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Abstract Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are important mechanisms for secondary injury after traumatic brain injury (TBI), which result in progressive pathophysiological exacerbation. Although the Fibronectin type III domain-containing 5 (FNDC5) was reported to repress oxidative stress by retaining mitochondrial biogenesis and dynamics, its possible role in the secondary injury after TBI remain obscure. In present study, we observed that the level of serum irisin (the cleavage product of FNDC5) significantly correlated with the neurological outcomes of TBI patients. Knockout of FNDC5 increased the lesion volume and exacerbated apoptosis and neurological deficits after TBI in mice, while FNDC5 overexpression yielded a neuroprotective effect. Moreover, FNDC5 deficiency disrupted mitochondrial dynamics and function. Activation of Sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) alleviated FNDC5 deficiency-induced disruption of mitochondrial dynamics and bioenergetics. In neuron-specific SIRT3 knockout mice, FNDC5 failed to attenuate TBI-induced mitochondrial damage and brain injuries. Mechanically, FNDC5 deficiency led to reduced SIRT3 expression via enhanced ubiquitin degradation of transcription factor Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2), which contributed to the hyperacetylation and inactivation of key regulatory proteins of mitochondrial dynamics and function, including OPA1 and SOD2. Finally, engineered RVG29-conjugated nanoparticles were generated to selectively and efficiently deliver irisin to the brain of mice, which yielded a satisfactory curative effect against TBI. In conclusion, FNDC5/irisin exerts a protective role against acute brain injury by promoting SIRT3-dependent mitochondrial quality control and thus represents a potential target for neuroprotection after TBI.

Abstract N 1-methyladenosine (m1A) RNA methylation is critical for regulating mRNA translation; however, its role in the development, progression, and immunotherapy response of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains largely unknown. Using Tgfbr1 and Pten conditional knockout (2cKO) mice, we found the neoplastic transformation of oral mucosa was accompanied by increased m1A modification levels. Analysis of m1A-associated genes identified TRMT61A as a key m1A writer linked to cancer progression and poor prognosis. Mechanistically, TRMT61A-mediated tRNA-m1A modification promotes MYC protein synthesis, upregulating programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression. Moreover, m1A modification levels were also elevated in tumors treated with oncolytic herpes simplex virus (oHSV), contributing to reactive PD-L1 upregulation. Therapeutic m1A inhibition sustained oHSV-induced antitumor immunity and reduced tumor growth, representing a promising strategy to alleviate resistance. These findings indicate that m1A inhibition can prevent immune escape after oHSV therapy by reducing PD-L1 expression, providing a mutually reinforcing combination immunotherapy approach.

Colonoscopy is a reliable diagnostic method to detect colorectal polyps early on and prevent colorectal cancer. The current examination techniques face a significant challenge of high missed rates, resulting in numerous undetected polyps and irregularities. Automated and real-time segmentation methods can help endoscopists to segment the shape and location of polyps from colonoscopy images in order to facilitate clinician’s timely diagnosis and interventions. Different parameters like shapes, small sizes of polyps, and their close resemblance to surrounding tissues make this task challenging. Furthermore, high-definition image quality and reliance on the operator make real-time and accurate endoscopic image segmentation more challenging. Deep learning models utilized for segmenting polyps, designed to capture diverse patterns, are becoming progressively complex. This complexity poses challenges for real-time medical operations. In clinical settings, utilizing automated methods requires the development of accurate, lightweight models with minimal latency, ensuring seamless integration with endoscopic hardware devices. To address these challenges, in this study a novel lightweight and more generalized Enhanced Nanonet model, an improved version of Nanonet using NanonetB for real-time and precise colonoscopy image segmentation, is proposed. The proposed model enhances the performance of Nanonet using Nanonet B on the overall prediction scheme by applying data augmentation, Conditional Random Field (CRF), and Test-Time Augmentation (TTA). Six publicly available datasets are utilized to perform thorough evaluations, assess generalizability, and validate the improvements: Kvasir-SEG, Endotect Challenge 2020, Kvasir-instrument, CVC-ClinicDB, CVC-ColonDB, and CVC-300. Through extensive experimentation, using the Kvasir-SEG dataset, our model achieves a mIoU score of 0.8188 and a Dice coefficient of 0.8060 with only 132,049 parameters and employing minimal computational resources. A thorough cross-dataset evaluation was performed to assess the generalization capability of the proposed Enhanced Nanonet model across various publicly available polyp datasets for potential real-world applications. The result of this study shows that using CRF (Conditional Random Fields) and TTA (Test-Time Augmentation) enhances performance within the same dataset and also across diverse datasets with a model size of just 132,049 parameters. Also, the proposed method indicates improved results in detecting smaller and sessile polyps (flats) that are significant contributors to the high miss rates.

[Objective] To achieve good internal quality control of determination of decamethylammonium chloride and benzalkonium chloride residues in drinking water by high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, and to promote the improvement of detection methods. [Methods] A mathematical model and fishbone diagram were established to evaluate the introduced uncertainty components, and the combined standard uncertainty and expanded uncertainty were calculated. [Results] Under the inclusion factor k=2, and the decamethylammonium chloride and benzalkonium chloride residue in drinking water samples was 4.3 μg/L and 4.7 μg/L and their expanded uncertainty U was 0.52 μg/L and 0.48 μg/L, respectively. [Conclusion] The uncertainty in determining the two disinfectants with high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry mainly comes from the preparation of the series standard solutions, determination repeatability, and instrument calibration, etc.

Modern food microbiology is a core compulsory course of Food Science and Engineering and an important course in the teaching system of Food majors. We have conducted a research on teaching reform in response to the current problems of outdated teaching content, single teaching methods, and unscientific teaching assessment methods in curriculum teaching. We have taken multiple strategies, including introducing hot cases related to food microbiology in class to update the teaching content, encouraging students to conduct microbiological thematic discussions and presentations in class, adding feedbacks after the “homework submission-review scoring” to achieve a closed-loop teaching. After three rounds of teaching reform practice, the students’ feedback was good, and the teaching effects of modern food microbiology has been significantly improved.

ABSTRACTStudies on the retrieval of ocean surface current by Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) mainly concentrate on coastal regions with land coverage, allowing for continuous land to estimate non-geophysical Doppler shifts. As a strong western boundary in the Western Pacific, the Kuroshio flows through mostly islands or open sea, and lacks land coverage for range bias correction. We propose a non-geophysical Doppler shift correction algorithm suitable for Kuroshio observation. Three solutions matching different land coverage were adopted in the range direction, and the scalloping was removed by using average filtering in the azimuth direction. Comparison between SAR radial velocity and Global Surface Lagrangian Drifter (GLD) reveals that the correlation coefficient (R2) increase to 0.686, and root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.215 m/s after non-geophysical corrections, while the wind-wave bias corrections make R2 increase to 0.806 and RMSE decrease to 0.13 m/s. There is also a good consistency between SAR inversion and Regional Ocean Circulation Model (ROMS). Sensitivity analysis illustrates that ascending pass is more suitable for monitoring Kuroshio, and high incidence angles are less affected by ocean conditions and non-geophysical factors. The algorithm can be used in regions with discontinuous or absent land.

Danshen-Shanzha Formula (DSF) is a well-known herbal combination comprising Radix Salvia Miltiorrhiza (known as Danshen in Chinese) and Fructus Crataegi (known as Shanzha in Chinese), It has been documented to exhibit considerable benefits for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, and was used extensively in the treatment of atherosclerotic cardiac and cerebral vascular diseases over decades. Despite several breakthroughs achieved in the basic research and clinical applications of DSF over the past decades, there is a lack of comprehensive reviews summarizing its features and research, which hinders further exploration and exploitation of this promising formula. This review aims to provide a comprehensive interpretation of DSF in terms of its ethnopharmacological relevance, preparation methods, chemical constituents, pharmacokinetic properties and pharmacological effects. The related information on Danshen, Shanzha, and DSF was obtained from internationally recognized online scientific databases, including Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Baidu Scholar, ScienceDirect, ACS Publications, Online Library, Wan Fang Database as well as Flora of China. Data were also gathered from documentations, printed works and classics, such as the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Chinese herbal classics, etc. Three essential avenues for future studies were put forward as follows: a) Develop and unify the standard preparation method of DSF as to achieve optimized pharmacological properties. b) Elucidate the functional mechanisms as well as the rationality and rule for the compatibility art of DSF by focusing on the clinic syndromes together with the subsequent development of preclinic study system in vitro and in vivo with consistent pathological features, pharmacokinetical behaviour and biomarkers. c) Perform more extensive clinical studies towards the advancement of mechanism-based on evidence-based medicine on the safety application of DSF. This review will provide substantial data support and broader perspective for further research on the renowned formula.

Endocrine-resistance remains a major challenge in estrogen receptor α positive (ERα+) breast cancer (BC) treatment and constitutively active somatic mutations in ERα are a common mechanism. There is an urgent need to develop novel drugs with new mode of mechanism to fight endocrine-resistance. Given aberrant ERα activity, we herein report the identification of novel covalent selective estrogen receptor degraders (cSERDs) possessing the advantages of both covalent and degradation strategies. A highly potent cSERD 29c was identified with superior anti-proliferative activity than fulvestrant against a panel of ERα+ breast cancer cell lines including mutant ERα. Crystal structure of ERα‒29c complex alongside intact mass spectrometry revealed that 29c disrupted ERα protein homeostasis through covalent targeting C530 and strong hydrophobic interaction collied on H11, thus enforcing a unique antagonist conformation and driving the ERα degradation. These significant effects of the cSERD on ERα homeostasis, unlike typical ERα degraders that occur directly via long side chains perturbing the morphology of H12, demonstrating a distinct mechanism of action (MoA). In vivo, 29c showed potent antitumor activity in MCF-7 tumor xenograft models and low toxicity. This proof-of-principle study verifies that novel cSERDs offering new opportunities for the development of innovative therapies for endocrine-resistant BC.

Abstract Herein, a metal-free electrochemical dihydroxylation of unactivated alkenes is described. The transformation proceeds smoothly under mild conditions with a broad range of unactivated alkenes, providing valuable and versatile dihydroxylated products in moderate to good yields without the addition of costly transition metals and stoichiometric amounts of chemical oxidants. Moreover, this method can be applied to a range of natural products and pharmaceutical derivatives, further demonstrating its synthetic utility. Mechanistic studies have revealed that iodohydrin and epoxide intermediate are formed during the reaction process.

Aboveground biomass (AGB) serves as a crucial indicator of the carbon sequestration capacity of coastal wetland ecosystems. Conducting extensive field surveys in coastal wetlands is both time-consuming and labor-intensive. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and satellite remote sensing have been widely utilized to estimate regional AGB. However, the mixed pixel effects in satellite remote sensing hinder the precise estimation of AGB, while high-spatial resolution UAVs face challenges in estimating large-scale AGB. To fill this gap, this study proposed an integrated approach for estimating AGB using field sampling, a UAV, and Sentinel-2 satellite data. Firstly, based on multispectral data from the UAV, vegetation indices were computed and matched with field sampling data to develop the Field–UAV AGB estimation model, yielding AGB results at the UAV scale (1 m). Subsequently, these results were upscaled to the Sentinel-2 satellite scale (10 m). Vegetation indices from Sentinel-2 data were calculated and matched to establish the UAV–Satellite AGB model, enabling the estimation of AGB over large regional areas. Our findings revealed the AGB estimation model achieved an R2 value of 0.58 at the UAV scale and 0.74 at the satellite scale, significantly outperforming direct modeling from field data to satellite (R2 = −0.04). The AGB densities of the wetlands in Xieqian Bay, Meishan Bay, and Hangzhou Bay, Zhejiang Province, were 1440.27 g/m2, 1508.65 g/m2, and 1545.11 g/m2, respectively. The total AGB quantities were estimated to be 30,526.08 t, 34,219.97 t, and 296,382.91 t, respectively. This study underscores the potential of integrating UAV and satellite remote sensing for accurately assessing AGB in large coastal wetland regions, providing valuable support for the conservation and management of coastal wetland ecosystems.

Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are the main causes of disability and death, and atherosclerosis is an important cause. The incidence of atherosclerosis in premenopausal women is significantly lower than that in men of the same age, while the incidence of atherosclerosis in postmenopausal women is significantly higher than that in men of the same age, which is closely related to estrogen levels. In this paper, sex differences in atherosclerosis were reviewed from the aspects of imaging examination, risk factors, intestinal microbiome and vascular inflammatory effects on atherosclerosis, to provide evidence for precision medical treatment of atherosclerosis.

Future field work tasks will require mountain tractors to pass through rough terrain with limited human supervision. The wheel–soil interaction plays a critical role in rugged terrain mobility. In this paper, an algorithm for the estimation of soil characteristic parameters based on the Simpson numerical integration method and Gauss–Newton iteration method is presented. These parameters can be used for passability prediction or in a traction control algorithm to improve tractor mobility and to plan safe operation paths for autonomous navigation systems. To verify the effectiveness of the solving algorithm, different initial values and soils were selected for simulation calculations of soil characteristic parameters such as internal friction angle, settlement index, and the joint parameter of soil cohesion modulus and friction modulus. The results show that the error was kept within 2%, and the calculation time did not exceed 0.84 s, demonstrating high robustness and real-time performance. To test the applicability of the algorithm model, further research was conducted using different wheel parameters of electric mountain tractors under wet clay conditions. The results show that these parameters also have high accuracy and stability with only a few iterations. Thus, the estimation algorithm can meet the requirements of quickly and accurately identifying soil characteristic parameters during tractor operation. A criterion for the passability of wheeled tractors through unknown terrain is proposed, utilizing identified soil parameters.

Abstract Quantitative research on the impact weight and impact of regional heterogeneity of urban spatial structure elements on carbon emissions efficiency can provide a scientific basis and practical guidance for low-carbon and sustainable urban development. This study uses the megacity of Chengdu as an example to measure and analyze the spatial carbon emission efficiency and multidimensional spatial structure elements by building a high-resolution grid and identifying the main spatial structure elements that affect urban carbon emissions and their impact weights via the Ordinary Least Squares regression (OLS) and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR). The spatial heterogeneity of the impact of each element is also explored. The results show that the overall carbon emission efficiency of Chengdu is high in the center and low on the sides, which is related to urban density, functional mix, land use, and traffic structure. However, the influence of each spatial structure element is different in the developed central areas, developing areas of the plain, mountainous developing areas, underdeveloped areas of the plain, and mountainous underdeveloped areas. Thus, it is appropriate to form differentiated urban planning strategies based on the characteristics of the development of each zone. The findings provide inspiration and a scientific basis for formulating policies and practice to the future low-carbon development of Chengdu, while provide a reference for other growing megacities.

Horizontal well and volume fracturing technology are the key technologies to develop unconventional reservoirs. Tight reservoir is belonging to multi-scale seepage mediaafter fracturing, and theflow of fluid in it is extremely complicated. In this paper, based on the boundary element method (BEM), the seepage model of horizontal wells with complex fracture networks in irregular boundary reservoir is established for the first time. The model takes into account the influence of irregular reservoir boundary, dual media, complex fracture network and interference of multiple wells on horizontal well seepage. Using this model, the sensitivity analysis of wellbore storage coefficient, skin factor, fracture permeability and interporosity transfer coefficient is carried out. The model expands the application scope of BEM in the field of seepage simulation of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs and provides theoretical guidance for the development of tight oil reservoirs.

Abstract Introduction Numerous studies have found that expert players anticipate better than novices. If more accurate prediction represents performance monitoring of experts, what are the advantages of elite basketball players in identifying and processing available cues? There is still a lack of sufficient evidence. This study examined the visual search in basketball players and explored the performance monitoring of action anticipation, adopting an expert–novice paradigm and eye‐movement technology. Methods Forty basketball players were recruited in this study: 20 in the expert group and 20 in the novice group. Participants were asked to predict the outcome of videotaped basketball throws and their accuracy and eye‐movement characteristics were record. Results The accuracy of the expert was significantly higher than that of the novice. The experts were able to instantly search and identify important cues in anticipation, and the gaze area of the experts was concentrated on the area of interest of the body. Additionally, the expert group showed long, repetitive, and rapid visual search of vital information, and improved their performance of the task. Conclusion The experts could monitor the performance of prediction by grabbing vital shooting information (such as the body of a player). The results suggest the athletes and coaches that if they want to improve the ability of prediction, it may be useful to shift their focus of attention from ball trajectory to body action.

BackgroundAs the SARS-CoV-2 attenuates and antibodies from the COVID-19 vaccine decline, long-term attention should be paid to the durability of primary booster administration and the preventive effect of the second or multiple booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore the durability of primary booster administration and the preventive effect of second or multiple booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. MethodsWe established a bidirectional cohort in Guizhou Province, China. Eligible participants who had received the primary booster dose were enrolled for blood sample collection and administration of the second booster dose. A retrospective cohort for the time of administration was constructed to evaluate antibody attenuation 6-12 months after the primary booster dose, while a prospective cohort on the vaccine effect of the second booster dose was constructed for 4 months after the second administration. ResultsBetween September 21, 2022, and January 30, 2023, a total of 327 participants were included in the final statistical analysis plan. The retrospective cohort revealed that approximately 6-12 months after receiving the primary booster, immunoglobulin G (IgG) slowly declined with time, while immunoglobulin A (IgA) remained almost constant. The prospective cohort showed that 28 days after receiving the second booster, the antibody levels were significantly improved. Higher levels of IgG and IgA were associated with better protection against COVID-19 infection for vaccine recipients. Regarding the protection of antibody levels against post–COVID-19 symptoms, the increase of the IgG had a protective effect on brain fog and sleep quality, while IgA had a protective effect on shortness of breath, brain fog, impaired coordination, and physical pain. ConclusionsThe IgG and IgA produced by the second booster dose of COVID-19 vaccines can protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection and may alleviate some post–COVID-19 symptoms. Further data and studies on secondary booster administration are required to confirm these conclusions.

Phosphorus with an oxidation state intermediate between phosphate and phosphide is identified in a calcium phosphite material within a lightning-produced fulgurite from New Port Richey, Florida, USA using nanotomography and micro-analytical observations.

This work presents an in-situ readout of the transient photoresponse of a graphene-oxide-semiconductor heterostructure by utilizing graphene’s field-effect coupling with the silicon photogate. The reported device which acts as a graphene charge-coupled device (GCCD) pixel is set into pre-avalanche condition by dynamic sinusoidal biasing and then exposed with pulsed illumination. The initial photo-ionized charge packet experiences pre-integration carrier multiplication, boosting the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) before interacting with the surface traps and defects. The maximum multiplication factor of $\mathrm {\sim }8.5$ and responsivity of $\mathrm {350 A/W}$ are achieved. Arrhenius plots show the viability of operating the device at room temperature as thermal charge contribution is negligible. Moreover, a detailed discussion on reduced power consumption for such a sinusoidal charge-coupled device (CCD) drive concept is also incorporated. The presented technique paves the way for futuristic sinusoidally-driven graphene-silicon-based electron-multiplying CCDs with low-power surveillance and adaptive optics applications.

Human cord blood–endothelial progenitor cells (hCB-EPCs) isolated from the human umbilical cord can be used to repair damaged arteries. In this study, we used an animal model with pathological changes that mimics artery wall damage caused by stent retrievers in humans. We injected hCB-EPCs to investigate their effect on endothelial hyperplasia and dysfunction during intimal repair. Four groups were established based on the length of reperfusion (3 and 28 days), as well as the presence or absence of hCB-EPC therapy. Damage to the internal carotid artery was evaluated by hematoxylin-eosin and immunohistochemical staining. Stroke volume was not significantly different between non-EPC and EPC groups although EPC treatment alleviated intimal hyperplasia 28 days after intimal damage. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and eNOS expression were significantly higher in the EPC-treated group than in the non-EPC group 3 days after intimal damage. In addition, MMP9 and 4HNE expression in the EPC-treated group was significantly lower than in the non-EPC group. Ultimately, this study found that venous transplantation of hCB-EPCs could inhibit neointimal hyperplasia, alleviate endothelial dysfunction, suppress intimal inflammation, and reduce oxidative stress during healing of intimal damage.

IntroductionPantoea anthophila (P. anthophila) is a Gram-negative bacterium initially isolated from Impatiens balsamina in India. P. anthophila has been characterized with low pathogenicity, and no human infections caused by this organism have been reported yet. We report the first case of urinary tract infection caused by P. anthophila in a 73-year-old man after bladder cancer surgery.MethodsThe bacterial isolate gained from urine was named UI705 and identified as P. anthophila by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The genome sequencing and analysis were performed to further characterize the pathogenesis of the clinical isolate.Result and discussionTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of human infection caused by P. anthophila in China. The draft genome sequence of P. anthophila UI705 provides a fundamental resource for subsequent investigation of its virulence factors, antibiotic resistance, host–pathogen interactions, and comparative genomics of genus Pantoea.

Reduced-oxidation-state phosphorus (reduced P, hereafter) compounds were likely available on the early Earth via meteorites or through various geologic processes. Due to their reactivity and high solubility, these compounds could have played a significant role in the origin of various organophosphorus compounds of biochemical significance. In the present work, we study the reactions between reduced P compounds and their oxidation products, with the three nucleosides (uridine, adenosine, and cytidine), with organic alcohols (glycerol and ethanolamine), and with the tertiary ammonium organic compound, choline chloride. These reactions were studied in the non-aqueous solvent formamide and in a semi-aqueous solvent comprised of urea: ammonium formate: water (UAFW, hereafter) at temperatures of 55–68 °C. The inorganic P compounds generated through Fenton chemistry readily dissolve in the non-aqueous and semi-aqueous solvents and react with organics to form organophosphites and organophosphates, including those which are identified as phosphate diesters. This dual approach (1) use of non-aqueous and semi-aqueous solvents and (2) use of a reactive inorganic P source to promote phosphorylation and phosphonylation reactions of organics readily promoted anhydrous chemistry and condensation reactions, without requiring any additive, catalyst, or other promoting agent under mild heating conditions. We also present a comparative study of the release of P from various prebiotically relevant phosphate minerals and phosphite salts (e.g., vivianite, apatite, and phosphites of iron and calcium) into formamide and UAFW. These results have direct implications for the origin of biological P compounds from non-aqueous solvents of prebiotic provenance.

Deuterium-labelled compounds are useful for mechanistic studies and pharmaceutical science, but syntheses are not trivial. Here, the authors report deuteration of unactivated alkyl (pseudo)halides driven by electrochemical force, using deuterium oxide as the source of the isotope.

Abstract In this study, we build a multi‐station phase‐picking model named EdgePhase by integrating an Edge Convolutional module with a state‐of‐the‐art single‐station phase‐picking model, EQTransformer. The Edge Convolutional module, a variant of Graph Neural Network, exchanges information relevant to seismic phases between neighboring stations. In EdgePhase, seismograms are first encoded into the latent representations, then converted into enhanced representations by the Edge Convolutional module, and finally decoded into the P‐ and S‐phase probabilities. Compared to the standard EQTransformer, EdgePhase increases the precision (fraction of phase identifications that are real) and recall (fraction of phase arrivals that are identified) rate by 5% on our training and test data sets of Southern California earthquakes. To evaluate its performance in regions of different tectonic settings, we applied EdgePhase to detect the early aftershocks following the 2020 M7.0 Samos, Greece earthquake. Compared to a local earthquake catalog, EdgePhase produced 190% additional detections with an event distribution more conformative to a planar fault interface, suggesting higher fidelity in event locations. This case study indicates that EdgePhase provides a strong regional generalization capability in real‐world applications.

Stem cell-based therapy has been used to treat ischaemic heart diseases for two decades. However, optimal cell types and transplantation methods remain unclear. This study evaluated the therapeutic effects of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell (hUCMSC) sheet on myocardial infarction (MI). Methods: hUCMSCs expressing luciferase were generated by lentiviral transduction for in vivo bio-luminescent imaging tracking of cells. We applied a temperature-responsive cell culture surface-based method to form the hUCMSC sheet. Cell retention was evaluated using an in vivo bio-luminescent imaging tracking system. Unbiased transcriptional profiling of infarcted hearts and further immunohistochemical assessment of monocyte and macrophage subtypes were used to determine the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of the hUCMSC sheet. Echocardiography and pathological analyses of heart sections were performed to evaluate cardiac function, angiogenesis and left ventricular remodelling. Results: When transplanted to the infarcted mouse hearts, hUCMSC sheet significantly improved the retention and survival compared with cell suspension. At the early stage of MI, hUCMSC sheet modulated inflammation by decreasing Mcp1-positive monocytes and CD68-positive macrophages and increasing Cx3cr1-positive non-classical macrophages, preserving the cardiomyocytes from acute injury. Moreover, the extracellular matrix produced by hUCMSC sheet then served as bioactive scaffold for the host cells to graft and generate new epicardial tissue, providing mechanical support and routes for revascularsation. These effects of hUCMSC sheet treatment significantly improved the cardiac function at days 7 and 28 post-MI. Conclusions: hUCMSC sheet formation dramatically improved the biological functions of hUCMSCs, mitigating adverse post-MI remodelling by modulating the inflammatory response and providing bioactive scaffold upon transplantation into the heart. Translational perspective: Due to its excellent availability as well as superior local cellular retention and survival, allogenic transplantation of hUCMSC sheets can more effectively acquire the biological functions of hUCMSCs, such as modulating inflammation and enhancing angiogenesis. Moreover, the hUCMSC sheet method allows the transfer of an intact extracellular matrix without introducing exogenous or synthetic biomaterial, further improving its clinical applicability.

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a model strain to explore algal lipid metabolism mechanism, and exhibits great potentials in large-scale production of lipids. Completely lacking nitrogen is an efficient strategy to trigger the lipid synthesis in microalgal cells, while it always leads to the obvious reduction in the biomass. To illustrate the optimal culture substrate carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) levels to simultaneously stimulate the growth and lipid production of C. reinhardtii, cells were cultivated under altered C and N concentrations. Results showed that replenishing 6 g/L sodium acetate (NaAc) could increase 1.50 and 1.53 times biomass and lipid productivity compared with 0 g/L NaAc treatment (the control), but total lipid content slightly decreased. Reducing 75% of basic medium (TAP) N level (0 g/L NaAc + 0.09 g/L NH4Cl treatment) could promote 21.57% total lipid content in comparison with the control (containing 0.38 g/L NH4Cl), but decrease 44.45% biomass and 34.15% lipid productivity. The result of the central composite design (CCD) experiment suggested the optimum total lipid content together with higher biomass and lipid productivity could be obtained under the condition of 4.12 g/L NaAc and 0.20 g/L NH4Cl. They reached 32.14%, 1.68 g/L and 108.21 mg/L/d, and increased by 36.77%, 93.10% and 1.75 times compared with the control, respectively. It suggests moderately increasing C supply and decreasing N levels could synchronously improve the biomass and lipid content of C. reinhardtii.

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is an acute, highly contagious, and economically destructive pathogen of vesicular disease that affects domestic and wild cloven-hoofed animals. The FMDV VP1 protein is an important part of the nucleocapsid and plays a significant role during FMDV infection. However, the signal pathways mediated by VP1 in the life cycle of FMDV and the related mechanisms are not yet fully understood. Here, we performed RNA-seq to compare gene expression profiles between pCAGGS-HA-VP1 transfected PK-15 cells and pCAGGS-HA (empty vector) transfected PK-15 cells. The results showed 5,571 genes with significantly different expression levels, of which 2,981 were up-regulated and 2,590 were down-regulated. GO enrichment analysis showed that 51 GO terms were significantly enriched in cell components including protein complex, membrane and organelle part. KEGG enrichment analysis showed 11 KEGG pathways were significantly enriched which were mainly related to the immune system, infectious viral disease, and signal transduction. Among the up-regulated genes, the chemokines such as CCL5, CXCL8, and CXCL10 in turn promoted FMDV replication. In contrast, GBP1, an interferon-stimulated gene that was suppressed by VP1 and FMDV, could effectively inhibit FMDV replication. Our research provides a comprehensive overview of the response of host cells to VP1 protein and a basis for further research to understand the roles of VP1 in FMDV infection including the genes involved in FMDV replication.

Storm surges are one of the most severe marine hazards, causing fatalities and devastating infrastructure. It is important to conduct research on storm surge hazards to achieve disaster avoidance and the protection of local populations. In this study, the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) was used to develop a framework to simulate the inundation (using the wet/dry method) of land in Ningbo, China during an extreme typhoon storm surge. The baseline simulation with the realistic typhoon intensity and track was well validated by meteorological and ocean tidal observations. Using reanalysis and an asymmetric typhoon wind field from the Holland model as atmospheric forcing, we presented different storm surge inundation scenarios regarding various intensities and tracks. The results revealed that typhoon storm surges are significantly affected by both the intensities and tracks of typhoons. Specifically, when Ningbo was located in the navigable semicircle, increasing the typhoon intensity not only resulted in the total inundation area of the whole study area from 108.57 km2 to 139.97 km2, but also led to significant negative storm surges in some sea areas. When Ningbo was exposed to the dangerous semicircle of the intensified typhoon, the storm surge along the coast of the Xiangshan Bay could exceed 4 m, amplifying the total inundation area to 245.41 km2. Thus, it was evident that the location of the impacted region within the typhoon’s wind field plays a critical role in determining the severity of the storm surge. These results provide valuable suggestions for storm surge disaster prevention and mitigation for local governments.

The formose reaction is a plausible prebiotic chemistry, famed for its production of sugars. In this work, we demonstrate that the Cannizzaro process is the dominant process in the formose reaction under many different conditions, thus necessitating a catalyst for the formose reaction under various environmental circumstances. The investigated formose reactions produce primarily organic acids associated with metabolism, a protometabolic system, and yield very little sugar left over. This is due to many of the acids forming from the degradation and Cannizaro reactions of many of the sugars produced during the formose reaction. We also show the heterogeneous Lewis-acid-based catalysis of the formose reaction by mineral systems associated with serpentinization. The minerals that showed catalytic activity include olivine, serpentinite, and calcium, and magnesium minerals including dolomite, calcite, and our Ca/Mg-chemical gardens. In addition, computational studies were performed for the first step of the formose reaction to investigate the reaction of formaldehyde, to either form methanol and formic acid under a Cannizzaro reaction or to react to form glycolaldehyde. Here, we postulate that serpentinization is therefore the startup process necessary to kick off a simple proto metabolic system—the formose protometabolic system.

A good understanding of the processes of land surface temperature (LST) change is important for assessing regional climate change. In the present study, we obtained the MODIS MOD11A2 LST products over the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) from 2001 to 2020. In order to comprehensively assess the spatial and temporal variability of LST in the YRD region over the past two decades, the Theil–Sen Median trend analysis and Mann–Kendall test, BFAST01 trend decomposition, and landscape pattern analysis were used in this study. We show that the rate of linear change in LST in the YRD ranges from −0.019 °C/month to 0.046 °C/month. The BFAST01 trend decomposition identifies more details of LST change and monotonic increases, reversal increase, and interruption increase are the main warming trends. The distribution of the different trend types shows strong aggregation with high spatial heterogeneity. The LST breakpoints are mainly located in the northern and southern YRD, which frequently occurred during 2010–2013. Of the various land types, breakpoints occur most frequently in cropland and high NDVI (0.5–0.7) areas, and the intensity of most of them is within 2 °C. In addition, much stronger warming occurs in urban areas than in other land types. Our study provides a better understanding of the dynamics of LST in the YRD region over the past 20 years and highlights that breakpoints cannot be circumvented in regional temperature assessment.

Objective To validate the agreement among the convolution neural network segmentation algorithm, Tada formula and manual segmentation for subdural/epidural hemorrhage volume. Methods A total of 129 cases with 352 subdural/epidural hemorrhage CT scans were extracted from Chinese Intracranial Hemorrhage Image Database (CICHID) from January 2017 to June 2019. All CT scans were measured by three methods including manual segmentation, algorithm segmentation and Tada formula. The manual segmentation was regarded as the "golden standard" and the agreement test among three methods was performed. We explored the influence factors in different measurement methods, such as the shape or boundary of hematoma. Results Compared with the Tada formula method, the percentage error of segmentation algorithm was small (23.62%), and the agreement between algorithm and the manual reference was strong, which 94.89% (334/352) of the data was within the 95% limits of agreement (95%LoA), however, the 95%LoA was broad. And the performance of segmentation algorithm showed better in asymmetry (P = 0.000) and clear boundary hematoma (P = 0.000). Conclusions The segmentation algorithm based on convolution neural network has a certain application prospect, but need to be validated in large sample research. doi：10.3969/j.issn.1672⁃6731.2021.03.011

The in-fall of meteorites and interstellar dust particles during the Hadean–Archean heavy bombardment may have provided the early Earth with various reduced oxidation state phosphorus compounds and minerals, including phosphite (HPO32−)([Pi(III)]). The ion phosphite ([Pi(III)])has been postulated to be ubiquitous on the early Earth and consequently could have played a role in the emergence of organophosphorus compounds and other prebiotically relevant P species such as condensed P compounds, e.g., pyrophosphite ([PPi(III)]) and isohypophosphate ([PPi(III–V)]). In the present study, we show that phosphite ([Pi(III)]) oxidizes under mild heating conditions (e.g., wet–dry cycles and a prebiotic scenario mimicking a mildly hot-evaporating/drying pool on the early Earth at 78–83 °C) in the presence of urea and other additives, resulting in changes to orthophosphate ([Pi(V)]) alongside the formation of reactive condensed P compounds (e.g., pyrophosphite ([PPi(III)]) and isohypophosphate ([PPi(III–V)])) through a one-pot mechanism. Additionally, we also show that phosphite ([Pi(III)]) and the condensed P compounds readily react with organics (nucleosides and organic alcohol) to form organophosphorus compounds.

CO2 flooding is an economical and efficient enhanced oil recovery technology, however, it is difficult for conventional short core experiments to provide accurate parameters for the later on-site optimization scheme. In this paper, on the basis of long core flooding experiments and applying NMR technology, we quantitatively evaluated the recovery efficiency and remaining oil distribution characteristics by CO2 in low-permeability sandstone reservoirs from a microscopic perspective, and explored the potential of CO2 flooding in low-permeability sandstone reservoirs. Results showed that with the CO2 injection pressure increase, the recovery efficiency of the long core increased and the ultimate recovery was 65.3%. Recovery efficiency of short cores at the inlet, middle and outlet decreases successively, but the change range was not large, and all of them are around the recovery efficiency of long core. In addition, at low injection pressure, almost all CO2 went into the larger pores to replace oil. As increased pressure, the oil started to be produced from the smaller pores, but at 22 MPa, the recovery efficiency in larger pores (76.88%-83.38%) was still higher than that of smaller pores (68.73%-72.74%). Which provided a guide for optimizing the CO2 enhanced oil recovery method in the field.

Driving forces are the factors that lead to the observed changes in the quantity and quality of ecosystem services (ESs). The relationship between driving forces and ESs involves considerable scale-related information. Place-based ecological management requires this information to support local sustainable development. Despite the importance of scale in ES research, most studies have only examined the association between ESs and their drivers at a single level, and few studies have examined this relationship at various scales or analyzed spatial heterogeneity. The purpose of this paper is to explore the significance of the scale-dependent effects of drivers on ESs for localized ecological management. The biophysical values of ESs were calculated using several ecological simulation models. The effects of driving forces on ESs were explored using the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model. Variations in the effects of driving forces on ESs were examined at three scales: provincial, ecoregional, and subecoregional scales. Finally, canonical correlation analysis was used to identify the major environmental factors associated with these variations in each ecoregion. Our results show that (1) the distribution of soil conservation and water yield is highly heterogeneous; (2) four driving forces have significant positive and negative impacts on soil conservation and water yield, and their effects on the two services vary spatially (p < 0.05); (3) the impacts of drivers on ESs vary across different spatial scales, with a corresponding shift in the related environmental factors; and (4) in the study area, at the provincial scale, physical, topographical, and biophysical factors were key factors associated with the variations in the relationship between ESs and drivers, and at the ecoregional and subecoregional scales, physical, socioeconomic, topographical, and biophysical factors all contributed to these changes. Our results suggest that significant differences in topographical conditions (e.g., altitude, slope) can be incorporated for exploring the relationship between drivers and ESs and optimizing ecological management at the provincial scale, whereas significant differences in physical and socioeconomic conditions (e.g., urbanization levels, human activity, vegetation coverage) are more meaningful for localized ecological management at the ecoregional and subecological scales. These findings provide a basis for understanding the relationship between drivers and ESs at multiple scales as well as guidelines for improving localized ecological management and achieving sustainable development.

Abstract Stem cell-derived sheet engineering has been developed as the next-generation treatment for myocardial infarction (MI) and offers attractive advantages in comparison with direct stem cell transplantation and scaffold tissue engineering. Furthermore, induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cell sheets have been indicated to possess higher potential for MI therapy than other stem cell-derived sheets because of their capacity to form vascularized networks for fabricating thickened human cardiac tissue and their long-term therapeutic effects after transplantation in MI. To date, stem cell sheet transplantation has exhibited a dramatic role in attenuating cardiac dysfunction and improving clinical manifestations of heart failure in MI. In this review, we retrospectively summarized the current applications and strategy of stem cell-derived cell sheet technology for heart tissue repair in MI.

As an ingenious concept which broadens the traditional error-feedback mechanism, the principle of self-support (PSS) is reviewed in this article with two extensions. Instead of regarding a control signal as an input variable or a cause of the control processes, PSS emphasized the independence and significance of the control signal in the whole dynamics. Moreover, due to nonlocal and history-dependent properties for fractional-order operators, many processes with memory and heredity can be well modeled by fractional-order systems, a pioneering work on the fractional-order generalized PSS (FOGPSS) is introduced. Meanwhile, motivated by the event-triggered schemes that enjoy benefits of reduced sampling efforts and better resource utilization, an event-triggered controller based on PSS is further presented. Finally, some future research directions are discussed in conclusion.

In-fall of extraterrestrial material including meteorites and interstellar dust particles during the late heavy bombardment are known to have brought substantial amounts of reduced oxidation-state phosphorus to the early Earth in the form of siderophilic minerals, e.g., schreibersite ((FeNi)3P). In this report, we present results on the reaction of meteoritic phosphide minerals in the Seymchan meteorite in ultrapure water for 8 years. The ions produced during schreibersite corrosion (phosphite, hypophosphate, pyrophosphate, and phosphate) are stable and persistent in aqueous solution over this timescale. These results were also compared with the short-term corrosion reactions of the meteoritic mineral schreibersite’s synthetic analog Fe3P in aqueous and non-aqueous solutions (ultrapure water and formamide). This finding suggests that the reduced-oxidation-state phosphorus (P) compounds including phosphite could be ubiquitous and stable on the early Earth over a long span of time and such compounds could be readily available on the early Earth.

Studies have found that athletes outperformed non-athletes in mental rotation tasks with both object-based and egocentric transformations (ET), but the effect of sport expertise on the processing stages (i.e., perceptual stage, rotation stage, and decision stage) remains conflicted. Bearing the view that the stages occur sequentially and the high temporal resolution of event-related brain potentials, this study focused on brain processing during mental rotation and was designed to determine the time course of electrophysiological changes in athletes and non-athletes. A total of 42 divers and non-athletes were recruited for the study. A mental body rotation task with object-based and egocentric transformation conditions was conducted, and the reaction time (RT), accuracy, performance stages, N2 latency, amplitude, and the amplitude of rotation-related negativity (RRN) were recorded. Behavioral results demonstrated higher accuracy for athletes at 120° and 180°. Moreover, as compared to non-athletes, the enlarged amplitude of N2 and RRN were confirmed in both transformations for athletes and were correlated with the performance stages and athletes’ professional training years. The present study provided a deeper insight into the relationship between sports training, behavior performance, and brain activity.

Southwest China faces harsh environmental pollution challenges and rapid development. Against this backdrop, exploring the impact mechanism of the urban network on carbon emissions in rapidly developing regions is of great significance to the balance between regional development and carbon emissions reduction, as well as regional sustainable development. The objective of this study is to quantify the relationship between carbon emissions and the urban network, using panel data analysis for 47 cities in southwest China from 2010 to 2019. Therefore, several urban network indices were selected and quantitatively studied by using the spatial Durbin model to reveal the impact mechanism of the urban network on carbon emissions in rapidly developing regions. The results show that: (1) the growth of carbon emissions in a city has a significant positive spatial spillover effect on the surrounding areas; (2) the temporal and spatial distribution of carbon emissions is highly coincident with the urban network; (3) the urban network has a two-sided impact mechanism of promoting and inhibiting carbon emissions; and (4) the effect of the impact mechanism is affected by regional development conditions, and the promotion effect plays the main role in rapidly developing regions.

Aiming at the channel damage problems of multi-core fiber (Multi-core Fiber, MCF), the AKNN (Adapted K-Nearest Neighbor) algorithm is proposed. The MATLAB software was used to simulate the channel of the seven-core fiber, both the inter-core crosstalk (Crosstalk, XT) and nonlinear effects were considered. Then the KNN algorithm was adapted to equalize the damaged signal at the receiver. The simulation results show that the AKNN algorithm possesses better BER performance and lower OSNR requirements with the extension of transmission distance, compared to traditional KNN algorithm.

Life is a complex, open chemical system that must be supported with energy inputs. If one fathoms how simple early life must have been, the complexity of modern-day life is staggering by comparison. A minimally complex system that could plausibly provide pyrophosphates for early life could be the oxidation of reduced phosphorus sources such as hypophosphite and phosphite. Like all plausible prebiotic chemistries, this system would have been altered by minerals and rocks in close contact with the evolving solutions. This study addresses the different types of perturbations that minerals might have on this chemical system. This study finds that minerals may inhibit the total production of oxidized phosphorus from reduced phosphorus species, they may facilitate the production of phosphate, or they may facilitate the production of pyrophosphate. This study concludes with the idea that mineral perturbations from the environment increase the chemical complexity of this system.

Background Duration perception is an essential part of our cognitive and behavioral system, helping us interact with the outside world. An integrated model of timing, which states that the perceived duration of a given stimulus is based on the efficiency of information extraction, was recently set forth to improve current understanding of the representation and judgment of time. However, the prediction from this model that more efficient information extraction results in longer perceived duration has not been tested. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate whether sports experts, as a group of individuals with information extraction superiority in situations relevant to their sport skill, have longer duration perceptions when they view expertise-related stimuli compared with others with no expertise/experience. Methods For this study, 81 subjects were recruited based on a prior power analysis. The sports experts group had 27 athletes with years of professional training in diving; a wrestler group and a nonathlete group, with each of these groups having 27 subjects, were used as controls. All participants completed a classic duration reproduction task for subsecond and suprasecond durations with both the diving images and general images involved. Results The divers reproduced longer durations for diving stimuli compared with general stimuli under both subsecond and suprasecond time ranges, while the other samples showed the opposite pattern. Furthermore, the years of training in diving were positively correlated with the magnitude of the prolonged reproduction duration when divers viewed diving stimuli. Moreover, the diver group showed a more precise duration perception in subsecond time range for general stimuli compared with the wrestlers and nonathletes. Conclusion The results suggest that sports experts perceive longer duration when viewing expertise-related stimuli compared with others with no expertise/experience.

The purpose of the present cross-sectional study was to clarify the effects of sport expertise and shot results on the action anticipation of basketball players. Eighty-eight male subjects participated in this study, namely, 30 collegiate basketball players, 28 recreational basketball players and 30 non-athletes. Each participant performed a shot anticipation task in which he watched the shooting phase, rising phase, high point and falling phase of a free throw and predicted the fate of the ball. The results showed that the collegiate players and recreational players demonstrated higher accuracy than the non-athletes for the falling phase but not for the other temporal conditions. Analysis of the shot results demonstrated that for made shots, the collegiate players and recreational players provided more accurate predictions than the non-athletes. These results suggested that the experienced players required a sufficient amount of information to be able to make accurate judgements and demonstrated that the experts' judgement bias for made shots was independent of the temporal condition.

Abstract Background The primary goal of this study was to determine whether administration of intrathecal morphine reduces postoperative pain. The secondary goal was to determine the effect of intrathecal morphine upon circulating levels of the weakly analgesic endocannabinoids, anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), and the related lipids palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) and oleoylethanolamide (OEA). Methods Forty two total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients were enrolled in a prospective, double-blinded, randomized study. The intervention consisted of intrathecal morphine (200 μg) or placebo administered at the time of the spinal anesthesia. Postoperative pain was measured during the first 4 h after surgery while serum levels of AEA, 2-AG, PEA, OEA, and cortisol were measured at baseline and 4 h after surgery. Results Administration of intrathecal morphine reduced postoperative pain 4 h after TKA surgery compared to placebo (p = 0.005) and reduced postoperative systemic opioid consumption (p = 0.001). At baseline, intrathecal morphine led to a significant reduction in AEA, 2-AG, and OEA levels but did not affect PEA or cortisol levels. In patients administered intrathecal placebo, 2-AG levels were elevated 4 h after surgery; whereas patients receiving intrathecal morphine showed reductions in AEA, PEA, and OEA when compared to placebo. At 4 h after TKA surgery cortisol levels were significantly elevated in the placebo group and reduced in those receiving morphine. Conclusions These results indicate that intrathecal morphine reduces postoperative pain in TKA patients. Furthermore, activation of central opioid receptors negatively modulates the endocannabinoid tone, suggesting that potent analgesics may reduce the stimulus for production of peripheral endocannabinoids. This study is the first to document the existence of rapid communication between the central opioid and peripheral endocannabinoid systems in humans. Trial registration This trial was registered retrospectively. Trial registry: NCT02620631. Study to Examine Pain Relief With Supplemental Intrathecal Morphine in TKA Patients, NCT02620631, 12/03/2015.

Iron silicide minerals (Fe-Si group) are found in terrestrial and solar system samples. These minerals tend to be more common in extraterrestrial rocks such as meteorites, and their existence in terrestrial rocks is limited due to a requirement of extremely reducing conditions to promote their formation. Such extremely reducing conditions can be found in fulgurites, which are glasses formed as cloud-to-ground lightning heats and fuses sand, soil, or rock. The objective of this paper is to review reports of iron silicides in fulgurites, note any similarities between separate fulgurite observations, and to explain the core connection between geological environments wherein these minerals are found. In addition, we also compare iron silicides in fulgurites to those in extraterrestrial samples.