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The Candida haemulonii complex includes emerging opportunistic human fungal pathogens with documented multidrug-resistance profiles. It comprises Candida haemulonii sensu stricto, Candida haemulonii var. vulnera, Candida duobushaemulonii, Candida pseudohaemulonii, and Candida vulturna. In recent years, rates of clinical isolation of strains from this complex have increased in multiple countries, including China, Malaysia, and Brazil. Biofilm formation, hydrolytic enzymes, surface interaction properties, phenotype switching and cell aggregation abilities, extracellular vesicles production, stress response, and immune evasion help these fungi to infect the host and exert pathological effects. Multidrug resistance profiles also enhance the threat they pose; they exhibit low susceptibility to echinocandins and azoles and an intrinsic resistance to amphotericin B (AMB), the first fungal-specific antibiotic. AMB is commonly employed in antifungal treatments, and it acts via several known mechanisms. Given the propensity of clinical Candida species to initiate bloodstream infections, clarifying how C. haemulonii resists AMB is of critical clinical importance. This review outlines our present understanding of the C. haemulonii complex's virulence factors, the mechanisms of action of AMB, and the mechanisms underlying AMB resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mustard is an important cash crop of the genus Brassica in the family Cruciferae. Low temperature is an important environmental factor limiting the growth of mustard. In this study, 65 leafy mustard cultivars were used as experimental materials, 25 °C was set as the control temperature, and 5 °C was set as chilling stress temperature to investigated the physiological response of chlorophyll (Chl) content, soluble sugar (SS) content, proline (Pro) content, antioxidant enzyme activity, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and chlorophyll fluorescence to chilling injury. The chilling tolerance coefficients of each individual index were measured and correlation analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), the membership function method, and cluster analysis were applied to evaluate chilling tolerance. In a comprehensive analysis, the most chilling-tolerant cultivar was SJTKJ, the least chilling-tolerant cultivar was DX. Stepwise regression was used to establish a mathematical model for evaluating the chilling tolerance of mustard, and four chilling tolerance identification indices, including Fv/Fm, ΦPSII, POD activity, and Rfd were screened. This study provides a reference for the evaluation of the chilling tolerance of mustard and the breeding of new chilling-tolerant cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To summarise the development, hot topics, and future trends in TDF-related research and provide implementation practitioners with more information on the application of TDF. Methods: We used TDF as the topic and searched the ISI Web of Science Core Collection, identifying 1382 relevant publications. We used analytical tools such as Excel, Tableau, VOSviewer, and Citespace to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the relevant publication. Results: We identified the United Kingdom as the primary contributor, with University College London as the key institution. Susan Michie ranked highest in total citations. The analysis highlighted cancer and stroke as primary clinic medicine-related topics using TDF. Emerging themes encompass abuse, violence, maternal health, antenatal care, patient involvement, and trauma-informed care et al. "Nurse" and "qualitative research" emerged as recent and enduring hotspots, possibly indicating future research trends. Conclusion: This article represents the first attempt to summarise the TDF using bibliometric analysis. We suggest this method can be used to analyse other theoretical frameworks in scientific implementation of its objectivity and quantifiability. Overall, the application scope of TDF is shifting from public health towards more specialised clinical directions, although its application in the field of public health is continuously expanding. In the future, the number of users of TDF is also expected to expand from implementation scientists to professional technical personnel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automatic harvesting robots are crucial for enhancing agricultural productivity, and precise fruit maturity detection is a fundamental and core technology for efficient and accurate harvesting. Strawberries are distributed irregularly, and their images contain a wealth of characteristic information. This characteristic information includes both simple and intuitive features, as well as deeper abstract meanings. These complex features pose significant challenges to robots in determining fruit ripeness. To increase the precision, accuracy, and efficiency of robotic fruit maturity detection methods, a strawberry maturity detection algorithm based on an improved CES-YOLOv8 network structure from YOLOv8 was developed in this study. Initially, to reflect the characteristics of actual planting environments, the study collected image data under various lighting conditions, degrees of occlusion, and angles during the data collection phase. Subsequently, parts of the C2f module in the YOLOv8 model's backbone were replaced with the ConvNeXt V2 module to enhance the capture of features in strawberries of varying ripeness, and the ECA attention mechanism was introduced to further improve feature representation capability. Finally, the angle compensation and distance compensation of the SIoU loss function were employed to enhance the IoU, enabling the rapid localization of the model's prediction boxes. The experimental results show that the improved CES-YOLOv8 model achieves an accuracy, recall rate, mAP50, and F1 score of 88.20%, 89.80%, 92.10%, and 88.99%, respectively, in complex environments, indicating improvements of 4.8%, 2.9%, 2.05%, and 3.88%, respectively, over those of the original YOLOv8 network. This algorithm provides technical support for automated harvesting robots to achieve efficient and precise automated harvesting. Additionally, the algorithm is adaptable and can be extended to other fruit crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The visible-light-driven photocatalytic production of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is currently an emerging approach for transforming solar energy into chemical energy. In general, the photocatalytic process for producing H2O2 includes two pathways: the water oxidation reaction (WOR) and the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, the utilization efficiency of ORR surpasses that of WOR, leading to a discrepancy with the low oxygen levels in natural water and thereby impeding their practical application. Herein, we report a novel donor–bridge–acceptor (D-B-A) organic polymer conjugated by the Sonogashira–Hagihara coupling reaction with tetraphenylethene (TPE) units as the electron donors, acetylene (A) as the connectors and pyrene (P) moieties as the electron acceptors. Notably, the resulting TPE-A-P exhibits a remarkable solar-to-chemical conversion of 1.65% and a high BET-specific surface area (1132 m2·g−1). Furthermore, even under anaerobic conditions, it demonstrates an impressive H2O2 photosynthetic efficiency of 1770 μmol g−1 h−1, exceeding the vast majority of previously reported photosynthetic systems of H2O2. The outstanding performance is attributed to the effective separation of electrons and holes, along with the presence of sufficient reaction sites facilitated by the incorporation of alkynyl electronic bridges. This protocol presents a successful method for generating H2O2 via a water oxidation reaction, signifying a significant advancement towards practical applications in the natural environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to International Diabetes Federation Diabetes Atlas statistics, diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of vision loss in blinding diseases. The underlying cause of retinal vasculopathy progression in diabetic patients is hyperglycemia and hypoxia features in microvascular region. Hence, cyanobacteria are used as carriers to load both gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) with glucose oxidase‐like activity and iridium nanoparticles (Ir NPs) with catalase‐like activity, respectively (Cyano@Au@Ir). The Au NPs nanozyme first degrades glucose into hydrogen peroxide, which is further decomposed into H2O and O2 by the Ir NPs to complete the cascade hypoglycemic reaction. Based on the unique light transmittance of eyeball and the accumulation of light in the retinal area, the sustainable O2 production by Cyano greatly alleviates the hypoxia of microenvironment, leading to the decrease of angiogenic growth factor and hypoxia‐inducible factor expressions. Simultaneously, the highly expressed peroxide in the DR microenvironment can also be eliminated by Ir NPs for anti‐inflammatory property. Furthermore, it is demonstrated in DR animal model that Cyano@Au@Ir significantly reduces neovascular progression and vascular leakage. This novel treatment mode fundamentally degrades blood glucose, continuously supplies O2, and scavenges free radicals for comprehensive microenvironment regulation, providing inspirations for solving fundus complications of DR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the rapid increase of population density and automobile vehicle numbers in mega-cities, large underground garages have become universal supporting facilities to meet the demand for parking spaces in the recently-built commercial complexes and high-rise residential communities. Natural ventilation was insufficient to discharge vehicle-induced pollutants out of the enclosed underground spaces, which could pose a potential threat to people's health. This study aims to determine the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of pollutants concentration and the health risk of underground parking garages (UPGs)' staff and users. Field measurements were conducted on the air pollutants concentrations and the users' exposure characteristics in 11 commercial UPGs and three high-rise residential UPGs with natural ventilation in Xi'an. The pollutants concentrations were higher in the afternoon and morning of commercial and high-rise residential UPGs. In general, the particulate matters (PM2.5 and PM10), HCHO, TVOC and BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes) concentrations in commercial and residential UPGs were 0.069/0.067 mg/m³, 0.12/0.097 mg/m³, 0.014/0.017 mg/m³, 1.8/1.8 mg/m³, 0.056/0.10 mg/m³, 0.19/0.29 mg/m³ and 0.41/0.49 mg/m³, respectively. TVOC and BTEX concentrations in UPGs significantly correlated with traffic volume (p < 0.01). In different groups, the entropy values of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks were: staffs > children travelling with adults > adults. In particular, occupational long-term (employee) exposure could lead to both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: To examine central corneal thickness (CCT) changes during in vivo rose bengal-green light corneal cross-linking (RG-CXL) and compare the CXL efficacy of different rose bengal formulations. METHODS: After epithelium removal, the right eyes of rabbits were immersed in rose bengal solution prepared by different solvents (water, phosphate buffered saline, dextran, and hydroxypropyl methylcellulos [HPMC]) for 2 or 20 minutes, then the rose bengal distribution in the corneal stroma was analyzed by confocal fluorescence detection. During the RG-CXL process, the CCT was measured at seven time points. The left eyes served as the untreated control group. Corneal enzymatic resistance and corneal biomechanics were tested to compare the RG-CXL efficacy. RESULTS: The rose bengal infiltration depths were 120 and 200 µm for the 2- and 20-minute groups, respectively. CCT increased significantly after infiltration, then decreased significantly in the first 200 seconds of irradiation and decreased slowly for the next 400 seconds. The CCT of the 20-minute groups was significantly thicker than that of the 2-minute groups (P <.0001). All RG-CXL treatments improved the corneal enzymatic resistance and corneal biomechanics, with the effects being greater in the 20-minute groups. The inclusion of 1.1% HPMC in the rose bengal formulation helped to maintain CCT during irradiation while not affecting either the infiltration of rose bengal or the efficacy of RG-CXL. CONCLUSIONS: Within the range studied, RG-CXL efficacy increased with infiltration time. The incorporation of a 20-minute infiltration of 0.1% rose bengal-1.1% HPMC into the RG-CXL procedure may further improve the safety of the treatment and its prospects for clinical use. [J Refract Surg. 2022;38(7):450–458.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The materials used for the fabrication of solid‐phase microextraction fiber coatings in the past five years are summarized in the current review, including carbon, metal‐organic frameworks, covalent organic frameworks, aerogel, polymer, ionic liquids/poly (ionic liquids), metal oxides, and natural materials. The preparation approaches of different coatings, such as sol‐gel technique, in‐situ growth, electrodeposition, and glue methods, are briefly reviewed together with the evolution of the supporting substrates. In addition, the limitations of the current coatings and the future development directions of solid‐phase microextraction are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Affecting ~1% of the world population, schizophrenia is known as one of the costliest and most burdensome diseases worldwide. Antipsychotic medications are the main treatment for schizophrenia to control psychotic symptoms and efficiently prevent new crises. However, due to poor compliance, 74% of patients with schizophrenia discontinue medication within 1.5 years, which severely affects recovery and prognosis. Through research on intra and interindividual variability based on a psychopathology–neuropsychology–neuroimage–genetics–physiology-biochemistry model, our main objective is to investigate an optimized and individualized antipsychotic-treatment regimen and precision treatment for first-episode schizophrenic patients. Methods and Analysis: The study is performed in 20 representative hospitals in China. Three subprojects are included. In subproject 1, 1,800 first-episode patients with schizophrenia are randomized into six different antipsychotic monotherapy groups (olanzapine, risperidone, aripiprazole, ziprasidone, amisulpride, and haloperidol) for an 8-week treatment. By identifying a set of potential biomarkers associated with antipsychotic treatment response, we intend to build a prediction model, which includes neuroimaging, epigenetics, environmental stress, neurocognition, eye movement, electrophysiology, and neurological biochemistry indexes. In subproject 2, apart from verifying the prediction model established in subproject 1 based on an independent cohort of 1,800 first-episode patients with schizophrenia, we recruit patients from a verification cohort who did not get an effective response after an 8-week antipsychotic treatment into a randomized double-blind controlled trial with minocycline (200 mg per day) and sulforaphane (3 tables per day) to explore add-on treatment for patients with schizophrenia. Two hundred forty participants are anticipated to be enrolled for each group. In subproject 3, we tend to carry out one trial to construct an intervention strategy for metabolic syndrome induced by antipsychotic treatment and another one to build a prevention strategy for patients at a high risk of metabolic syndrome, which combines metformin and lifestyle intervention. Two hundred participants are anticipated to be enrolled for each group. Ethics and Dissemination: The study protocol has been approved by the Medical Ethics committee of the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University (No. 2017027). Results will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals and at international conferences. Trial Registration: This trial has been registered on Clinicalrials.gov (NCT03451734). The protocol version is V.1.0 (April 23, 2017). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel method of preparing reduced graphene oxide (rGO)–silicon (Si) junctions free from native silicon oxide layer at room temperature is reported. The method is based on a simultaneous reduction–dissolution reaction between graphene oxide (GO) and fresh Si atoms with the assistance of dilute hydrofluoric acid (HF). The rGO–Si junction is characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. A reaction mechanism is proposed that Si is oxidized and dissolved by HF, which transfers the electronic holes to GO and facilitates the removal of its oxygen-containing groups. The use of HF provides a unique benefit to the contact formation that native oxide on Si is removed by HF instantaneously and only fresh Si surface is in contact with rGO. Therefore, the method provides a new strategy of preparing rGO-native oxide-free Si interface, which has been a fundamental challenge in the fabrication of graphene–Si junction. Electrical tests show that rGO–Si interface has a slightly higher barrier than Al–Si. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Beijing genotype is the most common type of tuberculosis in Jiangxi Province, China. The association of population characteristics and their prevalence in the development of recent transmission is still unclear. 1,433 isolates were subjected to drug-resistant tests and MIRU-VNTR analysis. We compared differences in demographic characteristics and drug resistance patterns between the Beijing and non-Beijing family strains. We also explored the association of the clustering rate with the Beijing genotype of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The Beijing genotype was dominant (78.16%). The results of MIRU-VNTR showed that 775 of 1,433 strains have unique patterns, and the remaining gather into 103 clusters. A recent transmission rate was 31.54% (452/1,433). The Beijing genotype strains were more likely to spread among the recurrent population (p = 0.004), people less than 50 years of age (p = 0.02 or 0.003), and the personnel in the northern regions (p = 0.03). Drug resistance patterns did not show significant differences between Beijing and non-Beijing genotype isolates. Furthermore, we found that HIV-positive cases had a lower clustering rate (p = 0.001). Our results indicated that the recurrent population and people under 50 years of age were more likely to be infected with the Beijing genotype of M. tuberculosis. The strains from the Beijing family were easier to cluster compared to strains isolated from the non-Beijing family. Social activity and AIDS substantially impacted the clustering rate of the Beijing genotype of M. tuberculosis. Multidrug resistant M. tuberculosis affected Beijing genotype transmission.

Abstract The purpose of this work was to investigate the feasibility of using black tea powder produced through green technology (plant-source material and biotechnology) as multifunctional admixture for the hemihydrate gypsum. The hemihydrate gypsums were mixed with black tea, and the setting times, densities, hydration characteristics and strengths of different plasters were discussed, and the mechanisms responsible for their performance variations were explored by isothermal calorimeter, X-ray powder diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy. Besides, the economic and environmental compatibilities were also considered. The results indicate that black tea lowers the water requirement and improves the normal consistency, and then the high density is acquired. It prolongs the setting times. Moreover, this prolongation is more remarkable as more black tea is introduced. The gypsum strength is related to the content of black tea. Moderate black tea has the positive role in the improvement of strength, but the excessive black tea poses a negative effect. Furthermore, black tea alters the gypsum hydration process. It decreases the hydration rate and delays the hydration time of gypsum. Although more black tea seriously delays the gypsum hydration, all hemihydrate gypsum thoroughly converts into dihydrate gypsum after 28d. SEM results show that black tea changes the gypsum crystal morphology. All gypsum crystals are long and needlelike in the hardened pastes with less than 1% black tea. However, these crystals become shorter and larger as more black tea is mixed. Various crystal morphologies mainly contribute to the strength alteration of gypsum with black tea. These results show that black tea can serve as an alternative to the traditional functional admixture and then acquire a green and sustainable technology for the preparation of hemihydrate gypsum functional admixture, but also expand the commercial utilization of black tea in the building materials industries and foster the development of building industry towards green-oriented and sustainability. Highlights • Black tea lowers the water requirement. • Moderate black tea improves the paste strength. • Black tea alters the gypsum hydration process. • Black tea changes the gypsum crystal morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to investigate the role and mechanism of action of ribonucleotide reductase M2 (RRM2) in lung adenocarcinoma and its potential as a therapeutic target. Data of patients with lung adenocarcinoma from The Cancer Genome Atlas database were collected and analyzed to evaluate the potential of RRM2 as a biomarker. The expression of RRM2 was evaluated in the A549 cell line and its cisplatin-resistant A549/DDP cell line derivative by western blot and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. The study also investigated cell proliferation and the mechanism by which RRM2 controls cellular cisplatin resistance using CCK-8 and colony-formation assays. In addition, cell migration was assessed using Transwell assays, and the cell cycle and apoptosis were examined using flow cytometry. RRM2 was highly expressed in lung adenocarcinoma and was associated with the clinical TMN stage. Functional enrichment analysis showed that RRM2 was enriched in the cell cycle. Immune cell infiltration analysis identified 12 types of immune cell that exhibited differences between patients expressing different levels of RRM2. Cellular assays revealed higher levels of RRM2 expression in A549/DDP cells than A549 cells, and its expression was induced by cisplatin. RRM2 knockdown decreased cell proliferation and migration, accelerated apoptosis and caused cell cycle arrest in the S-phase, increasing the sensitivity of A549 and A549/DDP cells to cisplatin through the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Overexpression of β-catenin reduced the effects of RRM2 knockdown on A549 cells. Lung adenocarcinoma growth may be influenced by RRM2 through the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, suggesting a potential pathway for cancer progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of using the plant-source polymer of the matcha powder as a composite admixture for hemihydrate gypsum. Hemihydrate gypsum was mixed with different contents of matcha powder, and then the water requirement for the normal consistency, setting times, density, strength, hydration and microstructure of the hardened mixture were evaluated. The experimental results showed that it increased the water requirement for the normal consistency, and it regulated the setting times and reduced the density. Hemihydrate gypsum with more matcha powder had the higher water requirement, longer setting times and lower density. Less than 1% matcha powder had slight impact on the strength of hardened paste, but more than 1% matcha powder had a remarkable one. Matcha powder changed the hydration process and prolonged the induction and acceleration period. Small needlelike crystals were transformed into longer, larger and thicker ones as more matcha powder was mixed. This case is closely related to the prolongation of the induction and acceleration period. Besides, more and larger pores were observed in the hardened paste with more matcha powder. It is attributed to the appearances of the tea polyphenol in matcha powder and the larger and longer crystal morphology in hardened paste as well as the high water requirement for the normal consistency. These results are important to the application of matcha powder as a composite admixture for the hemihydrate gypsum as well as the prosperity and development of the tea industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design and synthesis of novel high-performance solid phase microextraction (SPME) coatings towards organic pollutants with diverse chemical properties is still a challenge in sample preparation. Herein, a stable chitosan cross-linked graphene oxide (GOCS) aerogel was reported as a novel coating for solid phase microextraction. The interpenetrated meso- and macropores ensured the large surface area and high accessibility of the functional groups across the aerogel, resulting in high extraction performance towards target hydrophobic pollutants. The extraction capacities of the GOCS-coated SPME fiber towards analytes (e.g. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, organophosphorus pesticides, organochlorine pesticides, pyrethroids, and polychlorinated biphenyls) were about 0.5–13 times as high as those obtained by the commercial fibers (30 μm polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), 65 μm polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene (PDMS/DVB)), which was attributed to the hydrophobic, π-π, halogen bond and hydrogen bond interactions between the coating and the analytes. Under the optimized extraction conditions, superior analytical performances for PAHs were achieved with a wide linearity (0.5–1000 ng L−1), high enhancement factors (311–3740), and the low limits of detection (0.03–1.28 ng L−1). Finally, the GOCS-coated SPME fiber was successfully applied to the determination of PAHs in real water samples with good recoveries (91.6%–110%). [Display omitted] • The GOCS aerogel was synthesized and fabricated as a novel SPME fiber coating. • GOCS fiber exhibited high extraction efficiency for diverse hydrophobic pollutants. • Hydrophobic, π-π, halogen bond and hydrogen bond interaction affected the extraction. • The DI-SPME method was developed for PAHs detection with high sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Previously, we successfully established a d -galactose (d -gal)-induced astrocyte aging model in vitro. However, whether the changes in the aged astrocytes induced by d -gal are similar to those occurred in naturally are unknown. Therefore, in current study, we simultaneously established d -gal-induced and naturally aged astrocyte aging models in vitro to explore the age-related changes and to compare the differences in these two astrocyte aging models. The Seahorse Extracellular Flux Analyzer was used to examine the mitochondrial metabolism and glycolysis activities of the young and senescent astrocytes. The results showed that the mitochondrial ATP-linked oxygen consumption rates (OCRs) were decreased markedly both in the d -gal-induced and naturally occurring senescent astrocytes. The basal glycolysis activity was increased in the naturally occurring senescent astrocytes, whereas it was decreased in the d -gal-induced senescent astrocytes. Western blot analysis showed that isocitrate dehydrogenase 3 (IDH3), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) and malate dehydrogenase 2 (MDH2) were markedly decreased both in these two aging models, whereas the iron‑sulfur cluster assembly enzyme (ISCU) was up-regulated in the naturally occurring senescent astrocytes but was down-regulated in the d -gal-induced senescent astrocytes. The expression levels of glial glutamate transporter-1 (GLT-1), glutamine synthetase (GS) and γ-aminobutyric acid type B receptor subunit 2 (GABA B R2) were also markedly decreased in these two aging models. In addition, the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway was to be inactivated both in the d -gal-induced and naturally occurring senescent astrocytes. These results indicate that the age-related changes in d -gal-induced senescent astrocytes are not fully consistent with those in naturally occurring senescent astrocytes, and it may be not suitable to use d -gal-induced senescent astrocytes to replace the naturally occurring senescent astrocytes to explore the aging mechanisms under some circumstances. Highlights • Mitochondrial activity is decreased in d -gal-induced and naturally senescent astrocyte. • The basal glycolysis is increased in naturally senescent astrocyte. • The basal glycolysis is decreased in d -gal-induced senescent astrocyte. • GLT-1 and GS are decreased in d -gal-induced and naturally senescent astrocyte. • Changes in d -gal-induced and naturally senescent astrocyte are not fully consistent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]