Search

Hematopoietic syndrome of acute radiation syndrome (h-ARS) is an acute illness resulted from the damage of bone marrow (BM) microenvironment after exposure to radiation. Currently, the clinical management of h-ARS is limited to medication-assisted treatment, while there is still no specific therapy for the hematopoietic injury from high-dose radiation exposure. Our study aimed to assemble biomimetic three-dimensional (3D) BM microniches by co-culture of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in porous, injectable and viscoelastic microscaffolds

There are few studies on the intelligent guidance of unmanned sailboats, which should coordinate pluralistic tasks at sea in the nature of its maneuvring intractability. To ensure the algorithmic practicability, this paper proposes a path-following and collision-avoidance guidance approach of unmanned sailboats with total formulaic description. The risk-detecting mechanism is fabricated by setting a circular detecting zone and using the time to the closest point of approach. Then, the risk of collision, the path deviation, the speed loss, and the course loss can be judged by constructing the cost functions and applying the distance to closest point of approach. The optimized heading angle is deemed as the one minimizing the aggregate cost functions, which is sought by applying and improving the beetle antennae search (BAS) algorithm. In the proposed modified BAS, the searching step is redesigned to enhance the searching efficiency. To ensure the convergence of the real heading angle to the reference, the backstepping-based control law is fabricated for the high-order sailboat model and in the linear form. The control parameters are offline optimized through the modified BAS. Compared with the adaptive control, this controller can guarantee more computation simplicity and the optimized control performance. Finally, simulation corroborates that the sailboat can successfully complete path following and collision avoidance while encountering multiple static and moving obstacles under the proposed schemes.

Work function (WF) modulation is a crucial descriptor for carbon-based electrodes in optoelectronic, catalytic, and energy storage applications.

Since the reform and opening up, China's high-tech enterprises have been developing at an increasingly rapid pace and have now become an indispensable and important component of China's national economy. With the development of the current market economy, the capital market has been improved and scientific and technological innovation has rocketed upward. Beginning with high technology, knowledge and technology-intensive high-tech enterprises have been developing and gradually become the driving force and orientation of economic development. High-tech has also become an important symbol of the comprehensive economic strength and competitiveness of countries and regions. The banner of "developing high technology and realizing industrialization" provides policy support for the development of high-tech enterprises. At the same time, the development of knowledge economy and the improvement of capital market have strongly promoted the development of high-tech enterprises. In the current market competition, investment decision is the necessary prerequisite for the creation and accumulation of wealth to meet the sustainable development of enterprises; at the same time, investment decision is the source of maximizing enterprise value. For the development of a company, choosing the right small industry to finance is a very important thing. If the industry chosen or the newly developed company is not well managed resulting in serious economic losses, the investment will be accompanied by heavy losses for the investing company. From this point of view, the decision makers or the team of the company play a pivotal role in the development of the company. Not only for the future economic benefits of the company or for what kind of development path or whether the investment is reasonable have a particularly important role. This paper will take Xiaomi Technology Co., Ltd. as an example, focusing on the analysis of Xiaomi Technology's economic decision-making problems, through the analysis and solution of existing problems to promote the unification of the company's economic and social benefits, to achieve the purpose of improving the company's social competitiveness, and better in China's high-tech enterprises based.

COVID-19 is a globally infectious viral epidemic of great public health concern caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) plays its role as the receptor for SARS-CoV-2 through binding with S protein and the binding results in ACE2 expression decrease. The change of ACE2 is supposed to elicit a series of cellular and molecular events. Other than as the receptor, ACE2's roles on infection by regulating other molecules need to be further studied during SARS-CoV-2 infection. In the present study, we established the ACE2 knockdown model using Vero E6 cells to study how ACE2 influenced the downstream signaling molecules. Analysis of transcriptome sequencing discovered that ACE2 alteration

Advanced maternal age is characterized by declines in the quantity and quality of oocytes in the ovaries, and the aging process is accompanied by changes in gut microbiota composition. However, little is known about the relationship between gut microbiota and ovarian aging. By using fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) to transplant material from young (5-week-old) into aged (42-week-old) mice, we find that the composition of gut microbiota in FMT-treated mice presents a "younger-like phenotype" and an increase of commensal bacteria, such as Bifidobacterium and Ruminococcaceae. Moreover, the FMT-treated mice show increased anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-4 and decreased pro-inflammatory cytokine IFN-γ. Fertility tests for assessing ovarian function reveal that the first litter size of female FMT-treated mice is significantly higher than that of the non-FMT group. Morphology analysis demonstrates a dramatic decrease in follicle atresia and apoptosis as well as an increase in cellular proliferation in the ovaries of the FMT-treated mice. Our results also show that FMT improves the immune microenvironment in aged ovaries, with decreased macrophages and macrophage-derived multinucleated giant cells (MNGCs). These results suggest that FMT from young donors could be a good choice for delaying ovarian aging.

This study is aimed at investigating the characteristics of energy conversion and temperature response of coal excited by a direct current (DC) electric field (CEEDCEF). First, factors influencing energy conversion and temperature response of CEEDCEF were theoretically analyzed. Based on the analysis, the temperature distribution law of coal under different excitation conditions was simulated using the COMSOL software. The results of theoretical analysis and numerical simulation were verified through an experiment on the temperature distribution on the surface of CEEDCEF. Finally, the energy conversion mechanism and temperature response characteristics of CEEDCEF were revealed. The research results show that loading time and the loading voltage are the main factors influencing the temperature rise of CEEDCEF. Under the excitation of 6000 V constant DC voltage, the internal temperature at the lower end face of CEEDCEF increased from 29.4 to 92 °C within 20-90 min, the sections of the internal temperature increased from 36 to 94 °C under different voltage excitations of 3000-6000 V. Moreover, the temperature rise response process is divided into three stages, i.e., slow warming, fast warming, and slow cooling into stabilization. The coal shows a "capacitance effect" in the early stage of DC electric field excitation and a "resistance effect" after the charge reaches saturation. In addition, the temperature surges when the free radicals in the macromolecular structure of the coal turn into a current beam. With the increase in excitation time, the electrical parameters of the coal tend to be stable, and the surface temperature slowly decreases and stabilizes accordingly. The research results provide theoretical support for the gas production mechanism of the coal stimulated by the electric field and exploring methods for the monitoring and prewarning of these dynamic disasters.

Cardiovascular diseases are diseases related to blood vessels, heart and surrounding tissues which affect one’s health and normal life. Cardiovascular diseases include heart disease, stroke, endocarditis, arrhythmia, and more. The main causes of cardiovascular diseases are drinking, smoking, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and so on. In addition, there also are environmental factors and dietary factors. At present, the most basic disease treatment methods are life intervention and clinical intervention. When the disease is severe, it needs to be treated by surgical intervention. The effect of hypertension on patients’ health is very significant, which is closely related to the incidence rate of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, this paper investigated and studied the development of hypertension and its impact on the risk of cardiovascular disease, and analyzed and summarized it in the form of review to provide references for clinical research.

Aging is characterized by a progressive deterioration of physiological integrity, leading to impaired functional ability and ultimately increased susceptibility to death. It is a major risk factor for chronic human diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurological degeneration, and cancer. Therefore, the growing emphasis on "healthy aging" raises a series of important questions in life and social sciences. In recent years, there has been unprecedented progress in aging research, particularly the discovery that the rate of aging is at least partly controlled by evolutionarily conserved genetic pathways and biological processes. In an attempt to bring full-fledged understanding to both the aging process and age-associated diseases, we review the descriptive, conceptual, and interventive aspects of the landscape of aging composed of a number of layers at the cellular, tissue, organ, organ system, and organismal levels.

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, growing evidence shows that a considerable proportion of people who have recovered from COVID-19 have long-term effects on multiple organs and systems. A few longitudinal studies have reported on the persistent health effects of COVID-19, but the follow-up was limited to 1 year after acute infection. The aim of our study was to characterise the longitudinal evolution of health outcomes in hospital survivors with different initial disease severity throughout 2 years after acute COVID-19 infection and to determine their recovery status.We did an ambidirectional, longitudinal cohort study of individuals who had survived hospitalisation with COVID-19 and who had been discharged from Jin Yin-tan Hospital (Wuhan, China) between Jan 7 and May 29, 2020. We measured health outcomes 6 months (June 16-Sept 3, 2020), 12 months (Dec 16, 2020-Feb 7, 2021), and 2 years (Nov 16, 2021-Jan 10, 2022) after symptom onset with a 6-min walking distance (6MWD) test, laboratory tests, and a series of questionnaires on symptoms, mental health, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), return to work, and health-care use after discharge. A subset of COVID-19 survivors received pulmonary function tests and chest imaging at each visit. Age-matched, sex-matched, and comorbidities-matched participants without COVID-19 infection (controls) were introduced to determine the recovery status of COVID-19 survivors at 2 years. The primary outcomes included symptoms, modified British Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnoea scale, HRQoL, 6MWD, and return to work, and were assessed in all COVID-19 survivors who attended all three follow-up visits. Symptoms, mMRC dyspnoea scale, and HRQoL were also assessed in controls.2469 patients with COVID-19 were discharged from Jin Yin-tan Hospital between Jan 7 and May 29, 2020. 1192 COVID-19 survivors completed assessments at the three follow-up visits and were included in the final analysis, 1119 (94%) of whom attended the face-to-face interview 2 years after infection. The median age at discharge was 57·0 years (48·0-65·0) and 551 (46%) were women. The median follow-up time after symptom onset was 185·0 days (IQR 175·0-197·0) for the visit at 6 months, 349·0 days (337·0-360·0) for the visit at 12 months, and 685·0 days (675·0-698·0) for the visit at 2 years. The proportion of COVID-19 survivors with at least one sequelae symptom decreased significantly from 777 (68%) of 1149 at 6 months to 650 (55%) of 1190 at 2 years (p0·0001), with fatigue or muscle weakness always being the most frequent. The proportion of COVID-19 survivors with an mMRC score of at least 1 was 168 (14%) of 1191 at 2 years, significantly lower than the 288 (26%) of 1104 at 6 months (p0·0001). HRQoL continued to improve in almost all domains, especially in terms of anxiety or depression: the proportion of individuals with symptoms of anxiety or depression decreased from 256 (23%) of 1105 at 6 months to 143 (12%) 1191 at 2 years (p0·0001). The proportion of individuals with a 6MWD less than the lower limit of the normal range declined continuously in COVID-19 survivors overall and in the three subgroups of varying initial disease severity. 438 (89%) of 494 COVID-19 survivors had returned to their original work at 2 years. Survivors with long COVID symptoms at 2 years had lower HRQoL, worse exercise capacity, more mental health abnormality, and increased health-care use after discharge than survivors without long COVID symptoms. COVID-19 survivors still had more prevalent symptoms and more problems in pain or discomfort, as well as anxiety or depression, at 2 years than did controls. Additionally, a significantly higher proportion of survivors who had received higher-level respiratory support during hospitalisation had lung diffusion impairment (43 [65%] of 66 vs 24 [36%] of 66, p=0·0009), reduced residual volume (41 [62%] vs 13 [20%], p0·0001), and total lung capacity (26 [39%] vs four [6%], p0·0001) than did controls.Regardless of initial disease severity, COVID-19 survivors had longitudinal improvements in physical and mental health, with most returning to their original work within 2 years; however, the burden of symptomatic sequelae remained fairly high. COVID-19 survivors had a remarkably lower health status than the general population at 2 years. The study findings indicate that there is an urgent need to explore the pathogenesis of long COVID and develop effective interventions to reduce the risk of long COVID.

We evaluated and compared humoral immune responses after inactivated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination among naïve individuals, asymptomatically infected individuals, and recovered patients with varying severity. In this multicenter, prospective cohort study, blood samples from 666 participants were collected before and after 2 doses of inactivated COVID-19 vaccination. Among 392 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-naïve individuals, the seroconversion rate increased significantly from 51.8% (median antispike protein pan-immunoglobulins [S-Igs] titer: 0.8 U/ml) after the first dose to 96% (median S-Igs titer: 79.5 U/ml) after the second dose. Thirty-two percent of naïve individuals had detectable neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) against the original strain but all of them lost neutralizing activity against the Omicron variant. In 274 individuals with natural infection, humoral immunity was significantly improved after a single vaccine dose, with median S-Igs titers of 596.7, 1176, 1086.5, and 1828 U/ml for asymptomatic infections, mild cases, moderate cases, and severe/critical cases, respectively. NAb titers also improved significantly. However, the second dose did not substantially increase antibody levels. Although a booster dose is needed for those without infection, our findings indicate that recovered patients should receive only a single dose of the vaccine, regardless of the clinical severity, until there is sufficient evidence to confirm the benefits of a second dose.

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) has received increasing interest in cancer treatment, but its clinical application is still constrained by the low activity of sonosensitizers and their unclear mechanism. Herein, a kind of oxygen-deficient manganese oxide (MnO

Background: Breast cancer is the most prevalent malignancy in women globally, and apoptosis plays an important role in its pathological process. However, studies on the relationship between breast cancer prognosis and apoptosis-related genes are scarce. This study aimed to construct an apoptosis-related specific risk model for breast cancer and preliminarily explore the immunological differences between the high- and low-risk groups of this model to improve the prognosis and treatment of patients with breast cancer.Methods: The Cancer Gene Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) were used to analyze the correlation between apoptosis-related genes and differentially expressed genes. Apoptotic genes associated with prognosis were selected, and a risk model was constructed and validated using univariate and multivariate Cox proportional regression analyses. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO)analyses were used to predict potential mechanical pathways. Tumor lymphocyte infiltration was analyzed between the high- and low-risk groups. The CellMiner database, RNA: RNA-seq expression and Compound activity: DTP NCI-60 were used to assess the drug sensitivity of the model genes. Immunohistochemistry was used to validate the levels of risk model signatures in clinical samples.Results: Seventy-four differentially expressed apoptosis-related genes were screened between breast cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues. Immune infiltration analysis suggested that CD8-positive T-cells and natural killer cells was considerably higher in the low-risk group than in the high-risk group and that the immune effect was higher in the low-risk group than in the high-risk group. Drug sensitivity analysis showed a positive correlation between the model genes and the sensitivity of multiple drugs, such as vemurafenib, dabrafenib, PD-98059, and palbociclib. Immunohistochemistry results were consistent with the above-mentioned results.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the developed apoptosis-related specific risk model could be a novel predictive tool for use in patients with breast cancer and can serve as the basis for future breast cancer therapy.

We realize a tunable narrowband and broadband coexisting absorber based on a simple step-shaped all-metal grating structure. The absorber presents an ultra-narrow absorption band of 1.5 nm and a relatively broad absorption band of 29.8 nm, both with nearly 100% absorption in the infrared region. The mechanism underlying the dual-band perfect absorption is the interaction between two diffraction coupled surface plasmon polariton (SPP) modes with one of them modulated by a cavity resonance. Influences of structure parameters on the absorption performance are numerically investigated. It is found that the positions of the two perfect absorption peaks can be easily tuned both independently and together by changing the structural parameters. In addition, the designed grating structure presents excellent sensing performance with sensitivity and figure of merit as high as 2514 nm/RIU and 1600RIU-1, respectively. Such high sensing metrics arise from the poor field localization and the ultra-narrow absorption band enabled by the diffraction coupled SPP modes as well as the specially designed all-metal structure. The excellent sensing performance, flexible tenability and simple structure design endow this grating absorber with great potential in high-precision biochemical sensing applications.

The development of IoT and big data technology has generated massive personal travel data. While most of the data is anonymized, it still provides more possibilities for analyzing individual travel behavior. It is worthwhile to keep exploring how to more accurately infer travel purposes based on trajectory data, smart card fare data, or shared bicycle data. In this paper, an improved research framework is proposed for travel purpose inference by applying the gravity model, Bayesian criterion and spatial clustering method. The gravity model and Bayesian rule are used to calculate the probability of users traveling to nearby POIs, and the clustering algorithm is used to identify the locations regularly visited by users. Through the identification of maximum probability POI and regular trips, different travel purposes represented by POI can be distinguished. The results showed that the identification of regular trips could verify and complement the recognition of trip purposes by POIs. Using Xi'an city of China as an example for the study, the results show that regular trips accounted for 32% of the week's trips. Of these regular trips, 30% of the trips are most likely togo to malls, restaurants, hospitals, or recreational areas. While these POIs often represent trip purposes such as shopping, eating, medical care, and entertainment, the purpose of these trips is more likely to be commuting due to the regularity of the trip. Ultimately, there are 10% of the trips reflect different trip purposes for the same POI. And there is a distance worth noting. 70% of the users have a parking error of fewer than 100 meters when going to the exact location. This distance can provide a reference for the study of bicycle commuting. Finally, we analyzed the different trip purposes' spatial and temporal distribution characteristics. The analysis of the spatial and temporal distribution can provide suggestions for the operation of bike-sharing enterprises and the management of regulators.

Background We evaluated the early changes in left ventricular (LV) volumetric, functional, and tissue characteristics in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer patients treated with trastuzumab and/or pertuzumab at cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods HER2-positive breast cancer patients undergoing planned anti-HER2 therapy and nonanthracycline-based chemotherapy were enrolled and subdivided into dual anti-HER2 (trastuzumab plus pertuzumab) group and trastuzumab group. Cardiac MRI was performed before treatment and three months after starting, covering ventricular volumes, cardiac function, systolic myocardial strain, myocardial oedema, and T1 and T2 relaxation times. Cardiac dysfunction was primarily defined as a > 10% reduction in LV ejection fraction (LVEF) to 15% global longitudinal strain (GLS) change at the follow-up MRI examination. Results Twenty-four HER2-positive patients were evaluated (16 in the dual anti-HER2 group, 8 in the trastuzumab group). Six patients developed cardiac dysfunction at follow-up, five of them in the dual anti-HER2 group. One patient developed symptomatic heart failure, and five patients developed asymptomatic cardiac dysfunction. Patients displayed significantly decreased systolic function and increased T1 and T2 relaxation time at follow-up (p ≤ 0.031). Systolic dysfunction remained significant in the dual anti-HER2 group. The decrease in GLS in the trastuzumab group was not significant (p = 0.169). T1 and T2 relaxation times tended to increase, but this was not significant at subgroup analysis. Conclusions Cardiac MRI scans showed frequent signs of subclinical cardiotoxicity after short-term anti-HER2 therapy and nonanthracycline-based chemotherapy; the effect was slightly stronger in patients treated with dual therapy. Key points • A frequent subclinical cardiotoxicity was detected by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging after short-term anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) therapy. • The change in myocardial strain was more marked in patients treated with dual (trastuzumab plus pertuzumab) than with trastuzumab only anti-HER2 therapy. • Cardiotoxicity surveillance through MRI is an interesting option particularly in patients treated with dual anti-HER2 therapy.

The Hölder–Morrey spaces $\Lambda _{\kappa}^{p,\tau}(\Omega ,\wedge ^{l})$ Λ κ p , τ ( Ω , ∧ l ) are proposed in this paper. The imbedding inequalities for homotopy operator are derived in Hölder–Morrey spaces on differential forms. The Hölder continuity for Riesz potential with envelope function is deduced. As application, some composite theorems, which are associated with conjugate A-harmonic equations on differential forms, are given.

Objectives: Cigarette smoking has been recognized as a predisposing factor for both osteoporosis (OP) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study aimed to investigate the shared gene signatures affected by cigarette smoking in OP and COPD through gene expression profiling.Materials and methods: Microarray datasets (GSE11784, GSE13850, GSE10006, and GSE103174) were obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and analyzed for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression method and a random forest (RF) machine learning algorithm were used to identify candidate biomarkers. The diagnostic value of the method was assessed using logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Finally, immune cell infiltration was analyzed to identify dysregulated immune cells in cigarette smoking-induced COPD.Results: In the smoking-related OP and COPD datasets, 2858 and 280 DEGs were identified, respectively. WGCNA revealed 982 genes strongly correlated with smoking-related OP, of which 32 overlapped with the hub genes of COPD. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis showed that the overlapping genes were enriched in the immune system category. Using LASSO regression and RF machine learning, six candidate genes were identified, and a logistic regression model was constructed, which had high diagnostic values for both the training set and external validation datasets. The area under the curves (AUCs) were 0.83 and 0.99, respectively. Immune cell infiltration analysis revealed dysregulation in several immune cells, and six immune-associated genes were identified for smoking-related OP and COPD, namely, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma translocation protein 1 (MALT1), tissue-type plasminogen activator (PLAT), sodium channel 1 subunit alpha (SCNN1A), sine oculis homeobox 3 (SIX3), sperm-associated antigen 9 (SPAG9), and vacuolar protein sorting 35 (VPS35).Conclusion: The findings suggest that immune cell infiltration profiles play a significant role in the shared pathogenesis of smoking-related OP and COPD. The results could provide valuable insights for developing novel therapeutic strategies for managing these disorders, as well as shedding light on their pathogenesis.

Aged hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) exhibit compromised reconstitution capacity and differentiation-bias towards myeloid lineage. While, the molecular mechanism behind it remains not fully understood. In this study, we observed that the expression of pseudouridine (Ψ) synthase 10 is increased in aged hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) and enforced PUS10 recapitulates the phenotype of aged HSCs, which is not achieved by its Ψ synthase activity. Consistently, we observed no difference of tRNA pseudouridylation profile between young and aged HSPCs. No significant alteration of hematopoietic homeostasis and HSC function is observed in young Pus10-/- mice, while aged Pus10-/-mice exhibit mild alteration of hematopoietic homeostasis and HSC function. Moreover, we observed that PUS10 is ubiquitinated by E3 ubiquitin ligase CRL4DCAF1 complex and the increase of PUS10 in aged HSPCs is due to aging-declined CRL4DCAF1-mediated ubiquitination degradation signaling. Taken together, this study for the first time evaluated the role of PUS10 in HSC aging and function, and provided novel insight for HSC rejuvenation and clinical application.

The characteristics of pores in anthracite from Guhanshan Coal Mine in the Jiaozuo mining area were tested by the mercury injection method. According to the pore size, pores in the coal sample were classified into gas seepage pores and gas adsorption pores which were in line with the stochastic fractal model and the dendric fractal model, respectively. Besides, the fractal characteristics of adsorption pores were analyzed by using a dendric fractal model, and the influence law of the tortuosity fractal dimension D t on the gas adsorption capacity was obtained. The research results show that the amount of mercury injected into each experimental coal sample is directly proportional to its porosity, but has no obvious correlation with specific surface area. Seepage pores with sizes over 65 nm fit the stochastic fractal model, and their fractal dimension D increases with the increase of specific surface area. Adsorption pores with sizes of below 65 nm fit the dendric fractal model, and their tortuosity fractal dimension D t is positively correlated with the specific surface area. Through the gas adsorption experiment on coal samples, it is found that a larger D t corresponds to a stronger gas adsorption capacity. The research results can provide a theoretical basis for elucidating the gas adsorption characteristics of anthracite from a microscopic point of view.

Berberine hydrochloride (BBR) is efficacious in relieving alcoholic liver injury (ALI) in animal models, but its underlying mechanisms remains largely unclear.In the study, the rats were divided into control group, model group, model with BBR group, and control with BBR group, and given corresponding treatment for 4 weeks. RNA-Seq, ELISA and RT-PCR were performed to explore the potential mechanisms of BBR in ALI. Treatment of rats with BBR (200 mg/kg/d, gavage, once daily) over 4 weeks diminished 4 g/kg/d alcohol-induced inflammation and lipid deposition. Attenuation of the increased vacuolization and Oil Red O staining area was evident on histological examination of liver in BBR-treated rats. Hepatic gene expression profile detected that BBR suppressed ethanol-stimulated overexpression of thyroid hormone responsive gene-THRSP. And overexpression of THRSP-responsive genes (fatty acid synthase-FASN, adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase α-AMPK-α, acetyl-CoA carboxylase-ACC, ATP-citrate lyase-ACLY) responsible for fatty acid synthesis was also downregulated by BBR. Additionally, BBR downregulated expression of cluster of differentiation 36-CD36 and upregulated expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) and its target genes (carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 α-CPT1α and acyl-CoA oxidase 1-ACOX1). Meanwhile, BBR treatment suppressed systemic inflammation by mediating a reduction in IL-10, TNF-α, LPS, and ET, but elevated IL-6.The results indicated that BBR alleviated alcoholism-induced hepatic injury by suppressing inflammation (IL-10, TNF-α, LPS, ET and IL-6), and regulating fatty acids uptake (CD36), lipid synthesis (THRSP, FASN, AMPK-α, ACC, ACLY) and lipid oxidation (PPARα, CPT1α, ACOX1), and THRSP may be its novel target.

Index of biotic integrity (IBI) based on fish has been applied globally. However, few have considered that fish assemblages change among different aggregate ecoregions when conducted their health assessment. Indeed, some comprehensive indices, such as functional and phylogenetic diversity indices and ABC curve, can be used to identify aspects that are not captured by traditional metrics. Consequently, we try to integrate comprehensive indices and spatial patterns of fish assemblages to develop IBI systems and then verified their effectiveness and accuracy for assessing the environmental health of the Chishui River basin. The comprehensive disturbance index (CDI), based on 11 water quality parameters and 4 human land use, was set to distinguish reference sites and impaired sites. According to the spatial patterns of fish assemblages, the 40 sites were finally divided into 2 aggregate ecoregions, include wadeable streams and nonwadeable rivers. 97 candidate metrics were selected to develop our IBI systems based on the systematic screening method. The result also showed that our IBI systems performed well in discriminating anthropogenic disturbances at both aggregate ecoregions, which suggests that our systems could provide a reliable evaluation. The mean IBI score of the Chishui River basin was 72.09 ± 16.58, and was classified as good status. However, S1 (Chishuiyuan Town), Baisha River, Tongzi River, and Xishui River were disturbed by various human activities. We conclude that the spatial patterns of fish assemblages should be combined with more comprehensive indices to assess river health. On the other hand, we do believe that the process of developing and verifying our IBI systems could be regarded as a reference for biomonitoring in more mountain river systems.

The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to major public health challenges globally. The increasing viral lineages identified indicate that the SARS-CoV-2 genome is evolving at a rapid rate. Viral genomic mutations may cause antigenic drift or shift, which are important ways by which SARS-CoV-2 escapes the human immune system and changes its transmissibility and virulence. Herein, we summarize the functional mutations in SARS-CoV-2 genomes to characterize its adaptive evolution to inform the development of vaccination, treatment as well as control and intervention measures.

The pandemic COVID-19 which has spread over the world in early 2020 has caused significant impacts not only on health and life, but also on production activities and freight work. However, few studies were about the effect of COVID-19 on the performance of cities' logistics. Hence, this study focuses on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and compares the changes in logistics performance from a spatial perspective caused by COVID-19 that are reflected on the highway freight between its 18 node cities in 2019 and 2020 of the same periods for 72 days. This study uses the entropy weight method to reflect the impact that COVID-19 has caused to the logistics level. Based on the modified gravity model, the impact on the logistics spatial connection between node cities was analyzed. These two aspects have been combined to analyze the logistics performance. The results show that the node cities have been affected by COVID-19 dissimilarly, and the impact has regional characteristics. The logistics level and spatial connection of Wuhan are the most seriously declined. The decline in logistics level has the same spatial variation law as the confirmed cases. The logistics connection between Wuhan and the surrounding node cities and the three-node cities in the northeast of China are also severely affected by the pandemic because of the expressway control policies. The regional distribution of logistics performance has differences, and the correlation of the logistics level and logistics spatial connection decreases. Besides, this study puts forward different recovery suggestions and policies for different belts in the BRI, such as focusing on restoring areas and giving full play to the role of the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration and logistics corridor. Finally, further provides corresponding suggestions for reducing the impact of emergencies from the perspectives of logistics hubs.