated with a nearly two-fold increased risk of 5 year mortality than HFpEF. Further studies are needed to prospectively evaluate the efficacy of improving treatment on outcomes in all three HF phenotypes.

CRISPR-Cas9 is a common tool for gene editing, and appropriate sgRNAs are the key factor for successful editing. In this study, the effect of sgRNA length and number on editing efficiency was analyzed in rice using CYP81A6 as the target gene. A series of CRISPR-Cas9 plant expression vectors containing single sgRNAs with different lengths (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 nt) or two sgRNAs were constructed and introduced into rice cultivar Zhonghua11 by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Analysis of the editing status of 1283 transgenic rice plants showed that 371 were successfully edited with base preference. Single A or T insertions were the most frequent among the six edited types. The editing efficiency of transgenic rice with two sgRNAs was higher than that with a single sgRNA. Editing efficiency and sgRNA length showed a normal distribution with 20 nt sgRNA (25%) being the most efficient. The editing efficiency decreased slightly with decreases of 1–2 bases (19 nt 20%, 18 nt 21%), but decreased significantly with a decrease of 3 bases (17 nt 4.5%). Editing efficiency was significantly reduced by adding 1 to 3 bases (21 nt 16.8%, 22 nt 13%, 23 nt 13%) to the sgRNA. These results provide data for successful gene editing or rice by CRISPR-Cas9.

High-efficient machining of SiC particles reinforced composites is always challenging mainly due to their poor surface integrity. In this study, a two-phase finite element model including the Al alloy matrix with Johnson-Cook model and SiC particle with elastic-brittle failure model were developed. The main purpose is to comprehensively investigate particle removal mechanisms and surface integrity following simulation and experimental studies on milling SiCp/Al composites. Specifically, the distributions of residual stress along the depth direction were predicted using finite element model. Results indicated that compressive residual stress mainly appeared on the machined surface, while tensile residual stress distributed at deeper depth down to 0.02 mm. Besides, different relative positions between tool and particle induced specific particle removal modes, which eventually led to various surface defects. Higher level of cutting speed (180 m/min) and feed rate (0.09 mm/tooth) aggravated surface defects and increased the thickness of broken-SiC layer in subsurface. The simulated machined surface defects and surface residual stress correlated well with the experimental observation, and the maximum error value of cutting force was less than 15%. The proposed finite element model was efficient to predict cutting force and distribution of residual stress along the depth direction.

A broadband wide-angle scanning array antenna with suppressed mutual coupling for 5G Sub-6G mobile communication applications is presented in this letter. To reduce mutual coupling, the metal columns are used in the dipole array antenna. The metal columns are positioned below the edge of the dipole, leading to the improved the impedance matching characteristics and a wider scanning angle. A 18 prototype of the suggested design has been manufactured and tested to ensure its usefulness. The overall dimension is 2.3300.2800.240 (0 is the free space wavelength at 2.5 GHz). The measured and simulated results are quite consistent. The main lobe achieves a scanning range of 60 at 2.5-4.5 GHz (57.1%, active VSWR

In this paper, we propose a Fuzzy Window with the Gaussian Processed Label (FW-GPL) method to mitigate the overlap problem in the neighboring ordinal category when scoring images. Many published conventional methods treat this challenge as a traditional regression problem and make a strong assumption that each ordinal category owns an adequate intrinsic rank to outline its distribution. Our FW-GPL method aims to refine the ordinal label pattern by using two novel techniques: (1) assembling fuzzy logic to the fully connected layer of convolution neural networks and (2) transforming the ordinal labels with a Gaussian process. Specifically, it incorporates a heuristic fuzzy logic from the ordinal characteristic and simultaneously plugs in ordinal distribution shapes that penalize the difference between the targeted label and its neighbors to ensure a concentrated regional distribution. Accordingly, the function of these proposed windows is leveraged to minimize the influence of majority classes that mislead the prediction of minority samples. Our model is specifically designed to carefully avoid partially missing continuous facial-age segments. It can perform competitively when using the whole continuous facial-age dataset. Extensive experimental results on three facial-aging datasets and one ambiguous medical dataset demonstrate that our FW-GPL can achieve compelling performance results compared to the State-Of-The-Art (SOTA).

Kinetic control over structures and functions of complex assembly systems has aroused widespread interest. Understanding the complex pathway and transient intermediates is helpful to decipher how multiple components evolve into complex assemblies. However, for supramolecular polymerizations, thorough and quantitative kinetic analysis is often overlooked. Challenges remain in collecting the information of structure and content of transient intermediates

The full utilization of adsorption sites is crucial for adsorption technology. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which are hot spot materials in environmental remediation, are not satisfied in many cases for their high specific surface area and relatively low adsorption capacity. In this work, a series of zirconium-iron bimetallic MOFs (ZrxFe(1-x)-MOF-808) was prepared. The optimal material (Zr0.8Fe0.2-MOF-808) possesses a superb adsorption capacity of 524 and 310 mg g–1 for antimonate and antimonite, respectively. The carboxyl and hydroxyl groups were identified as the main adsorption sites by FTIR and XPS. The role of Fe in the adsorption process of Zr0.8Fe0.2-MOF-808 were further explored by DFT simulations, four binding manners were discovered and consistent with the adsorption capacity data. Subsequently, the application potential tests proved that the Zr0.8Fe0.2-MOF-808 shows good anti-interference ability, wide pH adaptability, and recyclability. Overall, this high-performance bimetallic MOF has been analyzed from the macrocosm to microcosmic, which provides a certain support for the development of MOFs modification.

Due to the proliferation of biomedical imaging modalities, such as Photoacoustic Tomography, Computed Tomography (CT), Optical Microscopy and Tomography, etc., massive amounts of data are generated on a daily basis. While massive biomedical data sets yield more information about pathologies, they also present new challenges of how to fully explore the data. Data fusion methods are a step forward towards a better understanding of data by bringing multiple data observations together to increase the consistency of the information. However, data generation is merely the first step, and there are many other factors involved in the fusion process like noise, missing data, data scarcity, and high dimensionality. In this paper, an overview of the advances in data preprocessing in biomedical data fusion is provided, along with insights stemming from new developments in the field.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) infection is one of the most common bacterial causes of diarrhea in children and young farm animals. Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) have been widely used for their antibacterial and immune functions. However, there is limited information regarding the role of MCFAs chelated with Zn in diarrhea induced by ETEC infection. Here, zinc laurate (ZnLa) was used to evaluate its protective effect in a mice diarrhea model induced by ETEC. A total of 45 ICR-weaned female mice were randomly assigned to marginal zinc deficiency (dZn), dZn, and ETEC infection groups (dZn+ETEC); ETEC infection was co-treated with a low, middle, or high dose of ZnLa (ZnLa LOW+ETEC, ZnLa MID+ETEC, and ZnLa HIGH+ETEC), respectively, to explore the effect and its mechanism of ZnLa on diarrhea and intestinal health of mice challenged with ETEC. To further compare the antibacterial efficiency of ZnLa and ZnSO4 in mice with ETEC infection, a total of 36 ICR-weaned female mice were randomly divided into ZnLa, ZnLa+ETEC, ZnSO4, and ZnSO4 and ETEC infection groups (ZnSO4+ETEC); moreover, the growth curve of ETEC also compared ZnLa and ZnSO4 in vitro. Mice pretreated with ZnLa were effectively guarded against body weight losses and increases in diarrhea scores induced by ETEC. ZnLa pretreatment also prevented intestinal barrier damage and ion transport in mice challenged with ETEC, as evidenced by the fact that the intestinal villus height and the ratio of villus height and crypt depth, tight junction protein, and Na+ absorption were higher, whereas intestinal permeability and anion secretion were lower in mice pretreated with ZnLa. In addition, ZnLa conferred effective protection against ETEC-induced intestinal inflammatory responses, as the increases in protein and mRNAs of proinflammatory cytokines were prevented in serum and jejunum, which was likely associated with the TLR4/MYD88/NF-κB signaling pathway. The increase in ETEC shedding and virulence-related gene expression was prevented in mice with ZnLa pretreatment. Finally, the growth of ETEC and virulence-related gene expression were lower in the ZnLa group than in ZnSO4 with an equal concentration of zinc. These findings suggest that ZnLa is a promising prevention strategy to remedy ETEC infection.

Background Lipoprotein(a)[Lp(a)] has been considered as an independent risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). The present study aimed to evaluate the association between baseline serum Lp(a) and CAD progression determined by angiographic score. Methods A total of 814 patients who had undergone two or more coronary computed tomography angiography at least 6 months apart were consecutively enrolled and the coronary severity was determined by the Gensini score system. Patients were stratified into two groups according to Lp(a)>300 mg/L and Lp(a) ≤ 300 mg/L or classified as “progressors” and “non‐progressors” based on the Gensini score rate of change per year. The association of continuous Lp(a) and Lp(a)>300 mg/L with CAD progression were respectively assessed by logistic regression analysis. Moreover, further evaluation of those association was performed in subgroups of the study population. Results Patients in the “progressors” group had significant higher Lp(a) levels. Furthermore, the multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that elevated Lp(a) (odds ratio [OR]: 1.451, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.177–1.789, p300 mg/L (OR:1.642, 95% CI:1.018–2.649, p = .042) were positively associated with CAD progression after adjusting for confounding factors. In addition, those relation seemed to be more prominent in subjects with lower body mass index (OR: 1.880, 95% CI: 1.224–2.888, p for interaction = .060). Conclusions Elevated baseline serum Lp(a) is positively and independently associated with angiographic progression of CAD, particularly in participants with relatively low body mass index. Therefore, Lp(a) could be a potent risk factor for CAD progression, assisting in early risk stratification in cardiovascular patients.

Chatter as a common and thorny problem occurs easily during robotic milling process, leading to the instability, severe tool wear and poor surface finish. In this work, an acoustic emission technique was employed to analyze a chatter phenomenon using root mean square (RMS) value and fast Fourier transform method during high-speed robotic milling of aluminum alloys (with cutting speed up to 678 m/min). A stability lobe diagram was proposed to predict the occurrence of chatter with various spindle speeds, which was considered as the most effective tool for chatter analysis. The underline mechanism and theoretical analysis were also presented to provide physical understanding of chatter stability. The cutting force model and robot structure model were firstly established to study chatter mechanism. The stability of a robotic milling system was then analyzed using a zero-order approximation method. Results showed that fast Fourier transform and the time-domain root mean square (RMS) value of acoustic emission signals could be effectively used for detection and verification of chatter in the robotic milling process. The stable cutting zone in the stability lobe diagram was in agreement with experimental results, which can help for the selection of reasonable cutting parameters to avoid chatter and improve efficiency during the high-speed robotic milling process.

Constructing a heterojunction photocatalyst is a significant method to enhance photocatalytic activity because it can promote the separation of photogenerated carriers. Herein, amorphous/crystalline contact Bi2S3/Bi4O7 heterostructure was successfully synthesized by in-situ sulfidation of Bi4O7. The amorphous Bi2S3 is diffused on the surface of Bi4O7 rod, enhancing the visible light response and improving the transport of photogenerated carriers. Various characterizations confirm that the rapid separation of photogenerated carriers leads to increased photocatalytic performance. The optimized Bi2S3/Bi4O7 heterostructure photocatalyst (BiS-0.15) exhibits the highest Cr(VI) reduction (0.01350 min−1) and RhB oxidation (0.08011 min−1) activity, which is much higher than that of pure Bi4O7 and Bi2S3/Bi4O7 mixture under visible light irradiation. This work provides new insights into the construction of efficient novel photocatalysts.

(1) Background: analyses of gene networks can elucidate hematopoietic differentiation from single-cell gene expression data, but most algorithms generate only a single, static network. Because gene interactions change over time, it is biologically meaningful to examine time-varying structures and to capture dynamic, even transient states, and cell-cell relationships. (2) Methods: a transcriptomic atlas of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells was used for network analysis. After pseudo-time ordering with Monocle 2, LOGGLE was used to infer time-varying networks and to explore changes of differentiation gene networks over time. A range of network analysis tools were used to examine properties and genes in the inferred networks. (3) Results: shared characteristics of attributes during the evolution of differentiation gene networks showed a “U” shape of network density over time for all three branches for human and mouse. Differentiation appeared as a continuous process, originating from stem cells, through a brief transition state marked by fewer gene interactions, before stabilizing in a progenitor state. Human and mouse shared hub genes in evolutionary networks. (4) Conclusions: the conservation of network dynamics in the hematopoietic systems of mouse and human was reflected by shared hub genes and network topological changes during differentiation.

Maize (Zea mays L.) is a food crop with the largest planting area and the highest yield in the world, and it plays a vital role in ensuring global food security. Conventional breeding methods are costly, time-consuming, and ineffective in maize breeding. In recent years, CRISPR-Cas editing technology has been used to quickly generate new varieties with high yield and improved grain quality and stress resistance by precisely modifying key genes involved in specific traits, thus becoming a new engine for promoting crop breeding and the competitiveness of seed industries. Using CRISPR-Cas, a range of new maize materials with high yield, improved grain quality, ideal plant type and flowering period, male sterility, and stress resistance have been created. Moreover, many patents have been filed worldwide, reflecting the huge practical application prospects and commercial value. Based on the existing patent data, we analyzed the development process, current status, and prospects of CRISPR-Cas technology in dissecting gene function and creating new germplasm in maize, providing information for future basic research and commercial production.

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) affects 1-2% of couples of reproductive age. Immunological analysis of the immune status in RPL patients might contribute to the diagnosis and treatment of RPL. However, the exact immune cell composition in RPL patients is still unclear. Here, we used flow cytometry to investigate the immune cell profiles of peripheral blood and decidual tissue of women who experienced RPL. We divided peripheral immune cells into 14 major subgroups, and the percentages of T, natural killer T (NKT)-like and B cells in peripheral blood were increased in RPL patients. The decidual immune cells were classified into 14 major subpopulations and the percentages of decidual T, NKT-like cells and CD11chi Mφ were increased, while those of CD56hi decidual NK cells and CD11clo Mφ were decreased in RPL patients. The spearmen correlation analysis showed that the proportion of peripheral and decidual immune cells did not show significant correlations with occurrences of previous miscarriages. By using flow cytometry, we depicted the global peripheral and decidual immune landscape in RPL patients. The abnormalities of peripheral and decidual immune cells may be involved in RPL, but the correlations with the number of previous miscarriages need further verification.

As the main form of new urbanization in China, urban agglomerations are an important platform to support national economic growth, promote coordinated regional development, and participate in international competition and cooperation. However, they have become core areas for air pollution. This study used PM2.5 data from NASA atmospheric remote sensing image inversion from 2000 to 2015 and spatial analysis including a spatial Durbin model to reveal the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics and main factors controlling PM2.5 in China’s urban agglomerations. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) From 2000 to 2015, the PM2.5 concentrations of China’s urban agglomerations showed a growing trend with some volatility. In 2007, there was an inflection point. The number of low-concentration cities decreased, while the number of high-concentration cities increased. (2) The concentrations of PM2.5 in urban agglomerations were high in the west and low in the east, with the “Hu Line” as the boundary. The spatial differences were significant and increasing. The concentration of PM2.5 grew faster in urban agglomerations in the eastern and northeastern regions. (3) The urban agglomeration of PM2.5 had significant spatial concentrations. The hot spots were concentrated to the east of the Hu Line, and the number of hot-spot cities continued to rise. The cold spots were concentrated to the west of the Hu Line, and the number of cold-spot cities continued to decline. (4) There was a significant spatial spillover effect of PM2.5 pollution among cities within urban agglomerations. The main factors controlling PM2.5 pollution in different urban agglomerations had significant differences. Industrialization and energy consumption had a significant positive impact on PM2.5 pollution. Foreign direct investment had a significant negative impact on PM2.5 pollution in the southeast coastal and border urban agglomerations. Population density had a significant positive impact on PM2.5 pollution in a particular region, but this had the opposite effect in neighboring areas. Urbanization rate had a negative impact on PM2.5 pollution in national-level urban agglomerations, but this had the opposite effect in regional and local urban agglomerations. A high degree of industrial structure had a significant negative impact on PM2.5 pollution in a region, but this had an opposite effect in neighboring regions. Technical support level had a significant impact on PM2.5 pollution, but there were lag effects and rebound effects.

Although studies have provided the estimates of floods-diarrhoea associations, little is known about the lag effect, effect modification, and attributable risk. Based on Sichuan, China, an uneven socio-economic development province with plateau, basin, and mountain terrains spanning different climatic zones, we aimed to systematically examine the impacts of floods on diarrheal morbidity.We retrieved information on daily diarrheal cases, floods, meteorological variables, and annual socio-economic characteristics for 21 cities in Sichuan from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2019. We fitted time-series Poisson models to estimate the city-specific floods-diarrhoea relation over the lags of 0-14 days, and then pooled them using meta-analysis for cumulative and lag effects. We further employed meta-regression to explore potential effect modifiers and identify effect modification. We calculated the attributable diarrheal cases and fraction of attributable morbidity within the framework of the distributed lag model.Floods had a significant cumulative association with diarrhoea at the provincial level, but varied by regions and cities. The effects of the floods appeared on the second day after the floods and lasted for 5 days. Floods-diarrhoea relations were modified by three effect modifiers, with stronger flood effects on diarrhoea found in areas with higher air pressure, lower diurnal temperature range, or warmer temperature. Floods were responsible for advancing a fraction of diarrhoea, corresponding to 0.25% within the study period and 0.48% within the flood season.The impacts imposed by floods were mainly distributed within the first week. The floods-diarrhoea relations varied by geographic and climatic conditions. The diarrheal burden attributable to floods is currently low in Sichuan, but this figure could increase with the exposure more intensive and the effect modifiers more detrimental in the future. Our findings are expected to provide evidence for the formulation of temporal- and spatial-specific strategies to reduce potential risks of flood-related diarrhoea.

GRAS is a transcription regulator factor, which plays an important role in plant growth and development. Previous analyses found that several GRAS functions have been identified, such as axillary bud meristem formation, radial root elongation, gibberellin signaling, light signaling, and abiotic stress. The GRAS family has been comprehensively evaluated in several species. However, little finding is on the GRAS transcription factors (TFs) in Chinese white pear. In this study, 99 PbGRAS were systemically characterized and renamed PbGRAS1 to PbGRAS99 according to their chromosomal localizations. Phylogenetic analysis and structural features revealed that could be classified into eight subfamilies (LISCL, Ls, SHR, HAM, SCL, PAT, SCR, and DELLA). Further analysis of introns/exons and conserved motifs revealed that they are diverse and functionally differentiated in number and structure. Synteny analysis among Pyrus bretschenedri, Prunus mume, Prunus avium, Fragaria vesca, and Prunus persica showed that GRAS duplicated regions were more conserved. Dispersed duplication events are the most common mechanism and may play a crucial role in the expansion of the GRAS gene family. In addition, cis-acting elements of the PbGRAS gene were found in promoter regions associated with hormone and environmental stress responses. Notably, the expression pattern detected by qRT-PCR indicated that PbGRAS genes were differentially expressed under gibberellin (GA), abscisic acid (ABA), and auxin (IAA) conditions, which are responsive to abiotic stress. PbGRAS89 and PbGRAS99 were highly expressed at different stages of hormone treatment and may play important role in leaf development. Therefore, we selected PbGRAS89 and PbGRAS99 to clone and construct pCAMBIA1301-PbGRAS89, 99 and transferred them into Arabidopsis thaliana. Finally, we observed and compared the changes of overexpressed plants and wild-type plants during regeneration. This method was used to analyze their roles in leaf regeneration of Chinese white pear. In addition, we also constructed pCAMBIA1305-PbGRAS89, 99, and transferred them into onion cells to determine the subcellular localization. Subcellular localization experiments showed that PbGRAS89 and PbGRAS99 were localized in the nucleus. In summary, the results of this study indicate that PbGRAS89 and PbGRAS99 are mainly responsible for leaf regeneration of Chinese white pear, which plays a positive role in callus formation and provides rich resources for studying GRAS gene functions.

At present, with the accelerated development of the global biotechnology industry, novel transgenic technologies represented by gene editing are developing rapidly. A large number of gene-edited products featuring one or a few base indels have been commercialized. These have led to great challenges in the use of traditional nucleic acid detection technology and in safety regulation for genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In this study, we developed a portable clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated proteins 12a-based (CRISPR/Cas12a-based) biosensing platform named Cas12aFVD (fast visual detection) that can be coupled with recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) for on-site detection of mutants in gene-edited rice in one tube. The detection procedure can be accomplished in 40 min with a visible result, which can be observed by the naked eye under blue light (470–490 nm). By accurate recognition of targets based on Cas12a/CRISPR RNA (crRNA), Cas12aFVD exhibits excellent performance for the detection of two- and three-base deletions, one-base substitution, and one-base insertion mutants with a limit of detection (LOD) of 12 copies/μl showing great potential for mutant detection, especially single-base mutants. The Cas12aFVD biosensing platform is independent of laboratory conditions, making it a promising and pioneering platform for the detection of gene-edited products.

Silver nanowires (AgNWs) have received much attention and application in transparent electrodes, wearable electronic devices, and sensors. The hope is for these nanowires to eventually replace the most commonly used transparent electrode material—indium tin oxide (ITO). However, electrospinning used for the preparation of AgNWs on a large scale is limited by its low productivity and high electric field, while the alcohol-thermal method is limited to mixing by-product silver nanoparticles in silver nanowires. We demonstrate a novel and simple centrifugal spinning approach in order to successfully fabricate ultra-long silver microfibers based on AgNO3 and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP). The centrifugal-spun precursor fiber and silver fiber can be prepared to as thin as 390 and 310 nm, respectively. Annealed fibers show typical nanostructures with grains down to a minimum size of 51 nm. Combinations of different parameters, including concentrations of PVP, needle size, and annealing temperature are also investigated, in order to optimize the spinning process of ultra-long silver microfibers. The feasibility of preparing silver microfibers by centrifugal spinning is preliminarily verified, examining prospects for mass production. Furthermore, numerous strategies related to assisting the creation of silver nanofibers using centrifugal spinning are presented as possibilities in future development.

MXenes have shown great potential for supercapacitor electrodes due to their unique characteristics, but simultaneously achieving high capacitance, rate capability, and cyclic stability along with good mechanical flexibility is exceptionally challenging. Here, highly enhanced capacitance, rate capability, and cyclic stability, as well as good mechanical flexibility for T

Abrasive waterjet machining was an effective method for cutting CFRP materials in various industries, while machining defects are inevitably observed especially for thick CFRP laminates due to the inherent characteristics of waterjet. In this work, a full factorial experimental array was employed totally involving 18 trials when using abrasive waterjet to cut CFRP laminate up to 10.0 mm thick. The influence of process parameters including hydraulic pressure, traverse speed, and stand-off distance on jet energy was deeply analyzed and the power-to-speed ratio (Ė/u) parameter was obtained, which was combined with the physical energy model of abrasive waterjet based on the energy method. The influence of process parameters on kerf characteristics/surface integrity and the mechanism of defects were further analyzed. Various surface defects along thickness direction were observed and corresponding mechanisms were investigated. Results showed that higher hydraulic pressure, lower traverse speed, and stand-off distance within in the selected range were preferred to obtain better surface quality. From the perspective of power-to-speed ratio (Ė/u), the surface roughness decreased rapidly up to ~ 68% with Ė/u increased from 20,000 to 40,000 J/m. When it exceeded 40,000 J/m, the downward trend gradually reduced and even became stable in the case of high stand-off distance. The level of kerf width generally increased with the increase of Ė/u irrespective of stand-off distance.

To promote the development of supercapacitors and their applications in modern electronics, it is crucial to explore novel supercapacitor electrode materials. As a representative member of the rising 2D MXenes, Ti3C2Tx MXene has shown tremendous potential for supercapacitor electrodes owing to its unique physicochemical properties. Here, the most recent advances in Ti3C2Tx-based supercapacitor electrodes are comprehensively reviewed, with an emphasis on the vital role that Ti3C2Tx MXene plays in the remarkable electrochemical performance and related mechanisms. The fabrication methods, electrode structures, working mechanisms, electrochemical performance and related influencing factors, mechanical properties and applications, as well as the associated advantages/disadvantages of Ti3C2Tx-based supercapacitor electrodes are thoroughly and exhaustively summarized and discussed. Based on the recent progress, the existing challenges along with the corresponding possible solutions, and the future prospects of Ti3C2Tx-based materials for supercapacitors are also outlined and discussed.

A simple and effective method for the synthesis of fully substituted 4-benzenesulfonyl isoxazoles through a copper(II)-catalyzed three-component reaction of 2-nitro-1,3-enynes, amines, and sodium benzenesulfinate is described. The reaction proceeds smoothly under mild conditions and provides the benzenesulfonyl isoxazoles with high chemoselectivity.

Objective To investigate the value of neuron-specific enolase (NSE), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and lymph node metastasis in predicating distant metastasis in patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LD-SCLC). Methods Clinical pathological data of LD-SCLC patients in the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University between August 2009 and October 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. The age, gender, smoking, TNM, NSE, NLR, chemotherapy cycle, radiotherapy, surgery and new metastasis of lymph nodes of 47 cases with distant metastasis and 47 cases without distant metastasis in 1 year were compared. Finally, factors influencing distant metastasis were determined as the predictors. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve model was established based on logistic regression analysis of the factors obtained. Results Distant metastasis mainly involved brain (17/47), liver (17/47) and bone (17/47). Univariate analysis showed that patients with new lymph node metastasis, high NSE, pretreatment hilar lymph node metastasis and NLR were more prone to have distant metastasis. Multivariate analysis showed that new lymph node metastasis, high NSE, NLR and pretreatment hilar lymph node metastasis were independent predictors. The predictive model established using these predictors had an AUC of 0.872 (95%CI: 0.803-0.941), a sensitivity of 76.60% and a speciality of 80.85%. Conclusion The new lymph node metastasis, NLR and NSE are predictors of distant metastasis, and thus, may have a profound impact on treatment decision making. Patients with lower NLR and NSE expression levels and less new metastasis of lymph nodes have a lower distant metastasis rate.

The use of abrasive waterjet to cut CFRP laminates has been proved to be feasible with several advantages compared with traditional machining methods, while relatively poor surface quality and kerf taper impede its application in automotive industry. In this work, the influence of various process parameters including hydraulic pressure, cutting speed and stand-off distance on surface integrity and kerf characteristics was comprehensively studied. A statistical model was further developed using response surface method involving 17 trials. Statistical analysis found that higher level of cutting speed led to the decrease of kerf width and the increase of surface roughness. Based on optimizing the expected function of responses, the minimum taper error of 0.058 mm and superior surface roughness (Ra) of 3.58 μm were obtained. Furthermore, hybrid machining strategy integrating AWJ and CNC milling processes was proposed to cut CFRP laminate in order to obtain both high efficiency and superior surface quality. The depth of cut for post-milling process was set down to 0.1 mm. It was found that kerf taper was completely removed with relatively flat surface, and surface roughness (Ra ~ 1.20 μm) was reduced by up to 5.61 μm with an overall decrease of about 80%.