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This article presents a practice-led design project that asks how the effects of the lockdown can be articulated through illustration and poetry to narrate a personal story using an autoethnographic approach to retail high levels of dignity and originality? The research project aims to create a visual narrative, advanced through illustrations and poetry, that reflects the researcher’s experience of lockdowns imposed by COVID-19. The narrative adopts the form of an illustrated storybook to tell the story of the researcher herself, who faced restrictive experiences while being locked down in China during a homeland visit. As a result, the researcher was unable to return to New Zealand due to travel restrictions. During the time the researcher had to wait in China to be able to return to complete her study in New Zealand, the lockdown produced feelings of isolation, distancing, anxiety and other emotions. This design project is aimed to express these feelings, responding to their pressures using creatively illustrations and poems, created in a way to articulate the psychological pressures one can go through during this unprecedented time. The illustrations and poems encapsulate an artistic response to a historical moment, drawn into being through poetic writing and imagery. The project is a historical document of an era where all that is certain becomes uncertain. Illustrations are used through an autoethnographic approach to give voice to personal experiences through design. The research contributes to the exploration of poetic writing and illustration to document, understand and express a moment of crisis in human history.

Sports tourism is a new form of tourism based on sports resources, which attracts people to participate and feel the interest of sports activities and nature, and is an important part of sports industry. Through the field survey method and logical analysis method, we make a comparative analysis of the five existing rural sports tourism integration development models in Guangxi, analyze the problems of the existing rural sports tourism integration development models in Guangxi from macro-, meso-, and microdimensions, propose corresponding development countermeasures, provide reference for promoting the national strategy of building important tourism bases in Guangxi and theoretical system construction, use the method of fuzzy mathematics to construct a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model, and apply this model to objectively evaluate the sports tourism resources in Guangxi Province. Finally, in response to the evaluation results, it is proposed to deeply develop characteristic advantageous sports tourism resources, focus on breakthroughs, develop fitness and leisure participation sports tourism industry, and reasonably lay out and cultivate some attractive sports tourism products.

Objective: To analyze the value of combined detection of tumor markers, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), D-dimer and T lymphocyte in the diagnosis of colon cancer. Methods: This is a retrospective study. A total of 80 patients with colon cancer and 80 patients with benign colon mass admitted to Baoding NO.1 Central Hospital from June 10, 2021 to December 10, 2022 were divided into the study group and the control group. Further comparison was performed on the tumor markers, NLR, D-dimer and T-lymphocyte levels between the two groups, associated with the comparison of corresponding levels of colon cancer at different stages. In addition, correlation analysis was carried out focusing on the above indicators with colon cancer. Results: Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), CA199, NLR, D-dimer and CD8+ cell count levels in the study group were significantly higher than those in the control group, while CD4+ cell count and CD4+/CD8+ ratio were obviously lower (P

Transmembrane protein 91(TMEM91) encodes a protein belonging to the transmembrane protein family which mediates many human physiological processes, such as the regulation of cell migration and invasion, and participates in the immune response. At present, research on the TMEM family members focuses mostly on the field of molecular mechanisms, and the role of TMEM91 in tumor cells is still unrecognized. Using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases, we can analysis the expression of TMEM91 in various tumors. The Kaplan-Meier method was used for the evaluation of the prognostic significance of TMEM91 in patients with pan-cancer. The dif-ferential expression of TMEM91 in diverse cancers with different clinical characteristics was analyzed with the UALCAN database. TIMER was used to explore how TMEM91 correlates with immune infiltration. The correlations between TMEM91 expression immune checkpoint (ICP), tumor mutational burden (TMB), and microsatellite instability (MSI) in human cancers were analyzed via the SangerBox database. Gene Set Cancer Analysis (GSCA) platform was used to investigate the correlation between TMEM91 expression with Copy number variations (CNV) and methylation. Protein-Protein Interaction analysis was performed in the GeneMANIA database. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes pathway en-richment analyses were further conducted for exploration of TMEM91 function. According to the finding of this study, downregulated TMEM91 expression was observed in numerous tumor tissues. The low TMEM91 expression group showed poor overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). TMEM91 was positively correlated with can-cer-associated fibroblast (CAF), and nature killer T cell (NKT), and negatively correlated with CD4 + T cells, B cells and common lymphoid progenitor (CLP). Here, we show that there is a positive relationship between Contingent Negative Variation (CNV) and expression of TMEM91, whereas the correlation of TMEM91 expression with DNA methylation was nega-tive in all cases. Molecular biology experiments were performed to confirm the tumor pro-moting role of TMEM91 in glioma. Function analysis showed that TMEM91 expres-sion-related genes were mainly enriched in response to type I interferon /regulation of viral genome replication/negative regulation of viral process/movement in host environment. In addition, the association between the expression of TMEM91 and the use of the anticancer drug, sensitive anti-tumor drug based on CellMiner were predicted, such as the anticancer drug AS-703569, Hydroxyurea. Our pan-cancer analysis provides a deep understanding of the functions of TMEM91.TMEM91 may affect the oncogenesis and metastasis in different cancers via mediating the immune infiltrating cells and the degree of methylation. This study sheds new light on the mechanism of TMEM family in cancer.

The primary goal of modern wheat breeding is to develop new high-yielding and widely adaptable varieties. We analyzed four yield-related agronomic traits in 502 wheat accessions under normal conditions (NC) and drought treatment (DT) conditions over three years. The genome-wide association analysis identified 51 yield-related and nine drought-resistance-related QTL, including 13 for the thousand-grain weight (TGW), 30 for grain length (GL), three for grain width (GW), five for spike length (SL) and nine for stress tolerance index (STI) QTL in wheat. These QTL, containing 72 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), explained 2.23 – 7.35% of the phenotypic variation across multiple environments. Eight stable SNPs on chromosomes 2A, 2D, 3B, 4A, 5B, 5D, and 7D were associated with phenotypic stability under NC and DT conditions. Two of these stable SNPs had association with TGW and STI. Several novel QTL for TGW, GL and SL were identified on different chromosomes. Three linked SNPs were transformed into kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) markers. These results will facilitate the discovery of promising SNPs for yield-related traits and/or drought stress tolerance and will accelerate the development of new wheat varieties with desirable alleles.

In 2003, Kandelia obovata was identified as a new mangrove species differentiated from Kandelia candel. However, little is known about their chloroplast (cp) genome differences and their possible ecological significance. In this study, 25 whole cp genomes, with seven samples of K. candel from Malaysia, Thailand, and Bangladesh and 18 samples of K. obovata from China, were sequenced for comparison. The cp genomes of both species encoded 128 genes, namely 83 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes, but the cp genome size of K. obovata was ~2 kb larger than that of K. candle due to the presence of more and longer repeat sequences. Of these, tandem repeats and simple sequence repeats exhibited great differences. Principal component analysis based on indels, and phylogenetic tree analyses constructed with homologous protein genes from the single-copy genes, as well as 38 homologous pair genes among 13 mangrove species, gave strong support to the separation of the two species within the Kandelia genus. Homologous genes ndhD and atpA showed intraspecific consistency and interspecific differences. Molecular dynamics simulations of their corresponding proteins, NAD(P)H dehydrogenase chain 4 (NDH-D) and ATP synthase subunit alpha (ATP-A), predicted them to be significantly different in the functions of photosynthetic electron transport and ATP generation in the two species. These results suggest that the energy requirement was a pivotal factor in their adaptation to differential environments geographically separated by the South China Sea. Our results also provide clues for future research on their physiological and molecular adaptation mechanisms to light and temperature.

IntroductionSARS-CoV-2 has ravaged the world and undergone multiple mutations during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. On 7 April 2022, an epidemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (BA.2) variant broke out in Guangzhou, China, one of the largest transportation and logistical hubs of the country.MethodsTo fast curtained the Omicron epidemic, based on the routine surveillance on the risk population of SARS-CoV-2 infection, we identify key places of the epidemic and implement enhanced control measures against Omicron.ResultsTransmission characteristics of the Omicron variant were analyzed for 273 confirmed cases, and key places involved in this epidemic were fully presented. The median incubation time and the generation time were 3 days, and the reproduction number Rt was sharply increased with a peak of 4.20 within 2 days. We tried an all-out effort to tackle the epidemic in key places, and the proportion of confirmed cases increased from 61.17% at Stage 2 to 88.89% at Stage 4. Through delimited risk area management, 99 cases were found, and the cases were isolated in advance for 2.61 ± 2.76 days in a lockdown zone, 0.44 ± 1.08 days in a controlled zone, and 0.27 ± 0.62 days in a precautionary zone. People assigned with yellow code accounted for 30.32% (84/277) of confirmed COVID-19 cases, and 83.33% of them were detected positive over 3 days since code assignment. For the districts outside the epicenter, the implementation duration of NPIs was much shorter compared with the Delta epidemic last year.ConclusionBy blocking out transmission risks and adjusting measures to local epidemic conditions through the all-out effort to tackle the epidemic in key places, by delimiting risk area management, and by conducting health code management of the at-risk population, the Omicron epidemic could be contained quickly.

In 2003, Kandelia obovata was identified as a new mangrove species differentiated from Kandelia candel. However, little is known about their chloroplast (cp) genome differences and their possible ecological significance. In this study, 25 whole cp genomes, with seven samples of K. candel from Malaysia, Thailand, and Bangladesh and 18 samples of K. obovata from China, were sequenced for comparison. The cp genomes of both species encoded 128 genes, namely 83 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes, but the cp genome size of K. obovata was ~2 kb larger than that of K. candle due to the presence of more and longer repeat sequences. Of these, tandem repeats and simple sequence repeats exhibited great differences. Principal component analysis based on indels, and phylogenetic tree analyses constructed with homologous protein genes from the single-copy genes, as well as 38 homologous pair genes among 13 mangrove species, gave strong support to the separation of the two species within the Kandelia genus. Homologous genes ndhD and atpA showed intraspecific consistency and interspecific differences. Molecular dynamics simulations of their corresponding proteins, NAD(P)H dehydrogenase chain 4 (NDH-D) and ATP synthase subunit alpha (ATP-A), predicted them to be significantly different in the functions of photosynthetic electron transport and ATP generation in the two species. These results suggest that the energy requirement was a pivotal factor in their adaptation to differential environments geographically separated by the South China Sea. Our results also provide clues for future research on their physiological and molecular adaptation mechanisms to light and temperature.

Cytokinin is an important endogenous hormone in plants performing a wide spectrum of biological roles. The type-A response regulators (RRAs) are primary cytokinin response genes, which are important components of the cytokinin signaling pathway and are involved in the regulation of plant growth and development. By analysis of the whole genome sequence of wheat, we identified 20 genes encoding RRAs which were clustered into eight homologous groups. The gene structure, conserved motifs, chromosomal location, and cis-acting regulatory elements of the TaRRAs were analyzed. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) results showed that the expression levels of most of the TaRRAs increased rapidly on exogenous cytokinin application. Moreover, the TaRRA family members displayed different expression profiles under the stress treatments of drought, salt, cold, and heat. This study provides valuable insights into the RRA gene family in wheat and promotes the potential application of these genes in wheat genetic improvement.

Cytokinin is an important endogenous hormone in plants performing a wide spectrum of biological roles. The

AimThe aroma-producing strain of Geotrichum candidum GDMCC60675 was taken as the research object, the composition of aroma-producing substances of G. candidum was studied, and the target strains of G. candidum suitable for food additives were screened out by mutagenesis.MethodsMutants were obtained by space breeding. The colony morphology and cell morphology of the mutant strain were identified, the phylogenetic tree of the two strains was constructed, and the whole-genome sequences of the wild strain and the mutant strain were compared. The aroma components and key odor compounds of the two strains were analyzed and compared by HS-SPME-GC-MS and E-nose detection, and the data were processed by using the relative odor activity value (ROAV) analysis method.ResultsA mutant strain of G. candidum was found with different characteristics of aroma production compared with wild-type G. candidum. It was found that its colony morphology and cell morphology were similar. However, it was found that the aroma-producing substances produced by the two strains were different, and the key difference compound was phenyl ethyl alcohol, which also proved that the two strains were different, and the main aroma note was different.

Pursuing a rural revitalization strategy is a major historical task to secure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Rural tourism is an important platform for poverty alleviation and a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Taking rural tourism in Guangdong Province as an example, this paper analyzes the development prospect of rural tourism smart system in the post-pandemic era. This system is closely combined with the rural revitalization strategy, and the tourism resources in each region of Guangdong Province have their own characteristics, which is conducive to the innovation and practice of the system. The innovation and practice of the system enables tourists with different needs to take their own needs according to different tourism resources, meets tourists' multidimensional perception needs of rural life and other aspects, and achieves the effect of physical and mental experience and enjoyment of life, thus providing beneficial enlightenment for the planning and design of rural tourism in China.

We demonstrate stable mode-locked pulses in an erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) using a femtosecond laser-inscribed small-period long-period grating (SP-LPG). The SP-LPG has a period of 25 µm and a length of 2.5 mm. The polarization dependent loss (PDL) of the SP-LPG reaches 20 dB at the wavelength of 1556 nm and 25 dB at the wavelength of 1607 nm, which is sufficient to trigger the mode-locking mechanism. In addition, a mode-locked fiber laser (MLFL) based on the SP-LPG has been demonstrated to generate 1.58-ps pulses at 1577 nm with a bandwidth of 4 nm and a repetition rate of 1.54 MHz. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 50 dB shows the high stability of this system. This work indicates various potential applications of the SP-LPG in ultra-fast laser technologies due to its simple fabrication, compact structure, and high damage threshold.

In this study, a new vancomycin (Van)-modified poly-l-lysine (PLL) magnetic bead (MB) technique was developed for isolation of gram-positive bacteria. The method combines magnetic separation with a multiplex PCR (mPCR) assay and gel electrophoresis for easy and rapid detection of Bacillus cereus. Vancomycin was used as a molecular ligand between the MB and the d-alanyl-d-alanine moieties on the cell wall surface of B. cereus. The PLL served as a flexible molecular tether between the MB and Van that reduced steric hindrance maintaining the biological activity of Van. The MB-PLL-Van capture nanoprobes exhibited excellent capture and isolation efficiency for B. cereus in spiked milk matrix samples without interference from the complex food matrix. The subsequent mPCR assay showed high specificity for the 4 target genes in B. cereus, the entFM, cesB, cer, and 16S rRNA genes, that were used to achieve efficient genotyping and detection. Under optimum conditions, the limit of detection reached 103 cfu/mL, with a dynamic range of detection at 103 to 107 cfu/mL in pure culture. Application of the MB-PLL-Van mediated mPCR assay for B. cereus in milk matrix samples achieved results similar to those of the pure culture. In addition, with a 6-h pre-enrichment of B. cereus that was spiked in milk matrix samples, the limit of detection reached 101 cfu/mL. The MB-PLL-Van mediated mPCR assay developed in this study could be used as a universal technology platform for the efficient enrichment and genotyping of gram-positive bacteria.

Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is characterized by heterogeneous inflammatory endotypes of unknown etiology. Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are multifunctional innate T cells that exhibit Th1-, Th2-, and Th17-like characteristics. We investigated functional relationships between iNKT cells and inflammatory subtypes of CRSwNP. Eighty patients with CRSwNP and thirty-two control subjects were recruited in this study. Flow cytometry was used to analyze the frequencies and functions of iNKT cells and their subsets in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and tissues. Polyp tissue homogenates were used to study the multifunctionality of iNKT cells. iNKT cells were significantly increased in polyps (0.41%) than in control mucosa (0.12%). iNKT cells were determined in the paucigranunlocytic (n=20), eosinophilic (n=22), neutrophilic (n=23), and mixed granulocytic (n=13) phenotypes of CRSwNP. The percentages of iNKT cells and HLA-DR+PD-1+ subsets were lower in eosinophilic or mixed granulocytic polyps than those of other phenotypes. iNKT cells and subsets were enriched in polyp tissues than in matched PBMCs. The evaluation of surface markers, transcription factors, and signature cytokines indicated that the frequencies of iNKT2 and iNKT17 subsets were significantly increased in eosinophilic and neutrophilic polyps, respectively, than in the paucigranulocytic group. Moreover, the production of type 2 (partially dependent on IL-7) and type 17 (partially dependent on IL-23) iNKT cells could be stimulated by eosinophilic and neutrophilic homogenates, respectively. Our study revealed that type 2 and type 17 iNKT cells were involved in eosinophilic and neutrophilic inflammation, respectively, in CRSwNP, while different inflammatory microenvironments could modulate the functions of iNKT cells, suggesting a role of iNKT cells in feedback mechanisms and local inflammation.

In this study, a fluorescence-positioned hybridization chain reaction (HCR) system for the detection of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) specific to Salmonella was developed. Target ssDNA captured by magnetic beads was used to trigger the HCR, forming multiple double-stranded DNAs (dsDNAs). SYBR Green I was applied to intercalate with the minor groove of the dsDNA forming MBs + dsDNA + SYBR Green I. Magnetic separation was used to isolate the MBs + dsDNA + SYBR Green I from the excess reagents before recording the fluorescence intensity (FI). This fluorescence-positioned HCR method for the quantitative detection of Salmonella showed a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 4.2 × 101 CFU mL−1 in 0.01 M phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). When the method was applied in spiked milk samples, the LOD was recorded at 4.2 × 102 CFU mL−1. The fluorescence-positioned HCR method provided a modification-free and fluorescence-positioned strategy for sensitive detection of target DNA which holds promise for sensitive and selective bacterial detection.

The aroma-producing strain ofMutants were obtained by space breeding. The colony morphology and cell morphology of the mutant strain were identified, the phylogenetic tree of the two strains was constructed, and the whole-genome sequences of the wild strain and the mutant strain were compared. The aroma components and key odor compounds of the two strains were analyzed and compared by HS-SPME-GC-MS and E-nose detection, and the data were processed by using the relative odor activity value (ROAV) analysis method.A mutant strain of

We demonstrate a Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser based on WTe2-graphene composite deposited on a tapered fiber. The obtained Q-switching threshold of 25.8mW is reduced by one order of magnitude compared with WTe2 alone.

A composite trajectory tracking strategy based on full-order terminal sliding mode (FOTSM) control is proposed for a shipborne manipulator installed on an unmanned surface vehicle (USV). The main contributions of this paper are: (1) The USV and manipulator are modeled systematically. (2) A novel coordination controller based on FOTSM control is designed to control the USV and the manipulator. (3) Stability of the full-order dynamic tracking system can be ensured by virtue of the FOTSM controller. (4) A finite-time disturbance observer (FTDO) is designed to deal with complex disturbances and sliding mode chattering phenomenon so that the end-effector of the manipulator can accurately track the desired trajectory in finite time. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed controller is superior to the state-of-the-art methods.

Available studies demonstrate that receptor-type tyrosine-protein phosphatase zeta (PTPRZ1) is expressed in different tumor tissues, and functions in cell proliferation, cell adhesion and migration, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, cancer stem cells and treatment resistance by interacting with or binding to several molecules. These included pleiotrophin (PTN), midkine, interleukin-34, β-catenin, VEGF, NF-κB, HIF-2, PSD-95, MAGI-3, contactin and ErbB4. PTPRZ1 was involved in survival signaling and could predict the prognosis of several tumors. This review discusses: the current knowledge about PTPRZ1, its expression, co-receptors, ligands, functions, signaling pathway, prognostic values and therapeutic agents that target PTPRZ1.

We demonstrated an ultrafast Yb-doped fiber laser with a single mode fiber-graded index multimode fiber-single mode fiber (SMF-GIMF-SMF) structure based saturable absorber. The GIMF was placed in the groove of an in-line fiber polarization controller to adjust its birefringence, enabling the SMF-GIMF-SMF structure to realize efficient saturable absorption based on nonlinear multimode interference without strict length restriction. By adjusting two intra-cavity polarization controllers, stable dissipation solitons and noise-like pulses were achieved in the 1030 nm waveband with pulse durations of 10.67 ps and 276 fs, respectively. We also realized Q-switched mode-locked pulses in the same fiber laser cavity. By the dispersive Fourier transform method, the real-time spectral evolution in the buildup process of the Q-switched mode-locked state was captured, which showed that the continuous-wave in this laser could gradually evolved into the stable Q-switched mode-locked pulses through unstable self-pulsation, relaxation oscillation and rogue Q-switching stage. To the best of our knowledge, our work reveals the buildup dynamics of the Q-switched mode-locked operation in a fiber laser for the first time. And we also studied the real-time spectral evolution of the stable Q-switched mode-locked pulses, which exhibited periodic breathing property.

Low-threshold and narrow-pulse-width Q-switched optical pulses are obtained using a tapered fiber-based WTe2-graphene saturable absorber (SA) in an erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) for the first time. Benefiting from the low unsaturated loss of graphene, the Q-switching threshold (25.8 mW) is an order of magnitude lower than that using SA with WTe2 only. Meanwhile, owing to the high carrier mobility of WTe2, the minimum pulse width (1.2 µs) is the narrowest among the graphene-based fiber lasers. The results indicate the potential of the WTe2-graphene SA in future application and development of laser pulses.

In this paper, a hybrid adaptive path planning (HAPP) scheme based on global path planning and local dynamic collision avoidance for unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) under complex marine environment is proposed. The salient features of the proposed scheme are: (1) In order to ensure that the USV can navigate safely, an improved obstacle swelling binary (IOSB) map is established. (2) In order to generate effective sparse waypoints in the complex marine environment, a novel global path planning algorithm, called IOSB adaptive Theta* (IOSB- AT*) is developed, and the waypoints are converted into a smooth path suitable for USVs after employing the B-spline fitting algorithm. (3) In order for the USV to cope with real marine environment containing dynamic obstacles, an improved dynamic window approach is proposed. Simulation and comparative studies demonstrate the safety, effectiveness and real-time performance of the proposed hybrid path planning scheme under complex marine environment.

Based on the background of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the questionnaire data was collected from 239 export-oriented enterprises in Guangdong with a view to analyze the demand structure for business English talents through SPSS17.0. The demand structure for business English talents in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area includes the flowing dimensions: “professional knowledge”, “external communication”, “professional competence” and “professional ethics”. In the city with higher economic level, there is a higher demand for the “professional ethics” of business English talents. State-owned enterprises and foreign-funded enterprises (including Sino-foreign joint ventures, Sino-foreign cooperative enterprises, wholly foreign-owned enterprises) have higher requirements for the “professional ethics” dimension of business English talents, while private enterprises have higher requirements for the “external communication” dimension of business English talents. Large enterprises and small and micro enterprises have higher requirements for the “external communication” dimension of business English talents, while medium-sized enterprises have higher requirements for the “professional ethics” of business English talents. Finally this paper puts forward suggestions to the colleges and universities on business English talents’ cultivating.

Objective We investigated the effect of untransplantable bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in acute lung injury (ALI) and whether BMSCs attenuate damage of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to alveolar type II epithelial cells (AECIIs). Methods ALI models were prepared by nebulizing LPS and then BMSCs were infused 1 hour later. We observed histopathological changes of lung tissue and evaluated inflammatory exudation by the wet/dry weight ratio, bronchiolar lavage fluid cell count, and protein concentration determination. Inflammatory and vascular factors were detected by immunohistochemistry and western blotting. For in vitro experiments, AECIIs were stimulated with 10 μg/mL LPS for 4 hours and then BMSCs were seeded in transit inserts to co-culture for 24 hours. The activity of AECIIs was detected. Results In the LPS + BMSCs group, histopathological examination showed that the degree of lung injury was significantly reduced compared with the LPS group. Protein expression of inflammatory and vascular factors was significantly lower with treatment. Optical density values and cell viability of the LPS + BMSCs group were significantly higher than those of the LPS group. Conclusions Untransplanted-BMSCs can inhibit the inflammatory response in ALI and promote repair of AECIIs. This might be due to substances secreted by BMSCs and interaction between these substances.

Background Chemotherapy is the primary established systemic treatment for patients with breast cancer, especially those with the triple-negative subtype. Simultaneously, the resistance of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) to chemotherapy remains a major clinical problem. Our previous study demonstrated that the expression levels of PTN and its receptor PTPRZ1 were upregulated in recurrent TNBC tissue after chemotherapy, and this increase was closely related to poor prognosis in those patients. However, the mechanism and function of chemotherapy-driven increases in PTN/PTPRZ1 expression are still unclear. Methods We compared the expression of PTN and PTPRZ1 between normal breast and cancer tissues as well as before and after chemotherapy in cancer tissue using the microarray analysis data from the GEPIA database and GEO database. The role of chemotherapy-driven increases in PTN/PTPRZ1 expression was examined with a CCK-8 assay, colony formation efficiency assay and apoptosis analysis with TNBC cells. The potential upstream pathways involved in the chemotherapy-driven increases in PTN/PTPRZ1 expression in TNBC cells were explored using microarray analysis, and the downstream mechanism was dissected with siRNA. Results We demonstrated that the expression of PTN and PTPRZ1 was upregulated by chemotherapy, and this change in expression decreased chemosensitivity by promoting tumour proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis. CDKN1A was the critical switch that regulated the expression of PTN/PTPRZ1 in TNBC cells receiving chemotherapy. We further demonstrated that the mechanism of chemoresistance by chemotherapy-driven increases in the CDKN1A/PTN/PTPRZ1 axis depended on the NF-κB pathway. Conclusions Our studies indicated that chemotherapy-driven increases in the CDKN1A/PTN/PTPRZ1 axis play a critical role in chemoresistance, which suggests a novel strategy to enhance chemosensitivity in breast cancer cells, especially in those of the triple-negative subtype.

The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is an emerging technology for ambient mechanical energy harvesting, which provides a possibility to realize wild environment monitoring by self-powered sensing systems. However, TENGs are limited in some practical applications as a result of their low output performance (low charge density) and mechanical durability (material abrasion). Herein, an ultrarobust and high-performance rotational TENG enabled by automatic mode switching (contact mode at low speed and noncontact at high speed) and charge excitation is proposed. It displays excellent stability, maintaining 94% electrical output after 72 000 cycles, much higher than that of the normal contact-mode TENG (30%). Due to its high electrical stability and large electrical output, this TENG powers 944 green light-emitting diodes to brightness in series. Furthermore, by harvesting water-flow energy, various commercial capacitors can be charged quickly, and a self-powered fire alarm and self-powered temperature and humidity detection are realized. This work provides an ideal scheme for enhancing the mechanical durability, broadening the range of working frequency, and improving the electrical output of TENGs. In addition, the high-performance hydrodynamic TENG demonstrated in this work will have great applications for Internet of Things in remote areas.

All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) regulates skin cell proliferation and differentiation. ATRA is widely used in the treatment of skin diseases, but results in irritation, dryness and peeling, possibly due to an impaired skin barrier, although the exact mechanisms are unclear. The present study established an ATRA-associated dermatitis mouse model (n=32) in order to examine the molecular mechanisms of skin barrier impairment by ATRA. Changes in epidermal morphology and structure were observed using histological examination and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Gene expression was analyzed by microarray chip assay. Histology and TEM demonstrated pronounced epidermal hyperproliferation and parakeratosis upon ATRA application. The stratum corneum layer displayed abnormal lipid droplets and cell-cell junctions, suggesting alterations in lipid metabolism and dysfunctional cell junctions. Gene expression profiling revealed that factors associated with epidermal barrier function were differentially expressed by ATRA, including those associated with tight junctions (TJs), cornified envelopes, lipids, proteases, protease inhibitors and transcription factors. In the mouse epidermis, Claudin-1 and -4 are proteins involved in TJs and have key roles in epidermal barrier function. ATRA reduced the expression and altered the localization of Claudin-1 in HaCaT immortalized keratinocytes and the mouse epidermis, which likely leads to the disruption of the epidermal barrier. By contrast, Claudin-4 was upregulated in HaCaT cells and the mouse epidermis following treatment with ATRA. In conclusion, ATRA exerts a dual effect on epidermal barrier genes: It downregulates the expression of Claudin-1 and upregulates the expression of Claudin-4. Claudin-4 upregulation may be a compensatory response for the disrupted barrier function caused by Claudin-1 downregulation.

Soliton dynamics are numerically investigated in a two-mode fiber with the two-photon absorption, and the effects of the two-photon absorption on the soliton propagation and interaction are demonstrated in different dispersion regimes. Soliton dynamics depend strictly on the sign and magnitude of the group velocity dispersion (GVD) coefficient of each mode and the strength (coefficient) of the two-photon absorption. The two-photon absorption leads to the soliton collapse, enhances the neighboring soliton interaction in both modes, and increases the energy exchange between the two modes. Finally, an available control is proposed to suppress the effects by the use of the nonlinear gain with filter.

The traditional multi-agent method has a slow convergence speed and needs to train many parameter groups. If no algorithm optimization is performed, it takes a lot of time to reach a large number in order to achieve optimal results in the whole process. We optimize the parameter settings in the traditional algorithm training process, accelerate the convergence speed of the intelligent body in learning, and achieve the convergence effect faster.

The MDNet algorithm works well on tracking problems of the video sequence, but the speed is very slow. We have made some improvements to accelerate the process of feature extraction. It enhances the expressive ability of the feature map by removing the max pooling layer and using the method of expanding convolution to increase the receptive field of each point on the feature map. In addition, MDNet is building on CNN, and there are problems that similar targets have a large interference to the results. To address this problem, We use RNN to capture the long-term dependence of the target before and after the target data in the sequence data, and introduce the RNN to model the structure information of the target object, and then fuse the RNN feature and CNN feature of the tracked target object. In addition, another new loss term is introduced to make the targets in different domains away from each other in the shared feature space, thereby improving the algorithm’s ability to discriminate similar interferers. Compared with MDNet, our improved algorithm is much faster and the accuracy is improved.