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Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease leading to dementia in the elderly. Ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) is critical for protein homeostasis, while the functional decline of UPS with age contributes to the pathogenesis of AD. Ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2O (UBE2O), an E2-E3 hybrid enzyme, is a major component of UPS. However, its role in AD pathogenesis has not been fully defined. Objective: We aimed to identify the age-associated expression of UBE2O and its role AD pathogenesis. Methods: Western blot analysis were used to assess expression of UBE2O in organs/tissues and cell lines. Immunofluorescence staining was performed to examine the cellular distribution of UBE2O. Neuronal death was determined by the activity of lactate dehydrogenase. Results: UBE2O is highly expressed in the cortex and hippocampus. It is predominantly expressed in neurons but not in glial cells. The peak expression of UBE2O is at postnatal day 17 and 14 in the cortex and hippocampus, respectively. Moreover its expression is gradually reduced with age. Importantly, UBE2O is significantly reduced in both cortex and hippocampus of AD mice. Consistently, overexpression of amyloid-β protein precursor (AβPP) with a pathogenic mutation (AβPPswe) for AD reduces the expression of UBE2O and promotes neuronal death, while increased expression of UBE2O rescues AβPPswe-induced neuronal death. Conclusion: Our study indicates that age-associated reduction of UBE2O may facilitates neuronal death in AD, while increasing UBE2O expression or activity may be a potential approach for AD treatment by inhibiting neuronal death.

Complement receptor type 2 (CR2) is an important membrane molecule expressed on B cells and follicular dendritic cells. Human CR2 has been shown to play a critical role in bridging the innate complement-mediated immune response with adaptive immunity by binding complement component 3d (C3d). However, the chicken CR2 (chCR2) gene has not been identified or characterized. In this study, unannotated genes that contain short consensus repeat (SCR) domains were analyzed based on RNA sequencing data for chicken bursa lymphocytes, and a gene with >80% homology to CR2 from other bird species was obtained. The gene consisted of 370 aa and was much smaller than the human CR2 gene because 10–11 SCRs were missing. The gene was then demonstrated as a chCR2 that exhibited high binding activity to chicken C3d. Further studies revealed that chCR2 interacts with chicken C3d through a binding site in its SCR1–4 region. An anti-chCR2 mAb that recognizes the epitope 258CKEISCVFPEVQ269 was prepared. Based on the anti-chCR2 mAb, the flow cytometry and confocal laser scanning microscopy experiments confirmed that chCR2 was expressed on the surface of bursal B lymphocytes and DT40 cells. Immunohistochemistry and quantitative PCR analyses further indicated that chCR2 is predominantly expressed in the spleen, bursa, and thymus, as well as in PBLs. Additionally, the expression of chCR2 varied according to the infectious bursal disease virus infection status. Collectively, this study identified and characterized chCR2 as a distinct immunological marker in chicken B cells.

Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RISs) have received a great deal of attention from the wireless communication community due to their powerful ability to improve the wireless communication environment. Dual-band RIS enables aperture to share two bands, improving spectrum utilization in wireless communications and thus expanding communication capacity. However, most of the reported dual-band RISs cannot achieve independent controls of the dual-band phases, which greatly limits their practical application in wireless communications. In this paper, we propose a dual-band 3-bit RIS to achieve independent controls of the reflection phases in two frequency bands by designing two tunable structures without raising the profile. It also exhibits low sensitivity to incident angles between 0� and 50�. Thereafter, the beam steering ability of the proposed RIS is further investigated with experiments under normal and oblique incidences at two frequencies, which demonstrates the powerful potential of RISs to manipulate the electromagnetic wave propagation environment.

Background:The harmful vascular effects of smoking are well established, but the effects of chronic use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) on endothelial function are less understood. We hypothesized that e-cigarette use causes changes in blood milieu that impair endothelial function.Methods:Endothelial function was measured in chronic e-cigarette users, chronic cigarette smokers, and nonusers. We measured effects of participants’ sera, or e-cigarette aerosol condensate, on NO and H2O2release and cell permeability in cultured endothelial cells (ECs).Results:E-cigarette users and smokers had lower flow-mediated dilation (FMD) than nonusers. Sera from e-cigarette users and smokers reduced VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor)-induced NO secretion by ECs relative to nonuser sera, without significant reduction in endothelial NO synthase mRNA or protein levels. E-cigarette user sera caused increased endothelial release of H2O2, and more permeability than nonuser sera. E-cigarette users and smokers exhibited changes in circulating biomarkers of inflammation, thrombosis, and cell adhesion relative to nonusers, but with distinct profiles. E-cigarette user sera had higher concentrations of the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) ligands S100A8 and HMGB1 (high mobility group box 1) than smoker and nonuser sera, and receptor for advanced glycation end product inhibition reduced permeability induced by e-cigarette user sera but did not affect NO production.Conclusions:Chronic vaping and smoking both impair FMD and cause changes in the blood that inhibit endothelial NO release. Vaping, but not smoking, causes changes in the blood that increase microvascular endothelial permeability and may have a vaping-specific effect on intracellular oxidative state. Our results suggest a role for RAGE in e-cigarette-induced changes in endothelial function.

Current studies have shown that Sirtuin3 (SIRT3) plays a key role in oocyte maturation. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common disease caused by endocrine and metabolic abnormalities. The specific regulatory role and mechanism of SIRT3 in PCOS have not been reported.SIRT3 was overexpressed in dihydrotestosterone (DHT)-induced PCOS model in mice. Ovary morphology, serum hormone level, and apoptosis of tissue cells were detected. The expression of SIRT3/Forkhead box protein O1 (FOXO1)/peroxlsome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactlvat-1α (PGC-1α)-related proteins was detected. Then SIRT3 was overexpressed in DHT-induced human granulosa-like tumor cell line KGN. After the detection of the pathway-associated proteins, PGC-1α specific inhibitor SR-18292 was added to detect cell apoptosis, mitochondrial membrane potential, mitochondrial ROS (MitoROS) levels, and other mitochondrial-related indicators RESULTS: The expression of SIRT3 in PCOS model was significantly decreased. Overexpression of SIRT3 could significantly improve ovarian morphology and serum sex hormone levels in DHT-induced PCOS mice and inhibit apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo. Overexpression of SIRT3 also could improve mitochondrial dysfunction in DHT-induced KGN cells via FOXO1/PGC-1α signaling pathway. And PGC-1α inhibitor SR-18292 reversed the protective effect of SIRT3 overexpression on apoptosis and mitochondrial function damage of DHT-induced KGN cells.SIRT3 regulated FOXO1/PGC-1α signaling pathway to reduce mitochondrial dysfunction in PCOS, thereby improving PCOS.

Flexible conductive organohydrogels with ultrahigh gas permeability for wearable electronic device applications.

In this paper, we prove the existence of the approximate $ (\sigma, \tau) $-Hermitian Yang-Mills structure on the $ (\sigma, \tau) $-semi-stable quiver bundle $ \mathcal{R} = (\mathcal{E}, \phi) $ over compact Gauduchon manifolds. An interesting aspect of this work is that the argument on the weakly $ L^{2}_1 $-subbundles is different from [Álvarez-Cónsul and García-Prada, Comm. Math. Phys., 2003] and [Hu-Huang, J. Geom. Anal., 2020].

A novel chiral magnetic MoS2 nanocomposite with high enantioselectivity and excellent thermosensitivity and magnetism is developed for enantioseparation of RS-propranolol.

MicroRNAs, one type of non-coding RNA, and Icariin have attracted tremendous attention concerning various diseases, especially cancers. Also, the function of Icariin on malignant behaviors by targeting miR-875-5p/MDM4 axis in cervical cancer remains unknown. MiR-875-5p analogs combined with MDM4 or Icariin were used to explore autophagy and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in cancer cells. Xenograft mice were highlighted to elucidate the influences of Icariin and miR-875-5p in vivo. As a result, miR-875-5p was cut down in cervical cancer cells, which promoted malignant phenotype, autophagy, and limited apoptosis in cervical cancer cells. Contrarily,miR-875-5p overexpression had a contrary performance in cervical cancer cells. miR-875-5p was validated as a sponge of MDM4. Enhanced expression of MDM4 weakened the performance of miR-875-5p mimic on autophagy and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Moreover, Icariin reversed the stimulative action of the inhibitor on autophagy and xenograft tumor growth. Generally, These findings imply that Icariin could be identified as a curative avenue for cervical cancer via miR-875-5p/MDM4 axis.

The roles of long non-coding RNA TDRG1 have been revealed in several tumors, especially its roles in CSC progression have been recently elucidated; However, its effects in lung CSC progression have not been revealed. In the present study, we collected 3D non-adherent spheres as the CSC model to measure lncRNA TDRG1 level in lung CSC and the parental lung cancer cells, and found that TDRG1 level was significantly upregulated in lung CSCs compared to that of parental lung cancer cells. Then we constructed the lung CSCs with or without TDRG1 stable knockdown and lung cancer cells with or without TDRG1 stable overexpression. It was found that TDRG1 positively regulated lung cancer stemness. Mechanistically, we identified that TDRG1 directly bound to Sox2 mRNA, which is a critical stemness regulator, enhanced its mRNA stability, and thus increased Sox2 expression. Indeed, we demonstrated that TDRG1 aggravated lung cancer stemness dependent on Sox2 expression. Thus, this study suggests that TDRG1 is a critical stemness promoter of lung cancer cells by acting as a stabilizer for Sox2 mRNA.

The potentially different effects of commonly used anaesthetic agents propofol and sevoflurane on T-cell immune function and Th cell differentiation were investigated in patients with severe mycoplasmal pneumonia (SMPP) undergoing fibreoptic bronchoscopy.Sixty children (2-12 years of age) with SMPP were randomized into the sevoflurane group and the propofol group. Patients in the sevoflurane group were anaesthetised with inhalational sevoflurane and intravenous remifentanil. Patients in the propofol group were anaesthetised with intravenous propofol and remifentanil. Patients in both groups underwent fibreoptic bronchoscopy and lavage therapy. We compared the clinical outcomes, cellular immunity function, and Th cell differentiation into Th1 and Th2 levels in both groups.There was no significant difference in clinical outcomes and hospital stay between the two groups (7.94 vs 7.36,Propofol might have a less inhibitory effect on T lymphocytes in children with SMPP than sevoflurane. And propofol may have less impact on the differentiation of Th cells into Th

Conductive hydrogel-based flexible electronics have attracted immense interest in wearable sensor, soft robot and human-machine interface. However, the application of hydrogels in flexible electronics is limited by the deterioration of mechanical and electrical properties due to freezing at low temperature and desiccation after long-term use. Meanwhile, flexible electronics based on hydrogel are usually not breathable, which has a great impact on wearing comfort and signal stability in long-term sensing. In this work, an adjustable porous gelatin/polypyrrole/reduction graphene oxide (Gel/PPy/rGO) organohydrogel with high breathability (14 g∙cm

Semiconductor heterojunction plays a pivotal role in photocatalysis. However, the construction of a heterojunction with a fine microstructure usually requires complex synthetic procedures. Herein, a pH-adjusted one-step method was employed to controllably synthesize Ag4V2O7/Ag3VO4 heterojunction with a well-tuned 0D/1D hierarchical structure for the first time. It is noteworthy that the ordered stacking of vanadium oxide tetrahedron $$(\rm{VO}_3^-)$$ ( V O 3 − ) guided by the pH value wisely realizes the in-situ growth of Ag4V2O7 nanoparticles on the surface of Ag3VO4 nanorods. Furthermore, comprehensive characterization and calculation decipher the electronic structures of Ag4V2O7 and Ag3VO4 and the formation of Z-scheme heterojunction, benefiting the visible light harvesting and carrier utilization. Such a new Ag4V2O7/Ag3VO4 heterojunction exhibits remarkable photocatalytic activity and excellent stability. Complete degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) can be achieved in 10 min by the Ag4V2O7/Ag3VO4 heterojunction under visible light irradiation, demonstrating an outstanding reaction rate of 0.35 min−1 that is up to 84-fold higher than those of other silver vanadates. More importantly, this integration of synthesis technology and heterojunction design, based on the intrinsic crystal and electronic structures, could be inspiring for developing novel heterostructured materials with advanced performance.

Dysphagia is one of the most common complications of acute ischemic stroke, and prediction of dysphagia is crucial for post-stroke treatment. We aimed to identify predictors of dysphagia and swallowing function recovery following ischemic stroke and to investigate dysphagia-associated lesion location.We prospectively enrolled patients with acute ischemic stroke confirmed on diffusion-weighted imaging. All patients received swallowing evaluation within 48 h after admission. Follow-up oral intake ability was measured on 7 and 30 days after stroke onset. Voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping was performed to determine locations associated with dysphagia.Of 126 patients included in the final analysis, 23 patients (18.3%) were classified as initial dysphagia. The presence of facial palsy (P = 0.008) and larger white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume (P = 0.003) was associated with initial dysphagia. Initial risk of aspiration assessed by Any2 score (P = 0.001) at baseline was identified as independent predictor for dysphagia at day 7. Patients with higher Any2 score (P 0.001), aphasia (P = 0.013), and larger WMH volume (P = 0.010) were less likely to have a full swallowing function recovery at 1 month. Acute infarcts in right corona radiata and right superior longitudinal fasciculus were correlated with impaired recovery of swallowing ability at 1 month.Initial risk of aspiration was identified as risk factor for short-term and long-term dysphagia. Aphasia and larger WMH volume were revealed to be significant predictors for swallowing function recovery at 1 month. Right corona radiata was identified as an essential brain area for dysphagia.

Recently, reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) has attracted continuous attention in wireless communications. Because the normal incidence condition of electromagnetic waves cannot always be satisfied in practical applications, the angular insensitivity in RISs has become an important issue. The angular sensitivity in RISs may lead to the failure of RIS-assisted wireless communication networks that rely on the reciprocity of wireless channels. In this work, an angle-insensitive 3-bit RIS meta-atom is proposed. By introducing metallic vias in the substrate of programmable meta-atoms, the interference induced by multiple reflections in the multilayered structure is restrained, and the decoupling between adjacent meta-atoms makes the metasurface insensitive to the incident angle. Hence the angular insensitivity can be achieved. An RIS is fabricated using the proposed angleinsensitive programmable meta-atom with metallic vias, which is capable of maintaining stable phase and amplitude responses at oblique incidences. Both simulated and measured results show stable angle performance. A maximum of 3150 phase range and eight digital coding states with 450 stable interval are obtained for wide incidence angles from 00 to 600. Finally, numerical simulations and experimental results of anomalous reflections are performed to verify the angular reciprocity of the proposed RIS, which is important in wireless communications.

Objective. To analyze the effects of the info-motivation-behavior skills (IMB) model combined with spousal support breastfeeding intervention on breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale (PBSES) scores and breastfeeding rate of primiparas with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Methods. Seventy-four first-term pregnant women and 74 of their spouses were selected as the traditional control group by the convenience sampling method from July to September 2021 in obstetrics department of Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital. 74 pregnant women with their first child and 74 spouses who had their first child checked during October to December 2021 were classified as the IMB model group. The traditional control group was applied with conventional intervention management mode, and the IMB model group was applied with intervention management mode based on IMB theory on the basis of the traditional control group. The self-efficacy scores of breastfeeding before and after intervention during pregnancy and during hospitalization were compared between the two groups, and the self-efficacy scores of paternal support for breastfeeding were compared. The exclusive breastfeeding rate of infants within 6 months and the maternal breastfeeding knowledge level of the two groups were compared, and the correlation between maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy score and feeding knowledge level was analyzed. Results. After pregnancy intervention, PBSES and FBSES-SF scores were significantly increased in both groups, and scores of scales in the IMB model group increased significantly than the traditional control group (all P < 0.05 ). The BSES-SF and FBSES-SF scores of the IMB model group increased significantly than the traditional control group at 3 days after delivery and at discharge ( P < 0.05 ), and the scores of each scale at discharge in both groups increased significantly than those at 3 days after delivery ( P < 0.05 ). The rate of exclusive breastfeeding in the IMB model group was 94.59% (70/74), and that in the traditional control group was 78.38% (58/74). There was a significant difference ( χ 2 = 8.325 , P = 0.004 ). At discharge, the score of maternal breastfeeding knowledge increased significantly in both groups, and the score of the IMB model group increased significantly than that of the traditional control group (all P < 0.05 ). Pearson correlation coefficient was used to analyze the correlation between PBSES score, FBSES-SF score, and maternal feeding knowledge level, which showed positive correlation (all P < 0.05 ). Conclusion. The self-efficacy of prenatal breastfeeding in pregnant women with HBV is low, and the application of the IMB model combined with the intervention mode of spy-supported breastfeeding has positive effects on the improvement of maternal breastfeeding efficiency, breastfeeding health knowledge level, and postpartum breastfeeding rate, which is worthy of clinical promotion and application.

In this paper, the design of a teaching interactive system for preschool art education is digitally studied and analyzed, and the teaching interactive system is designed to be applied to the teaching process of preschool art education. It is to design and implement a convenient and feasible art education study and research mutual aid system. The art teaching mutual study and research system is based on the three-layer architecture of NET as the main system structure. The main function of the representation layer is to process the data requested by users and realize the interaction between users. The data layer is mainly to realize the processing of data logic, through the call and operation of the database, to realize the interactive access function of the database. The business logic layer is a relationship in the middle and plays the function of carrying on the top and bottom, realizing the logical processing of the database, and then realizing the business objectives of the system. The design and implementation of the multitier mechanism are of great importance in terms of improving system reliability as well as system compatibility. In the framework of activity theory research, the concept of dynamic integration of digital learning resources is proposed in conjunction with relevant research on digital learning resource integration. The intermediary of the interaction between subjects and digital learning resources in the digital learning process establishes the connection between different subjects through the interaction between elements in the activity system, promotes the accumulation of the number of digital learning resources and the two-way interaction of effective information, and thus realizes the orderly organization and management of the digital learning resource system. The theoretical basis of dynamic integration of digital learning resources, including activity theory, knowledge organization theory, and feedback principle, is discussed in detail in the study to provide a basis for the construction of the theoretical model of dynamic integration of digital learning resources.

Background: Acute skeletal muscle injuries are common among physical or sports traumas. The excessive oxidative stress at the site of injury impairs muscle regeneration. The authors have recently developed porous Se@SiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) with antioxidant properties. Methods: The protective effects were evaluated by cell proliferation, myogenic differentiation and mitochondrial activity. Then, the therapeutic effect was investigated in a cardiotoxin-induced muscle injury rat model. Results: Porous Se@SiO2 NPs significantly protected the morphological and functional stability of mitochondria, thus protecting satellite cells from H2O2-induced damage to cell proliferation and myogenic differentiation. In the rat model, intervention with porous Se@SiO2 NPs promoted muscle regeneration. Conclusion: This study reveals the application potential of porous Se@SiO2 NPs in skeletal muscle diseases related to mitochondrial dysfunction.

This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the clinical and radiographic outcomes of regenerative endodontic procedures (REPs) for traumatic immature permanent teeth. Meanwhile, predictors influencing treatment outcomes were also analyzed to provide evidence for the management of immature teeth after different traumatic scenarios.Traumatized immature permanent teeth diagnosed with pulp necrosis treated by REPs using blood clot or concentrated growth factor scaffolds with at least 6 months of follow-up were included from 2012 to 2021. Treatment outcomes were categorized as a success or failure and survival. Further root development was assessed in terms of the percentage changes in the apical diameter, root length, and radiographic root area. Among different injury types, the clinical and radiographic outcomes of REPs were evaluated by the Fisher exact test and the Kruskal-Wallis test, respectively. Survival analysis and Cox regression analysis were performed to identify significant predictors affecting outcomes.Sixty-two teeth with a mean of 22.3 months of follow-up satisfied the criteria, and 80.6% of the teeth had a successful outcome. A significant change was observed in a decrease of the apical diameter (69.3%) and an increase of the radiographic root area (22.6%) after REPs. Among different injury types, the success rates of REPs were as follows: fracture, 84.6%; luxation, 83.3%; combined injuries, 78.6%; and avulsion, 33.3% (P .05). Fractured teeth had a significantly greater decrease of the apical diameter than combined injuries (P .05). Avulsion was more prone to developing root resorption than fracture (P .05). Scaffold was a significant predictor for success; a blood clot had a significantly reduced risk for failure than concentrated growth factor (hazard ratio = 16; 95% confidence interval, 2.1-125.2; P .001).REPs provided satisfactory outcomes in traumatized immature permanent necrotic teeth. However, severe injuries, especially avulsion, should be determined carefully to perform REPs when resorption is expected. Scaffold selection may be an important consideration.

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Rapid and reliable diagnostic methods for Aspergillus fumigatus infection are urgently needed. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-associated protein 13a (Cas13a) has high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of viral infection. However, its potential use in detecting A. fumigatus remains unexplored. A highly sensitive and specific method using the CRISPR/Cas13a system was developed for the reliable and rapid detection of A. fumigatus.The conserved internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of A. fumigatus was used to design CRISPR-derived RNA (crRNA) and the corresponding recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) primer sequence with the T7 promoter for the CRISPR assay. Twenty-five clinical isolates and 43 bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) remaining from routine examinations of patients with confirmed pulmonary aspergillosis were collected to further validate the CRISPR assay.No amplification signal was observed when genomic DNA from closely clinically related Aspergillus species, such as Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, and Aspergillus terreus, as well as Monascus purpureus Went and Escherichia coli, was tested by this assay, and the detection limit for A. fumigatus was 3 copies in a single reaction system. Validation experiments using the 25 clinical isolates demonstrated 91.7% specificity for the A. fumigatus section, and the sensitivity was 100% when first-generation sequencing was used as the standard. There was no significant difference between the PCR and CRISPR methods (P = 1.0), and the diagnosis results of the two methods were consistent (Kappa = 0.459, P = 0.003).The study offers a new validated CRISPR/Cas13a technique for A. fumigatus detection, providing a simple, rapid and affordable test that is ready for application in the diagnosis of A. fumigatus infection.