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Macroautophagy/autophagy is a conserved cellular mechanism to degrade unneeded cytoplasmic proteins and organelles to recycle their components, and it is critical for embryonic stem cell (ESC) self-renewal and somatic cell reprogramming. Whereas autophagy is essential for early development of embryos, no information exists regarding its functions during the transition from naive-to-primed pluripotency. Here, by using an in vitro transition model of ESCs to epiblast-like cells (EpiLCs), we find that dynamic changes in ATG7-dependent autophagy are critical for the naive-to-primed transition, and are also necessary for germline specification. RNA-seq and ATAC-seq profiling reveal that NANOG acts as a barrier to prevent pluripotency transition, and autophagy-dependent NANOG degradation is important for dismantling the naive pluripotency expression program through decommissioning of naive-associated active enhancers. Mechanistically, we found that autophagy receptor protein SQSTM1/p62 translocated into the nucleus during the pluripotency transition period and is preferentially associated with K63 ubiquitinated NANOG for selective protein degradation. In vivo, loss of autophagy by ATG7 depletion disrupts peri-implantation development and causes increased chromatin association of NANOG, which affects neuronal differentiation by competitively binding to OTX2-specific neuroectodermal development-associated regions. Taken together, our findings reveal that autophagy-dependent degradation of NANOG plays a critical role in regulating exit from the naive state and marks distinct cell fate allocation during lineage specification. Abbreviations: 3-MA: 3-methyladenine; EpiLC: epiblast-like cell; ESC: embryonic stem cell; PGC: primordial germ cell

This study aimed to construct a new type of fused erythrocyte vector for gene delivery system. The conditioned medium of AD293 cells expressing vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein gene was collected, and erythrocyte ghost was prepared by hypotonic lysis. Using cationic polymer to condense deoxyribonucleic acid to form a complex, fusogenic erythrocyte ghost was incubated with this complex to obtain virion. Flow cytometry and luciferase activity analysis were used to detect the delivery of fusogenic erythrocyte ghost to deoxyribonucleic acid in AD293 cells and refractory cells, respectively. Transfection efficiency of fusogenic erythrocyte ghost in vivo was detected by confocal microscope. Vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein and erythrocyte ghost were effectively integrated, and fusogenic erythrocyte ghost was successfully prepared. deoxyribonucleic acid/polyethylenimine complexes form 100–300 nm particles. Fusogenic erythrocyte ghost can effectively incorporation deoxyribonucleic acid complexes. Confocal microscope observed red fluorescence close to blue fluorescence, indicating that labeled fusogenic erythrocyte ghost may trigger liver and spleen tissue endocytosis or fusion. A new delivery vector of fusogenic erythrocyte ghost was constructed. This system could enhance the delivery efficiency even in cells which refractory to conventional transfections in vitro.

Tomato and cucumber are two vital edible vegetables that usually appear in people’s daily diet. Penthiopyrad is a new type of amide chiral fungicide, which is often used for disease control of vegetables (including tomato and cucumber) due to its wide bactericidal spectrum, low toxicity, good penetration, and strong internal absorption. Extensive application of penthiopyrad may have caused potential pollution in the ecosystem. Different processing methods can remove pesticide residues from vegetables and protect human health. In this study, the penthiopyrad removal efficiency of soaking and peeling from tomatoes and cucumbers was evaluated under different conditions. Among different soaking methods, heated water soaking and water soaking with additives (NaCl, acetic acid, and surfactant) presented a more effective reduction ability than other treatments. Due to the specific physicochemical properties of tomatoes and cucumbers, the ultrasound enhances the removal rate of soaking for tomato samples and inhibits it for cucumber samples. Peeling can remove approximately 90% of penthiopyrad from contaminated tomato and cucumber samples. Enantioselectivity was found only during tomato sauce storage, which may be related to the complex microbial community. Health risk assessment data suggests that tomatoes and cucumbers are safer for consumers after soaking and peeling. The results may provide consumers with some useful information to choose better household processing methods to remove penthiopyrad residues from tomatoes, cucumbers, and other edible vegetables.

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-wso-10.1177_17474930231177204 for Results of an international survey on the status of prehospital care by Anthony G Rudd, Jing Zhao, Gary Ford, Rita Melifonwu, Siju V Abraham, Marc Fisher, Grethe Andersen, David Waters, Dou Li and Renyu Liu in International Journal of Stroke

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-wso-10.1177_17474930231177204 for Results of an international survey on the status of prehospital care by Anthony G Rudd, Jing Zhao, Gary Ford, Rita Melifonwu, Siju V Abraham, Marc Fisher, Grethe Andersen, David Waters, Dou Li and Renyu Liu in International Journal of Stroke

Key functional groups carbonyl and 1,3,4-thiadiazole-2-thiol can be obtained simultaneously in the present of sulfuric acid. Antifungal mechanism study revealed that the compound can change the permeability of the cell membrane, causing their death.

The study aimed to detect the content of mandipropamid enantiomers in unprocessed and processed tomato, cucumber, Chinese cabbage, and cowpea samples and assess the health risks to Chinese consumers. Data showed that washing and soaking with an acidic solution reduced the mandipropamid residue from vegetable samples by 54.1–82.2%. The pickling process resulted in a 6.2–65.2% loss of mandipropamid from cucumber, Chinese cabbage, and cowpea samples. Peeling and juicing were the best removing techniques for mandipropamid residues in tomato and cucumber (removal rate (RR) value > 91%), and cooking for 5 min could effectively reduce the levels of mandipropamid in Chinese cabbage and cowpea (RR values of 81.4–99.7%). The values of processing factor for the processed vegetable samples are all less than one. No significant enantioselectivity of mandipropamid was found in the vegetables during processing. Health risk data showed that samples of four types of mandipropamid-contaminated vegetables were safe for consumption after processing.

A field trial was conducted to illustrate the dissipation and residue and assess the dietary intake risk of penthiopyrad in eggplants, and the distribution was further estimated after different household processing methods. Penthiopyrad dissipated quickly in eggplants, with half-lives of 1.85–2.56 days. The final residue data indicated that following the recommended spraying method, penthiopyrad would not threaten human health. Risk quotient results (<

Cell cryopreservation is widely used for porcine genetic conservation; however, isolating and freezing primary cells in farms without adequate experimental equipment and environment poses a significant challenge. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a quick and simple method to freeze tissues on-site, which can be used for deriving primary fibroblasts when needed to achieve porcine genetic conservation. In this study, we explored a suitable approach for porcine ear tissue cryopreservation. The porcine ear tissues were cut into strips and frozen by direct cover vitrification (DCV) in the cryoprotectant solution with 15% EG, 15% DMSO and 0.1 M trehalose. Histological analysis and ultrastructural evaluation revealed that thawed tissues had normal tissue structure. More importantly, viable fibroblasts could be derived from these tissues frozen in liquid nitrogen for up to 6 months. Cells derived from thawed tissues did not show any cell apoptosis, had normal karyotypes and could be used for nuclear transfer. These results suggest that this quick and simple ear tissue cryopreservation method can be applied for porcine genetic conservation, especially in the face of a deadly emerging disease in pigs.

To explore novel molecules with unique mechanisms against plant pathogenic fungi, a series of phenylalanine derivatives containing a 1,3,4-oxadiazothioether moiety were designed and synthesized. Bioassays revealed that some target compounds at 100 μg/mL exhibited excellent antifungal activities against Thanatephorus cucumeris, such as G

A liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and applied for the investigation of penthiopyrad photolysation and hydrolysation in different aqueous solutions, and the potential enantioselectivity of this chiral fungicide was further assessed. Good linearity was obtained (R2 > 0.99) for R-(−)- and S-(+)-penthiopyrad in different matrices and the respective limits of detection and quantitation of both enantiomers were 0.003 μg mL−1 and 0.01 μg mL−1. The most suitable illumination intensity for photolysing penthiopyrad was 400 W. Other factors such as pH, salinity and flavonoid also influenced penthiopyrad photolysation. In an acidic solution, the photolytic degradation rate of penthiopyrad enantiomers decreased due to their chemical structures and physicochemical characteristics. Different salinities affected penthiopyrad photolysation differently; acceleration occurred in solutions with salinities of 0.5% or 3.0% due to effective catalysis by photosensitive chloride radical anions, and when the salinity was 1.0% or 2.0%, the inhibitory effect of inorganic salt decreased the photolysation rate. The addition of different flavonoids could significantly inhibit the photolysation of penthiopyrad by decreasing degradation 5–597 times through photo-quenching effects. Under some conditions, the S-(+)-enantiomer was photolysed faster than its antipode, indicating that the photolysation of penthiopyrad was enantioselective. During the hydrolysation process, penthiopyrad degraded faster in the acidic solution than in the other two aqueous solutions with different pH levels, which was attributed to the hydrogen ion-induced catalytic reaction. In sterile/nonsterile natural water matrices, the hydrolysation rate of penthiopyrad enantiomers was also influenced by pH, in the degradation order of tap water (pH 7.1) > rain water (pH 7.3) > lake water (pH 8.8). Enantiopure enantiomers were hydrolysed more slowly than racemic enantiomers due to their mutual promotion effects. The configuration stability of penthiopyrad enantiomers was preserved during the degradation process. Similar enantioselectivities of the hydrolysation of penthiopyrad and preferential degradation of the S-(+)-enantiomer were observed in some aqueous solutions. The results could provide some data to more accurately demonstrate the enantioselective environmental fate and risk of penthiopyrad in aquatic environments.

Biochar was widely used in electrochemical applications. However, the structure of biochar usually needed a regulation before reaching a reasonable performance. In order to control the graphitizati...

Objective To investigate the oncosis of skeletal muscle cells during heatstroke, and the mechanism severe heatstroke associated with rhabdomyolysis. Methods The human skeletal muscle cells (HSKMC) were divided into control group and heat shock group. The control group was incubated at 37 ℃, 5% CO2 cell incubator, while the heat shock group was exposed at 43 ℃, 5% CO2 cell incubator for 2 hours, followed by incubating at 37 ℃, 5% CO2 cell incubator. At incubation point of 0, 6, 12, and 24 hours, the CCK-8 method was used to detect cell viability; the LDH method was used to detect cytotoxicity; the transmission electron microscope was used to detect cell ultrastructure changes; Annexin Ⅴ-FITC/PI double staining method was used to detect double-positive cell rate; Western blotting method was used to detect porimin and caspase-3 protein expression. Results Compared with the control group, HSKMC cell viability decreased with cytotoxicity increased at 0 h after rewarming in a timedependent manner (P0.05). Conclusion Heat stroke-induced oncosis rather than apoptosis of skeletal muscle cells. DOI: 10.11855/j.issn.0577-7402.2020.10.04

In this paper, based on the existing research, the rural talent supply situation is analyzed. Rural talent relative to the existing rural labor force has a higher human capital of the labor force. We also discuss the part of moving workers who can be considered as talents. Financial dimension is mostly through literature collection and statistical data finding and computational calculation, according to the results of communicate indicators, to reflect its performance level. The performance analysis of organizational management dimension and institutional development dimension mainly focuses on qualitative analysis and comparative analysis, and then we summarize and evaluate the performance status of Shanghai basic endowment insurance system for urban and rural residents. Therefore, all countries in the world are constantly exploring and trying to improve the performance management model of their social security institutions. Through the evaluation and analysis of the above four dimensions, it can be found that the overall performance level of urban and rural residential insurance in Shanghai is relatively high, but there are still some problems in the operation process.

Summary Introduction Total psoas muscle area (TPA) can indicate the status of the entire human body's skeletal muscle mass. It has been reported that lower TPA can increase the risk of mortality in critically ill patients. The aim of our study was to evaluate the relationship between TPA and ICU mortality and to compare the performance of Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA), TPA combined with SOFA and Acute Physiology, Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE-II) for predicting ICU mortality in critically ill surgical patients. Methods This study was a retrospective observational cohort study with a total of 96 critically ill surgical patients, ages 21–96 years old. Main outcome measures included difficult-to-wean (DTW), operation methods, ICU mortality, ICU stay, APACHE II, sepsis and SOFA. CT-scan assessed the TPA. It is acknowledged that the entire study was completed by Hao-Wei Kou et al. and the data were uploaded from plosone.com . The authors used this data only for secondary analysis. Results The results showed that TPA is a protective factor for ICU mortality (OR: 0.99 95% [0.99, 1.00], P = 0.0269). In addition, when we defined sarcopenia-based TPA, our study showed that sarcopenia increased the risk of ICU mortality (OR:3.73 (1.27, 10.98) P = 0.0167. Furthermore, discrimination of ICU mortality was significantly higher using SOFA (AUROC, 0.7810 [99% CI, 0.6658–0.8962]) than either TPA (AUROC, 0.7023 [99% CI, 0.5552–0.8494]) or APACHE II score (AUROC, 0.7447 [99% CI, 0.6289–0.8604]). Additionally, when we combined TPA with SOFA score, the ROC of TPA + SOFA (AUROC, 0.8647 [99% CI, 0.7881–0.9412]) was the highest when compared to the other three models. Conclusion The relationship between TPA and ICU mortality is negative in critically ill surgical patients. In addition, the combination of TPA and SOFA was the best tool among the three scoring systems in providing significant discriminative ability when predicting ICU mortality in critically ill surgical patients.

We describe and illustrate Sedum lipingense (Crassulaceae), a new species of stonecrop found in the limestone areas of SE Guizhou, China. Based on the presence of adaxially gibbous carpels and follicles, this taxon belongs to sect. Sedum S.H. Fu. The new species superficially resembles S. subtile Miquel and S. bulbiferum Makino but differs from these two taxa in its development of a basal leaf rosette during florescence. The nrDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences also support the claim that this plant is a new species in the Sedum genus.

Penthiopyrad is a broad-spectrum fungicide with wide application in agriculture with preferential degradation of the S (+)-stereoisomer in soil. An understanding of the stereoselective fate of penthiopyrad is crucial for accurate food safety risk assessment. In this study, the dissipation, distribution, and dietary intake risk of penthiopyrad and its main metabolite (PAM) was conducted in cucumber and tomato samples under greenhouse and open field conditions. The half-lives of penthiopyrad in cucumber and tomato samples were 8 days and the dissipation rates were higher in the open field than in the greenhouse. Due to the enantiomeric fraction data 0.5, S (+)-stereoisomer dissipated slightly faster than R-(-)-stereoisomer. The residues of total penthiopyrad (sum of rac-penthiopyrad and PAM) were lower than the maximum residue limits in cucumber and tomato samples (risk quotients ≪ 100%). Therefore, the recommended penthiopyrad spraying method does not threaten vegetable cultivations and has negligible dietary intake risk.

Nuclear transfer embryonic stem cells (ntESCs) hold enormous promise for individual-specific regenerative medicine. However, the chromatin states of ntESCs remain poorly characterized. In this study, we employed ATAC-seq and Hi-C techniques to explore the chromatin accessibility and three-dimensional (3D) genome organization of ntESCs. The results show that the chromatin accessibility and genome structures of somatic cells are re-arranged to ESC-like states overall in ntESCs, including compartments, topologically associating domains (TADs) and chromatin loops. However, compared to fertilized ESCs (fESCs), ntESCs show some abnormal openness and structures that have not been reprogrammed completely, which impair the differentiation potential of ntESCs. The histone modification H3K9me3 may be involved in abnormal structures in ntESCs, including incorrect compartment switches and incomplete TAD rebuilding. Moreover, ntESCs and iPSCs show high similarity in 3D genome structures, while a few differences are detected due to different somatic cell origins and reprogramming mechanisms. Through systematic analyses, our study provides a global view of chromatin accessibility and 3D genome organization in ntESCs, which can further facilitate the understanding of the similarities and differences between ntESCs and fESCs.

Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) is a common type of nosocomial infection and a common complication experienced by stroke patients during hospitalization. HAP can aggravate patients' primary disease condition and lead to death. Clinically, a variety of factors may affect the occurrence of HAP in patients. In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis of the literature to investigate the risk factors of stroke with HAP for clinical reference.The PubMed, Medline, Embase and Cochrane Library databases were selected as the sources for the literature search. English-language publications were included. The articles related to stroke with HAP were published from January 2000 to January 2021. The articles were screened and their quality was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. A meta-analysis was performed of the factors affecting the incidence of HAP using Revman 5.4 software.Ultimately, 7 articles with a total of 1,172 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Of the 1,172 patients, 352 (30.03%) had an HAP infection. The results of the meta-analysis showed that patient age [mean difference (MD) =4.91, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.90 to 5.93; P0.00001], National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score (MD =3.84, 95% CI: 3.01 to 4.67; P0.00001), and patient malnutrition [odds ratio (OR) =1.85, 95% CI: 1.13 to 3.04; P=0.02] were risk factors for the development of HAP, while gender, stroke history, smoking history, and comorbidities (diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, and hyperlipidemia) were not risk factors for the development of HAP.A total of 7 articles were included in this meta-analysis examining the influencing factors of HAP in stroke patients. The results showed that age, NIHSS score, and malnutrition were risk factors of HAP in stroke patients, while gender, stroke history, smoking history, and complications (diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, and hyperlipidemia) were not influencing factors of HAP.

Heparin-binding protein (HBP) has been shown to be a robust predictor of the progression to organ dysfunction from sepsis, and we hypothesized that dynamic changes in HBP may reflect the severity of sepsis. We therefore aim to investigate the predictive value of baseline HBP, 24-h, and 48-h HBP change for prediction of 30-day mortality in adult patients with sepsis. This is a prospective observational study in an intensive care unit of a tertiary center. Patients aged 20 years or older who met SEPSIS-3 criteria were prospectively enrolled from August 2019 to January 2020. Plasma levels of HBP were measured at admission, 24 h, and 48 h and dynamic changes in HBP were calculated. The Primary endpoint was 30-day mortality. We tested whether the biomarkers could enhance the predictive accuracy of a multivariable predictive model. A total of 206 patients were included in the final analysis. 48-h HBP change (HBPc-48 h) had greater predictive accuracy of area under the curve (AUC: 0.82), followed by baseline HBP (0.79), PCT (0.72), lactate (0.71), and CRP (0.65), and HBPc-24 h (0.62). Incorporation of HBPc-48 h into a clinical prediction model significantly improved the AUC from 0.85 to 0.93. HBPc-48 h may assist clinicians with clinical outcome prediction in critically ill patients with sepsis and can improve the performance of a prediction model including age, SOFA score and Charlson comorbidity index.

BackgroundPreclinical and clinical evidence suggests that hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) may benefit newborns. The effectiveness of HBOT for neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) remains controversial. We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and prognosis of HBOT in neonates with HIE.MethodsA systematic search of eight databases was performed for available articles published between January 1, 2015, and September 30, 2020, to identify randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) on HBOT for neonatal HIE. Methodological quality assessment was performed by applying the simple procedure detailed by the Cochrane collaboration. Afterward, quality assessment and data analysis were performed using Revman 5.3 software. STATA 15 software was used to detect publication bias as well as for sensitivity analysis.ResultsA total of 46 clinical RCTs were selected for the study and included 4,199 patients with neonatal HIE. The results indicated that HBOT significantly improved the total efficiency (TEF) of treatment for neonatal HIE patients [odds ratio (OR) = 4.61, 95% confidence interval (CI) (3.70, 5.75), P < 0.00001] and reduced the risk of sequelae (OR = 0.23, 95% CI (0.16, 0.33), P < 0.00001) and the neonatal behavioral neurological assessment (NBNA) scores [mean difference (MD) = 4.51, 95%CI (3.83,5.19, P < 0.00001)].ConclusionIn light of the effectiveness of HBOT neonatal HIE, this meta-analysis suggested that HBOT can be a potential therapy for the treatment of neonatal HIE. Due to the heterogeneity of studies protocol and patient selection being only from China, more research is needed before this therapy can be widely implemented in the clinic.Protocol RegistrationPROSPERO (ID: CRD42020210639). Available online at: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42020210639.

The numerical simulation of modern aero-engine combustion chamber needs accurate description of the interaction between turbulence and chemical reaction mechanism. The Large Eddy Simulation (LES) method with the Transported Probability Density Function (TPDF) turbulence combustion model is promising in engineering applications. In flame region, the impact of chemical reaction should be considered in TPDF molecular mixing model. Based on pioneer research, three new TPDF turbulence-chemistry dual time scale molecular mixing models were proposed tentatively by adding the chemistry time scale in molecular mixing model for nonpremixed flame. The Aero-Engine Combustor Simulation Code (AECSC) which is based on LES-TPDF method was combined with the three new models. Then the Sandia laboratory’s methane-air jet flames: Flame D and Flame E were simulated. Transient simulation results show that all the three new models can predict the instantaneous combustion flow pattern of the jet flames. Furthermore, the average scalar statistical results were compared with the experimental data. The simulation result of the new TPDF arithmetic mean modification model is the closest to the experimental data: the average error in Flame D is 7.6% and 6.6% in Flame E. The extinction and re-ignition phenomena of the jet flames especially Flame E were captured. The turbulence time scale and the chemistry time scale are in different order in the whole flow field. The dual time scale TPDF combustion model has ability to deal with both the turbulence effect and the chemistry reaction effect, as well as their interaction more accurately for nonpremixed flames. Keywords: Dual time scale model, Large eddy simulation, Sandia methane-air jet flame, TPDF molecular mixing model, Turbulence combustion model

Skutterudite thermoelectric material, CoSb3 is a peritectic compound, and the traditional preparation method needs several days to obtain single-phase CoSb3 by annealing treatment. In this work, we employed temperature gradient zone melting (TGZM) to investigate the microstructure evolution of Co-93wt.%Sb alloy in mushy zone under different thermal stabilization time. Due to the existence of temperature gradient, two mushy zones between complete liquid phase region and solid phase region were observed. There exists a solute gradient across the mushy zone and the solute diffuses from the cold side to the hot side, inducing that the liquid droplet migrates up the temperature gradient. As the thermal stabilization time increases, the volume fraction of the liquid in mushy zone decreases, and the initial solid/liquid interface moves downwards paralleling to the temperature gradient. After 4h thermal stabilization time, the solute concentration is higher in liquid zone than the nominal alloy concentration, and lower in the mushy zone measured by Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). By means of TGZM effect, the preparation time for the CoSb3 thermoelectric materials was shortened remarkably.

Background The relationship between psoriasis and hepatitis C was previously controversial, so our purpose is to investigate this connection. Methods We conducted a systematic review of the case–control, cross-sectional and cohort studies examining the association between psoriasis and hepatitis C in PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane library databases and investigated the overlapping genes between psoriasis targets and hepatitis C targets using bioinformatics analysis. Based on overlapping genes and hub nodes, we also constructed the protein–protein interaction (PPI) network and module respectively, followed by the pathway enrichment analysis. Results We included 11 publications that reported a total of 11 studies (8 cross-sectional and 3 case–control). The case–control and cross-sectional studies included 25,047 psoriasis patients and 4,091,631 controls in total. Psoriasis was associated with a significant increase of prevalent hepatitis C (OR 1.72; 95% confidence interval [CI] (1.17–2.52)). A total of 389 significant genes were common to both hepatitis C and psoriasis, which mainly involved IL6, TNF, IL10, ALB, STAT3 and CXCL8. The module and pathway enrichment analyses showed that the common genes had the potential to influence varieties of biological pathways, including the inflammatory response, cytokine activity, cytokine–cytokine receptor interaction, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, which play an important role in the pathogenesis of hepatitis C and psoriasis. Conclusion Patients with psoriasis display increased prevalence of hepatitis C and the basic related mechanisms between hepatitis C and psoriasis had been preliminarily clarified.

Summary Pig cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) frequently undergoes incomplete epigenetic remodeling during the maternal-to-zygotic transition, which leads to a significant embryonic loss before implantation. Here, we generated the first genome-wide landscapes of histone methylation in pig SCNT embryos. Excessive H3K9me3 and H3K27me3, but not H3K4me3, were observed in the genomic regions with unfaithful embryonic genome activation and donor-cell-specific gene silencing. A combination of H3K9 demethylase KDM4A and GSK126, an inhibitor of H3K27me3 writer, were able to remove these epigenetic barriers and restore the global transcriptome in SCNT embryos. More importantly, thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG) was defined as a pig-specific epigenetic regulator for nuclear reprogramming, which was not reactivated by H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 removal. Both combined treatment and transient TDG overexpression promoted DNA demethylation and enhanced the blastocyst-forming rates of SCNT embryos, thus offering valuable methods to increase the cloning efficiency of genome-edited pigs for agricultural and biomedical purposes., Graphical abstract, Highlights • Identification of reprogramming-resistant genes and regions in porcine SCNT embryos • H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 are enriched in reprogramming-resistant genes and regions • Removing H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 by KDM4A and GSK126 facilitates nuclear reprogramming • Transient TDG overexpression promotes DNA demethylation and improves reprogramming, In this article, Miao and colleagues show that H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 are epigenetic barriers to porcine SCNT-mediated reprogramming. Removal of these modifications by KDM4A and GSK126 improves SCNT embryonic development, but does not reactivate TDG during embryonic genome activation. Meanwhile, transient TDG overexpression promotes DNA demethylation and also improves SCNT embryonic development in pigs.

This article analyzes AlphaZero-type algorithms quantitatively from the viewpoint of local and global optimal sequences of play on a 7×7 board. Through targeted evaluation of the AI agent, the authors reveal the strategic, that is, winrate-dominated, nature of such algorithms, and expose thereby certain inherent obstacles against optimal play. Possible remedies are then explored, leading to techniques that may help further quantitative analysis of those algorithms and for the search for optimal solutions, on 7×7 as well as larger boards.

Background Computer-assisted electroencephalography (EEG) systems may improve the likelihood of detecting abnormal EEGs in adult patients with severe disease. Case presentation We implemented long-range EEG monitoring in a patient with large hemispheric infarction (LHI) and explored its real-time changes in reflecting the patient's brain function. The bands of Alpha, Beta, Delta, Theta, DAR (Delta/Alpha), DTABR (Delta+Theta/Alpha+Beta), and brain symmetry index (BSI) were calculated as a ratio of total power. The test results showed that this patient presents a progressive worsening trend and developed brain herniation. The sigh at the electrophysiological level of brain herniation could be seen 6 h in advance based on the quantitative EEG (QEEG) parameters test. We calculated QEEG at both C3 and C4, electrode locations simultaneously, and the results showed that the trend of QEEG at both electrodes was consistent with the global, affected, and unaffected side. Conclusions QEEG parameters can reflect the trend of LHI patients in real-time and may predict the occurrence of LHI brain herniation. For LHI patients, monitoring with fewer EEG electrodes can be tried to predict the changes in conditions.

Background Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. Recently, studies have been published with inconsistent findings regarding whether sarcopenia is a risk factor for mortality in breast cancer patients. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to systematically assess and quantify sarcopenia as a risk factor for mortality in breast cancer patients. Methods In a systematic literature review of PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane CENTRAL Library, we searched for observational studies written in English (from database inception until April 30, 2019) that reported an association between sarcopenia and breast cancer in women who were 18 years or older. Results A total of six studies (5497 participants) were included in this meta-analysis. Breast cancer patients with sarcopenia were associated with a significantly higher risk of mortality, compared to breast cancer patients without sarcopenia (pooled HR-hazard ratio = 1.71, 95% CI: 1.25–2.33, I2 = 59.1%). In addition, the results of age subgroup analysis showed that participants younger than 55 years with sarcopenia had a lower risk of mortality than participants aged 55 years and older with sarcopenia (pooled HR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.24–1.72 versus pooled HR = 1.99, 95% CI: 1.05–3.78), whereas both have an increased risk of mortality compared to non-sarcopenic patients. Subgroup analyses regarding stage at diagnosis revealed an increased risk of mortality in non-metastatic patients compared to participants without sarcopenia (pooled HR = 1.91, 95% CI: 1.32–2.78), whereas the association was not significant in metastatic breast cancer patients. Other subgroup analyses were performed using different follow-up periods (> 5 years versus ≤5 years) and the results were different (pooled HR = 1.81, 95% CI: 1.23–2.65 versus pooled HR = 1.70, 95% CI: 0.80–3.62). Conclusions The present study found that sarcopenia is a risk factor for mortality among female early breast cancer patients. It is imperative that more research into specific interventions aimed at treating sarcopenia be conducted in the near future in order to provide evidence which could lead to decreased mortality rates in breast cancer patients.

Paraphlomis kuankuoshuiensis (Lamiaceae), a new species found in the limestone areas of northern Guizhou, China, is described and illustrated in this paper. Based on its tubular-campanulate calyx, this taxon should be a member of sect. Paraphlomis Prain. The new species resembles P. patentisetulosa C.Y. Wu & H. W. Li, P. hispida C.Y. Wu, and P. hirsutissima C.Y. Wu & H.W. Li, but differs from these three taxa in the following aspects: the stems are very short (P. kuankuoshuiensis are also quite different from the three closely related species.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2 virus) has been sustained in China since December 2019, and has become a pandemic. The mental health of frontline medical staff is a concern. In this study, we aimed to identify the factors influencing medical worker anxiety in China during the COVID-19 outbreak. We conducted a cross-sectional study to estimate the prevalence of anxiety among medical staff in China from 10 February 2020 to 20 February 2020 using the Zung Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) to assess anxiety, with the criteria of normal (⩽49), mild (50–59), moderate (60–70) and severe anxiety (⩾70). We used multivariable linear regression to determine the factors (e.g. having direct contact when treating infected patients, being a medical staff worker from Hubei province, being a suspect case) for anxiety. We also used adjusted models to confirm independent factors for anxiety after adjusting for gender, age, education and marital status. Of 512 medical staff in China, 164 (32.03%) had had direct contact treating infected patients. The prevalence of anxiety was 12.5%, with 53 workers suffering from mild (10.35%), seven workers suffering from moderate (1.36%) and four workers suffering from severe anxiety (0.78%). After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics (gender, age, education and marital status), medical staff who had had direct contact treating infected patients experienced higher anxiety scores than those who had not had direct contact (β value = 2.33, confidence interval (CI) 0.65–4.00; P = 0.0068). A similar trend was observed in medical staff from Hubei province, compared with those from other parts of China (β value = 3.67, CI 1.44–5.89; P = 0.0013). The most important variable was suspect cases with high anxiety scores, compared to non-suspect cases (β value = 4.44, CI 1.55–7.33; P = 0.0028). In this survey of hospital medical workers during the COVID-19 outbreak in China, we found that study participants experienced anxiety symptoms, especially those who had direct clinical contact with infected patients; as did those in the worst affected areas, including Hubei province; and those who were suspect cases. Governments and healthcare authorities should proactively implement appropriate psychological intervention programmes, to prevent, alleviate or treat increased anxiety.

A latest coding scheme named polarization-adjusted convolutional (PAC) codes is shown to approach the dispersion bound for the code (128,64) under list decoding. However, to achieve the near-bound performance, the list size of list decoding needs to be excessively large, which leads to insufferable latency. In this paper, to improve the speed of list decoding, fast list decoders for PAC codes are proposed. We define four types of constituent nodes and provide fast list decoding algorithms for each of them. Simulation results present that fast list decoding with three types of constituent nodes can yield exactly the same error-correction performance as list decoding, and reduce more than 50% time steps for the code (128,64). Moreover, fast list decoding with four types of constituent nodes can further reduce decoding latency with negligible performance degradation., Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures

The zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) are chemically and thermally stable microporous materials that are being considered as ideal supports for the uniform encapsulation of noble metal nanoparticles. Our theoretical investigations started from the adsorption of the molecular precursor Au(CO)Cl in both ZIF-8 and ZIF-90; surprisingly, pore-B, with the diameter less than 2.2 A in the two ZIFs, dramatically expanded as an energetically most favorable site for the location of Au(CO)Cl, whereas the well-known pore-A, with a diameter of about 3.5 A, is less favorable. Then, ab initio molecular dynamics simulations showed that the confined Aun cluster has a transition from two-dimensional to three-dimensional structures when n is larger than 12 in both ZIFs. Interestingly, the aldehyde groups in ZIF-90 were computed to be the main binding sites for Au clusters, whereas the imidazole rings were identified as the binding sites in ZIF-8. Compared to ZIF-90, the binding of Au clusters in ZIF-8 was stronger, acco...

The content of neuron specific enolase (NSE) in serum is considered to be an essential indicator of small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Here, a novel label-free electrochemical immunoassay for the detection of NSE based on the three dimensionally macroporous reduced graphene oxide/polyaniline (3DM rGO/PANI) film has been proposed. The 3DM rGO/PANI film was constructed by electrochemical co-deposition of GO and aniline into the interspaces of a sacrificial silica opal template modified Au slice. During the co-deposition, GO was successfully reduced by aniline and PANI could be deposited on the surfaces of rGO sheets. The ratio of rGO and PANI in the composite was also optimized to achieve the maximum electrochemical performance. The 3DM rGO/PANI composite provided larger specific surface area for the antibody immobilization, exhibited enhanced conductivity for electron transfer, and more important was that PANI acted as the electroactive probe for indicating the NSE concentration. Under the optimal conditions, a linear current response of PANI to NSE concentration was obtained over 0.5 pg mL-1-10.0 ng mL-1 with a detection limit of 0.1 pg mL-1. Moreover, the immunosensor showed excellent selectivity, good stability, satisfactory reproducibility and regeneration, and was employed to detect NSE in clinical serum specimens.

Background and Objectives: The relationship between omega-3 index and type 2 diabetes (T2D) is not well established. It is unclear if the change of omega-3 index will affect T2D. Aiming of the present systematic review was to elucidate the correlation between omega-3 index and T2D. Methods and Study Design: A comprehensive search on PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science (from 1948 to May 2021) was conducted. The overall effect size (standard mean difference) was combined using a random-effect model. Results: Eight eligible case-control studies were identified, and there were 1,357 patients with T2D and 1,616 non-diabetic controls. The result showed that the omega-3 index was significantly lower in diabetic cases than that in controls (SMD= -1.31; 95% confidence interval (CI): -1.40, -1.22), but with significant heterogeneity (I2 = 99.0%). In subgroup analysis based on race, a negative correlation was found in Asians (SMD = ˗1.71; 95% CI: -1.82, -1.60), and heterogeneity was substantially decreased (I2=0). Conclusions: omega-3 index is negatively correlated with T2D, which indicated that increased dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids might have beneficial on T2D prevention.

The micro-morphology of catalyst played an important role in the selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxide. For the first time, this work investigated the relationship among catalytic activity, catalyst–catalyst distance, and catalyst–reductant distance. Three metal–organic frameworks with different morphologies were applied in the catalysis. When catalyst–catalyst distance was decreased from 3.436 to 2.890 A, the activity was increased from 59.5 to 92.3% at 250 °C. Even without ammonia reductant, when catalyst–reductant distance was decreased from 3.033 to 2.620 A, the activity was increased from 7.5 to 78.1% at 350 °C. In this case, organic/carbon played as the reductant. Moreover, the relationship successfully predicted the activity of a catalyst with a known catalyst–reductant​ distance. A shorter catalyst–catalyst and catalyst–reductant​ distances facilitated electron and material transfers between reductant and nitric oxide, thus increasing the activity. After all, main results of this work helped to understand the interaction on interface between catalyst and reductant, which was in favor of catalyst design and application.

Citrus polymethoxyflavones (PMFs) have been of increasing interest due to their extensive biological activities. In the present study, a total of eight PMFs were isolated from the peel of Citrus reticulata 'Chachi' (CRC). They were individually identified as 5-hydroxy-6,7,8,4'-tetramethoxyflavone (1), 5,6,7,3',4'-pentamethoxyflavanone (2), 5-hydroxy-6,7,8,3',4'-pentamethoxyflavone (3), 3,5,6,7,8,3',4'- heptamethoxyflavone (4), 5,6,7,8,3',4'-hexamethoxyflavone (5), 5,6,7,8,4'-pentamethoxyflavone (6), 6,7,8,3',4'-pentamethoxyflavanone (7) and 5,6,7,3',4'-pentamethoxyflavone (8) by nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectroscopic analysis. 6,7,8,3',4'-Pentamethoxyflavanone was isolated from the peel of CRC for the first time. The content of PMFs was firstly quantified in both the peel of CRC and PMF-rich extract by HPLC analysis. Furthermore, the biological activities of PMF compounds were investigated. 3,5,6,7,8,3',4'-Heptamethoxyflavone demonstrated potent sterol regulatory element-binding proteins inhibition activity and 5-hydroxy-6,7,8,3',4'-pentamethoxyflavone exhibited strong antiproliferative activity against tumor cell lines. The isolated PMF compounds could also significantly inhibit NO production and the effect varied mainly depending on the number of methoxy groups.

Ardisiae Japonicae Herba is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of bronchitis conjunctivitis, pneumonia, and trauma. In this work, a high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry method was first established for the separation and structural identification of the chemical constituents in Ardisiae Japonicae Herba. A total of 15 compounds including coumarins, flavonoid glycosides, and catechins were identified or tentatively characterized based on their chromatographic behaviors and mass spectral fragmentation and by comparisons with the reference standards. Furthermore, a simple high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection method was developed for the simultaneous determination of five major constituents. Results obtained from method validation, including linearity, precision, repeatability, stability, and recovery, showed that the established method was reliable and accurate. Bergenin and quercitrin were found to be the most abundant constituents and could be served as chemical markers for quality control of Ardisiae Japonicae Herba.

The present study was designed to develop and validate a rapid, sensitive, and reliable ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method for the simultaneous determination of five major active constituents in the traditional Chinese medicinal preparation Xingxiong injection (XXI) in rat plasma, including quercetin 3-O-rutinoside (QCR), kaempferol 3-O-rutinoside (KFR), isorhamnetin 3-O-rutinoside (ISR), bilobalide (BB), and ligustrazine (LGT). The plasma samples were pretreated by protein precipitation with acetonitrile. The chromatographic separation was achieved on a Waters Symmetry C18 analytical column (2.1 mm × 100 mm, 3.5 μm) with a mobile phase of 0.1% aqueous formic acid (A)-acetonitrile (B). Quantitation of the five bioactive constituents was achieved. Naringin was used as the internal standard (IS). All the calibration curves showed good linearity (r > 0.996) over the concentration range, with the lowest limit of quantification (LLOQ) between 2-18 ng·mL-1. The intra- and inter-day accuracy and precision of the analytes were both within acceptable limits. Moreover, satisfactory extraction recoveries (90.92%-104.03%) were obtained by protein precipitation. The validated method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of XXI in rats after intravenous administration at three doses. The pharmacokinetic parameters of the five compounds varied in a dose-dependent manner within the tested dosage range. The present study was the first report of pharmacokinetic study for XXI.

The thermodynamically stable metal organic framework UiO-66-NH2 has experimentally been demonstrated as an ideal platform to isolate metal clusters within its nanocages; however, the electronic structures and the dynamics of the encapsulated metal clusters are still unclear. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations combined with density functional theory-based methods were employed to search the stable structures of Pdn@UiO-66-NH2 composites, and their electronic properties were analyzed in detail. We found that the thermodynamics of the composites are highly correlated with charge transfer between the Pdn cluster and the UiO-66-NH2 framework, as well as the deformation energy of the framework. In addition, both ab initio molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory calculations show that the small Pd clusters can easily diffuse into the tetrahedral cage of UiO-66-NH2 from the octahedral cage through the window connecting these two types of cages, with a small energy barrier.

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are emerging as alternatives to conventional ionic liquids and organic solvents due to their unique advantages. In the present study, the tuneability of DESs as tailor-made solvents to efficiently extract polar and non-polar bioactive compounds from Platycladi Cacumen was detailedly investigated. Totally 12 types of choline chloride-, betaine-, and l-proline-based DESs were synthesized for initial screening, and extraction conditions was optimized by single-factor experiment. Experiments with different DESs and principal components analysis demonstrated that the extractability of both flavonoid glycosides and aglycones was greater with certain designed DESs than conventional solvents. In addition, the water content in DESs led to significantly different extraction yields of flavonoid compounds. The target compounds were recovered from DESs by macroporous resin LX-38 with a satisfactory yield between 77.44% and 98.92%. The knowledge acquired in this study could contribute to further DES application in extraction of bioactive compounds from natural sources.

A new compound, methylbergenin (1), was isolated from the whole plants of Ardisia japonica (Thunb.) Bl. (Myrsinaceae), along with eight known compounds: demethoxybergenin (2), bergenin (3), afzelin (4), quercitrin (5), bauerenol (6), bauerenone (7), α-spinasterol (8) and chondrillasterone (9). Compounds 1, 7 and 9 were isolated from A. japonica for the first time. The structure of compound 1 was determined on the basis of NMR (1D and 2D) and mass spectroscopic analysis. The absolute configuration of 1 was assessed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Compounds 1, 4, 5, 7 and 9 showed potential inhibitory effects against nitric oxide production in LPS stimulated RAW 264.7 murine macrophages. In addition, Compounds 7 and 9 exhibited cytotoxicity against A549 and HepG-2 cells.

Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium, mainly including the pericarp of Citrus reticulata Blanco and the pericarp of Citrus reticulata 'Chachi', has been consumed daily as food and dietary supplement for centuries. In this study, GC-MS based metabolomics was employed to compare comprehensively the volatile constituents in Citrus reticulata Blanco and Citrus reticulata 'Chachi'. Principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis indicated that samples could be distinguished effectively from one another. Fifteen metabolites were finally identified for use as chemical markers in discrimination of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium samples. The antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria of the volatile oil from Citrus reticulata Blanco and Citrus reticulata 'Chachi' was investigated preliminarily.

Phosphate is one of the main contaminations in water, so an effective method of decreasing or removing phosphate is needed. The main purpose of this paper is to synthesize CaFe-LDHs and MgFe-LDHs from the mixture of calcined dolomite and ferric chloride to remove orthophosphate and pyrophosphate. The study showed that removal of orthophosphate was attributed to the precipitation by Ca2+ and adsorption by MgFe-LDHs, where the former played a main role. As for pyrophosphate, it was mainly removed by precipitation at the initial pyrophosphate concentration ranging from 3.228 to 17.04 mmol/L. When the initial concentrations became relatively higher, the removal efficiency of pyrophosphate decreased because the complexation effects by Fe3+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ took place.