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As an effective immunostimulant, Astragalus polysaccharides (APS) have been widely used in fish aquaculture, however, their action mechanisms remain poorly understood. In the present paper, the inflammatory macrophage model of large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) was constructed by using formalin-inactivated Vibrio alginolyticus. Inactivated V. alginolyticus could cause cellular damage of primary head kidney macrophages (PKM) by decreasing cell activity and inducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and cell apoptosis. When PKM were pretreated with APS, the depressed cell activity induced by inactivated V. alginolyticus was significantly improved, and ROS overproduction and cell apoptosis were inhibited. Then the protection mechanism of APS was investigated by transcriptome analysis. After treated with inactivated V. alginolyticus, the expression of immune-related genes (TLR5s, TLR13, Clec4e, IKK, IκB, BCL-3, NF-κB2, REL, IL-1β, and IL-6) and pyroptosis-related genes (caspase-1, NLRP3, and NLRC3) in PKM were significantly up-regulated. However, APS pretreatment reversed the up-regulation of most of the above-mentioned genes, where TLR5s, BCL-3, REL, caspase-1, NLRP12, IL-1β, and IL-6 were significantly down-regulated compared with inactivated V. alginolyticus-treated group. These results suggested that APS could protect large yellow croaker PKM against inactivated V. alginolyticus-induced inflammatory injury, and may exert their protection effects by activating NF-κB and pyroptosis signaling pathways. These findings therefore advance our understanding of the immune regulation mechanism of APS in fish, and facilitate the application of APS in prevention and control of fish bacteriosis.

Background: As the largest concentration of neural stem cells in adult brain, the subventricular zone (SVZ) is considered to be a potential source of glioblastoma (GBM) occurrence in recent years. Methods: In this study, 116 patients with glioblastoma treated at PLA General Hospital were retrospectively reviewed. The features of SVZ contacting glioblastoma were analyzed in terms of MR imaging and MGMT promoter methylation. We also evaluated the prognostic value of SVZ contacting in GBM patients. Results: GBM with SVZ involvement on MRI is more likely to grow across the midline(36.8% vs 6.9%,P=0.002), more often multifocal lesion(35.6% vs. 6.9%,P=0.003) and have a lower proportion of MGMT promoter methylation (36.8% vs. 69.0%, P=0.003). The median overall survival and progression-free survival of patients in the SVZ contacting group were 12 months and 7 months, while 25 months and 17 months in the non-contacting group(P Conclusion: This study suggested that MRI SVZ involvement at diagnosis is an independent risk factor for overall survival and progression-free survival in IDH wild-type glioblastoma patients. Based on MR imaging, we also found that SVZ contacting glioblastomas had a larger proportion of crossing midline tumors and multifocal lesions. In addition, patients with SVZ contact in our research presented a lower proportion of MGMT promoter methylation.

This study aimed to investigate whether a simple endoscopic method was effective for the evacuation of traumatic subacute subdural hematomas.A total of 51 patients with subacute subdural hematomas requiring surgery were enrolled in this study. An endoscopic hematoma evacuation was performed through a small bone window for 22 patients. Hematoma evacuation by open surgery was performed for 29 patients. The postoperative Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores improvement, surgery times, displacement of midline measurements, and intraoperative blood loss were recorded and analyzed for each patient.The average time from the initial incision to suture completion was 38.41±6.97 min for the endoscopic surgery group and 74.66±9.54 min for the open surgery group (P0.01). The average total blood loss was 41.36±10.82 ml for the endoscopic group and 250.00±58.25 ml for the open surgery group (P0.01). No postoperative bleeding occurred in either group. The midline displacement measurement showed significant improvement on the day after surgery, with 5.29 ± 1.91 mm in the study group vs. 6.75 ± 1.37 mm in the control group (P0.01). At the one-month follow-up appointment, the midline measurement was normal in both groups. Computed tomography scans revealed almost no residual hematomas, representing an average evacuation rate of 100% in both groups. The average GCS scores improvement on the day after surgery were 1.77±1.93 in the endoscopic surgery group and 1.66±0.77 in the open surgery group (P = 0.766).Endoscopic subacute subdural hematoma removal through a small bone window achieved satisfactory hematoma removal using a minimally invasive method when compared with an open surgery method.

Passion fruit is a tropical fruit crop with significant agricultural, economic and ornamental values. The growth and development of passion fruit are greatly affected by climatic conditions. In plants, the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) gene family plays essential roles in the floral organ and fruit development, as well as stress response. However, the characteristics and functions of the bHLH genes of passion fruit remain unclear. Here, 138 passion fruit bHLH members were identified and classified into 20 subfamilies. The structural analysis illustrated that PebHLH proteins of the specific subfamily are relatively conserved. Collinearity analysis indicated that the expansion of the PebHLH gene family mainly took place by segmental duplication, and the structural diversity of duplicated genes might contribute to their functional diversity. PebHLHs, which potentially regulate different floral organ and fruit development, were further screened out, and many of these genes were differentially expressed under various stress treatments. The co-presence of different cis-regulatory elements involved in developmental regulation, hormone and stress responses in the promoter regions of PebHLHs might be closely related to their diverse regulatory roles. Overall, this study will be helpful for further functional investigation of PebHLHs and provides clues for improvement of the passion fruit breeding.

Nanoparticle-assembled Ti2Nb10O29 porous microspheres coated by N-doped carbon layers (TNO@N–C-M) have been synthesized using ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide ([Emim]DCA) as carbon and nitrogen sources. Owing to the wide liquid range, low vapor pressure, and low surface tension of [Emim]DCA, the as-obtained N-doped carbon layers possess ultrathin thickness (~3 nm) and the primary TNO nanoparticles have ultrasmall sizes (20–30 nm). The synergistic effects from the particular structure lead to high electronic conductivity, fast ion/electron transport kinetics, and increscent pseudocapacitive contribution. Accordingly, the TNO@N–C-M anode has large discharge capacity (309.6, 262.2, 240.6, 216.5 and 204.5 mA h g−1 at 1, 5, 10, 20, and 30 C, respectively), good rate capacity (304.9 and 208.1 mA h g−1 at 1 and 30 C, respectively), and superior cycle stability (219.5 mA h g−1 after 500 cycles at 10 C). Also, the LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2//TNO@N–C-M full cell also exhibits superior electrochemical properties with promising application prospect.

Dual-comb ranging (DCR) is an important method in absolute distance ranging because of its high precision, fast acquisition rate, and large measuring range. DCR needs to obtain precise results during distance measurements for a mobile target. However, the non-ambiguity range (NAR) is a challenge when pushing the dual-comb ranging to the industry field. This paper presents a solution for extending NAR by designing an algorithm and realizing it on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The algorithm is robust when facing the timing jitter in the optical frequency comb. Without averaging, the Allan deviation of the results in 1 ms is ∼3.89 μm and the Allan deviation of the results is ∼0.37 μm at an averaging time of 100 ms when the target object is standstill near the NAR. In addition, several ranging experiments were conducted on a mobile target whose speed was from ∼5 mm/s to ∼10 mm/s. The experimental results verify the effectiveness and robustness of our design. The implemented design is an online and real-time data processing unit that shows great industrial potential for using the DCR system.

As the largest concentrated region of neural stem cells in the adult brain, the subventricular zone (SVZ) is considered to have a close relationship with the origin of gliomas. An in-depth study of the characteristic manifestations associated with SVZ involvement in glioma may provide new ideas for individualized diagnosis and treatment of this fatal disease.All 279 patients with glioma who underwent surgical treatment in our department from January 2016 to December 2021 were included. Clinical and imaging data were collected, and telephonic follow-up was conducted to analyze the overall survival and progression-free survival. Prognostic factors including SVZ involvement on glioblastoma patients' survival were analyzed. Next, the relationship between SVZ involvement, a set of unique imaging features and gene status were determined respectively. The chi-squared test, logistics regression, and Cox regression were used for statistical analysis.The patients were divided into the SVZ involvement group (n = 198, 70.97 %) and SVZ non-involvement group (n = 81, 29.03 %). The median overall survival and progression-free survival were 13 months and 7 months for the SVZ involvement group, but 25 months and 17 months for the SVZ non-involvement group, respectively. In multivariate Cox survival analysis, MRI SVZ involvement proved an independent risk factor for the survival of patients with glioblastoma. The patients with SVZ involvement sign had a lower rate of cystic lesion (32.32 % vs. 48.48 %, p = 0.029), and a larger mean maximum diameter (5.88 ± 1.28 vs. 3.28 ± 1.65 cm). Compared with high grade gliomas (HGG), T1 enhancement (25.25 % vs. 10.42 %, p = 0.041) and homogeneous signal on T2WI (14.14 % vs. 43.75 %, p = 0.025) were independently associated with SVZ involvement in WHO grade 2 gliomas(LGG). In the gene status analysis, the SVZ involvement group showed the lower rate of MGMT promoter methylation (57.58 % vs. 79.17 %, p = 0.017).SVZ involvement in MRI at diagnosis is an independent negative prognostic indicator for the survival of glioblastoma patients. Some image signs are associated with SVZ involvement in HGG and LGG respectively. The unique imaging and gene features of gliomas with SVZ involvement indicate that this kind of tumor maybe a unique subgroup of gliomas.

The Mariana Trench, the deepest trench on the earth, is ideal for deep-sea adaptation research due to its unique characters, such as the highest hydrostatic pressure on the Earth, constant ice-cold temperature, and eternal darkness. In this study, tissues of a the hadal holothurian (Paelopatides sp.) were fixed with RNA later in situ at ~6 501-m depth in the Mariana Trench, which, to our knowledge, is the deepest in-situ fixed animal sample. A high-quality transcript was obtained by de-novo transcriptome assembly. A maximum likelihood tree was constructed based on the single copy orthologs across nine species with their available omics data. To investigate deep-sea adaptation, 113 positively selected genes (PSGs) were identified in Paelopatides sp. Some PSGs such as microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) may contribute to the distinct phenotype of Paelopatides sp., including its translucent white body and degenerated ossicles. At least eight PSGs (transcription factor 7-like 2 [TCF7L2], ETS-related transcription factor Elf-2-like [ELF2], PERQ amino acid-rich with GYF domain-containing protein [GIGYF], cytochrome c oxidase subunit 7a, [COX7A], type I thyroxine 5′-deiodinase [DIO1], translation factor GUF1 [GUF1], SWI/SNF related-matrix-associated actin-dependent regulator of chromatin subfamily C and subfamily E, member 1 [SMARCC] and [SMARCE1]) might be related to cold adaptation. In addition, at least nine PSGs (cell cycle checkpoint control protein [RAD9A], replication factor A3 [RPA3], DNA-directed RNA polymerases I/II/III subunit RPABC1 [POLR2E], putative TAR DNA-binding protein 43 isoform X2 [TARDBP], ribonucleoside-diphosphate reductase subunit M1 [RRM1], putative serine/threonine-protein kinase [SMG1], transcriptional regulator [ATRX], alkylated DNA repair protein alkB homolog 6 [ALKBH6], and PLAC8 motif-containing protein [PLAC8]) may facilitate the repair of DNA damage induced by the high hydrostatic pressure, coldness, and high concentration of cadmium in the upper Mariana Trench.

Copy number variation (CNV) is a class of key biomarkers in many complex traits and diseases. Detecting CNV from sequencing data is a substantial bioinformatics problem and a standard requirement in clinical practice. Although many proposed CNV detection approaches exist, the core statistical model at their foundation is weakened by two critical computational issues: (i) identifying the optimal setting on the sliding window and (ii) correcting for bias and noise. We designed a statistical process model to overcome these limitations by calculating regional read depths via an exponentially weighted moving average strategy. A one-run detection of CNVs of various lengths is then achieved by a dynamic sliding window, whose size is self-adopted according to the weighted averages. We also designed a novel bias/noise reduction model, accompanied by the moving average, which can handle complicated patterns and extend training data. This model, called PEcnv, accurately detects CNVs ranging from kb-scale to chromosome-arm level. The model performance was validated with simulation samples and real samples. Comparative analysis showed that PEcnv outperforms current popular approaches. Notably, PEcnv provided considerable advantages in detecting small CNVs (1 kb–1 Mb) in panel sequencing data. Thus, PEcnv fills the gap left by existing methods focusing on large CNVs. PEcnv may have broad applications in clinical testing where panel sequencing is the dominant strategy. Availability and implementation: Source code is freely available at https://github.com/Sherwin-xjtu/PEcnv

Mitochondrial genome is maternal inheritance that provides higher resolution in taxonomic and phylogenetic research. The absence of complete mitogenome becomes an obstacle to further research. Here, we reported the complete mitogenome of

A series of highly active MnO2@REOx (RE = Gd, Sm, Ce, and La) catalysts were successfully synthesized via in situ growth on the surface of MnO2, wherein the rare earth oxides were planted on the defect sites left by hydrogen peroxide etching of the surface of MnO2. Their physicochemical performance was investigated by scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption-desorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), temperature-programmed reduction with hydrogen (H2-TPR), and temperature-programmed desorption of oxygen (O2-TPD). The catalytic properties are compared through the catalytic oxidation of chlorobenzene. Among all catalysts, MnO2@GdOx showed better mobility of surface lattice oxygen and higher molar ratios of Mn4+/Mn3+ (1.10) and Oads/Olatt (0.45), which promoted the superior low-temperature catalytic activity for chlorobenzene oxidation. The long-term chlorobenzene oxidation test (18 h) at different temperatures and the experiments with a mixture of VOCs showed that the as-prepared catalyst not only possessed a high stability but also was suitable for the efficient and simultaneous removal of multicomponent VOCs (toluene, benzene, acetone, and chlorobenzene). This work also provided an idea for the further development of high-efficiency catalysts for the purification of VOCs from complex atmosphere environment.

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) particles were added to a sliver metal matrix to improve the tribological properties of the prepared Ag–BN coatings, which were deposited via plasma spraying techniqu...

In this study, interface shapes of horizontal oil-water two-phase flow are predicted by using Young-Laplace equation model and minimum energy model. Meanwhile, the interface shapes of horizontal oil-water two-phase flow in a 20 mm inner diameter pipe are measured by a novel conductance parallel-wire array probe (CPAP). It is found that, for flow conditions with low water holdup, there is a large deviation between the model-predicted interface shape and the experimentally measured one. Since the variation of pipe wetting characteristics in the process of fluid flow can lead to the changes of the contact angle between the fluid and the pipe wall, the models mentioned above are modified by considering dynamic contact angle. The results indicate that the interface shapes predicted by the modified models present a good consistence with the ones measured by CPAP.

Synchronized switch damping on negative capacitance (SSDNC), as one of the nonlinear synchronized switch damping (SSD) techniques, has been received much attention in recent years. The damping effect depends on the effective voltage on the piezoelectric actuator in SSDNC control. The applicable bipolar voltage of a piezoelectric element is unsymmetrical. However, the voltage on the piezoelectric actuator is applied symmetrically in SSDNC, which greatly wastes the driving capability. An unsymmetrical SSDNC (un-SSDNC) is proposed in this paper to further boost the voltage on the PZT actuator and make full use of the driving ability to improve the control performance. A bypass capacitor, two diodes and switches are attached to the SSDNC circuit to realize unsymmetrical bipolar voltage. The control logic of the switches is introduced and the switched voltage is derived as well as the control performance. Experiments and simulations were carried out to verify the designed circuit and the theoretical results of the switched voltage. The influence of the bypass capacitor on the switched voltage and the stability of the un-SSDNC system were investigated. The voltage ratio and control performance increase with increasing bypass capacitor, but too large of bypass capacitor will cause the problem of system stability.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are highly correlated with the progression and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In addition, mounting evidence has revealed that N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation, a common RNA modification, is involved in the progression of malignancies. In this research, a novel circRNA, hsa_circ_0058493, was proven to be upregulated in HCC, which was correlated with the prognosis of HCC patients. Experimentally, hsa_circ_0058493 knockdown suppressed the growth and metastasis of HCC cells in vivo and in vitro. On the contrary, the overexpression of hsa_circ_0058493 in HCC cells had the opposite effect in vitro. Mechanistic experiments revealed that hsa_circ_0058493 contained m6A methylation sites and that methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) mediated the degree of methylation modification of hsa_circ_0058493. Furthermore, YTH domain-containing protein 1 (YTHDC1) could bind to hsa_circ_0058493 and promote its intracellular localization from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. In addition, both si-METTL3 and si-YTHDC1 suppressed HCC cell growth and metastasis, whereas rescue experiments confirmed that overexpression of hsa_circ_0058493 inverted the inhibitory effects of si-METTL3 and si-YTHDC1 on HCC cells. Taken together, this study explored the oncogenic role of m6A-modified hsa_circ_0058493 and found to accelerate HCC progression via the METTL3-hsa_circ_0058493-YTHDC1 axis, indicating a potential therapeutic target for this deadly disease.

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS

Capacitance sensors have been widely used in the measurement of two-phase flows encountered in industrial processes due to their advantages of non-intrusiveness and quick response. In this paper, an equivalent circuit model of a concave capacitance sensor for stratified oil-water flow is established. Based on this model, the effects of the excitation signal frequency on the fluid admittance are investigated to optimize the geometric structure of the concave capacitance sensor. A capacitance sensor system is designed to simultaneously detect the real (Re) and the imaginary (Im) parts of the oil-water complex admittance. The Re and Im response signals of the capacitance sensor are collected in the dynamic experiment of horizontal oil-water flows. The influences of the flow pattern and the excitation frequency on the measurement of fluid complex admittance are experimentally explored.

In this work, the microstructure, mechanical behavior, magnetic properties and in-vitro biocompatibility of Fe77Mo5P9C7.5B1.5 bulk metallic glass (BMG) composite were systematically investigated. The Fe77Mo5P9C7.5B1.5 BMG composite, with a very high yield strength (∼2900 MPa) and a moderate plasticity (∼4%), exhibits a degradation rate as high as pure iron in simulated body fluid (SBF). More importantly, the present Fe-based BMG composite significantly inhibits the growth of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) with no obvious cell cytotoxicity, demonstrating that it can be used as a potential biodegradable metal in the future.

In the current work, biodegradable Fe–30Mn–XAg (X = 1, 2, 5, 10 wt%) alloys were prepared by the rapid solidification with copper-mold-casting technology. Phase analysis demonstrates that Fe–30Mn–XAg alloys consist of austenite γ phase with a fcc structure and martensite e phase with a hcp structure. The yield strength of the samples increases with increasing Ag contents. Compared with Fe–30Mn alloy, the degradation rates of Fe–30Mn–XAg in Hank’s solution are significantly improved. Cytotoxicity evaluation reveals that the Fe–30Mn–1Ag and Fe–30Mn–2Ag alloys perform less toxicity on the Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVEC), while Fe–30Mn–5Ag and Fe–30Mn–10Ag alloys perform no toxicity on it. The contact angles of deionized water on the Fe–30Mn–XAg alloy surface were ranged from 55° to 69°, which is beneficial to the adhesion and growth of the cells. Besides, the addition of Ag leads to a much lower M/H slope, particularly for the Fe–30Mn–5Ag alloy exhibiting a non-magnetic property as SS316L. Therefore, the present Fe–30Mn–XAg alloys would be potential candidates for degradable metals.

Horizontal oil-water two-phase flows are characterized by unstable motions of interfacial wave and entrained droplets. An experiment of horizontal oil-water flow was made in an acrylic pipe with an inner diameter of 20 mm. A measurement system of concave capacitance sensor is designed to detect the real and imaginary parts of flow complex admittance. An Adaptive Optimal Kernel Time-Frequency Representation (AOK TFR) of the complex admittance angle is used to characterize the flow instability in terms of total energy. A detrended cross-correlation analysis (DCCA) of the oil-water complex admittance is conducted to investigate the instability multi-scale flow structures. The cross-correlation coefficients at large and small scales enable to characterize the instability of the oil-water interface and the entrained droplets in continuous phases, respectively. The result suggests that the DCCA cross-correlation coefficients and the total energy extracted from AOK TFR are accordant in uncovering the instability of horizontal oil-water flows.

Two images that describe similar content usually have the neighbor-reversibility (NR) correlation, i.e., each image is among the neighbors of the other one. This phenomenon can be frequently observed in image retrieval. Some previous works have successfully utilized the NR correlation to improve search accuracy. In these methods, the retrieved images that have the NR correlation with the query image will rank ahead in the returned list. In this manner, the chance of finding the positive result in the top position will be increased. However, these methods will suffer from high computational cost when they deal with massive images. During the training phase, these methods need to calculate a weighting factor for each database image. When a database grows to be huge, this calculation will be disastrous. In order to overcome this shortcoming, we want to design a new method that can enhance the NR correlation without utilizing the whole database images for training. Our idea is to enhance the NR correlation within subspace learning . In the proposed method, we utilize a small number of training images to learn a low-dimensional subspace, where the NR correlation is best preserved. Then, images are transformed from their global features into the low-dimensional representation with the learned mapping function. In this manner, the efficiency of training will be improved. Experiment on four public retrieval datasets demonstrates that our method compares favorably with the subspace learning baseline methods for image retrieval.

Cold-water corals (CWCs) are important habitats for creatures in the deep-sea environment, but they have been degraded by anthropogenic activity. So far, no genome for any CWC has been reported. Here, we report a draft genome of Trachythela sp., which represents the first genome of CWCs to date. In total, 56 and 65 Gb of raw reads were generated from Illumina and Nanopore sequencing platforms, respectively. The final assembled genome was 578.26 Mb, which consisted of 396 contigs with a contig N50 of 3.56 Mb, and the genome captured 90.1% of the metazoan Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs. We identified 335 Mb (57.88% of the genome) of repetitive elements, which is a higher proportion compared with others in the Cnidarians, along with 35,305 protein-coding genes. We also detected 483 expanded and 51 contracted gene families, and many of them were associated with longevity, ion transposase, heme-binding nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, and metabolic regulators of transcription. Overall, we believe this genome will serve as an important resource for studies on community protection for CWCs.

Porous Mn-based mullite SmMn2O5 was synthesized by the in-situ dismutation of solid state Mn3+ in bulk SmMnO3 perovskite to catalytic oxidation of benzene and chrolobenznen. The physicochemical property of catalyst was acquired by XRD, SEM, N2 adsorption–desorption, XPS, O2-TPD and H2-TPR. Compared with that of bulk SmMnO3 and bulk SmMn2O5, the porous SmMn2O5 mullite (SmMn2O5-ID) displayed higher molar ratios of Mn4+/Mn3+ and Olatt/Oads, and better active oxygen desorption capacity, reducibility and larger specific surface, which promoted the preferable low-temperature catalytic oxidation of VOC. The increase in the content of Mn4+ on the surface of the Sm-Mn mullite reduced the surface defects and increased the proportion of its surface lattice oxygen, thereby promoting the attack of VOC molecules by more lattice oxygen. Combined with the analysis of reactant intermediate for benzene oxidation by in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy, the catalytic mechanism of the catalyst was also explored. Moreover, SmMn2O5-ID also showed the excellent stability and the superior removal of mixed VOCs with different concentration ratios. This finding provides an efficient and practical method for exploiting highly active Mn-based mullite with a high efficiency and stability for the purification of air pollution.

A series of highly active MnO

Discharge plasma technology is a new advanced oxidation technology for water treatment, which includes the effects of free radical oxidation, high energy electron radiation, ultraviolet light hydrolysis, and pyrolysis. In order to improve the energy efficiency in the plasma discharge processes, many efforts have been made to combine catalysts with discharge plasma technology. Some heterogeneous catalysts (e.g., activated carbon, zeolite, TiO2) and homogeneous catalysts (e.g., Fe2+/Fe3+, etc.) have been used to enhance the removal of pollutants by discharge plasma. In addition, some reagents of in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) such as persulfate and percarbonate are also discussed. This article introduces the research progress of the combined systems of discharge plasma and catalysts/oxidants, and explains the different reaction mechanisms. In addition, physical and chemical changes in the plasma catalytic oxidation system, such as the effect of the discharge process on the catalyst, and the changes in the discharge state and solution conditions caused by the catalysts/oxidants, were also investigated. At the same time, the potential advantages of this system in the treatment of different organic wastewater were briefly reviewed, covering the degradation of phenolic pollutants, dyes, and pharmaceuticals and personal care products. Finally, some suggestions for future water treatment technology of discharge plasma are put forward. This review aims to provide researchers with a deeper understanding of plasma catalytic oxidation system and looks forward to further development of its application in water treatment.

We report a method for the electrochemical deuteration of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds under catalyst- and external-reductant-free conditions, with deuteration rates as high as 99 % and yields up to 91 % in 2 h. The use of graphite felt for both the cathode and the anode was key to ensuring chemoselectivity and high deuterium incorporation under neutral conditions without the need for an external reductant. This method has a number of advantages over previously reported deuteration reactions that use stoichiometric metallic reductants. Mechanistic experiments showed that O2 evolution at the anode not only eliminates the need for an external reductant but also regulates the pH of the reaction mixture, keeping it approximately neutral.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known as potential noninvasive biomarkers for cancer diagnosis. Previous studies have been reported that miR-224 is upregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and sera samples. However, current available methods of miRNA detection typically require pre-enrichment, amplification and labeling steps, and mostly they are semi-quantitative. Herein, we developed an isotope dilution mass spectrometry approach to convert the signal of miR-224 into the mass response of a reporter peptide. Specifically, the newly formed DNA-peptide probe was hybridized with miR-224, which was biotinylated and attached to streptavidin agarose in advance. After through trypsinization, solid phase extraction and blow drying, it used a UHPLC/MS/MS-based quasi-targeted proteomics assay for miR-224 quantification and determines the peak area or peak height ratio of labeled and non-labeled analytes to which an isotope label was added to estimate the concentration of the analyte in the sample. Moreover, this method showed good linearity, precision, accuracy and recovery in the calibration range. In addition, it also demonstrated good performance in comparison with qRT-PCR. Taken together, this study may offer a novel direct quantitative method for serum miRNA analysis applied in clinical practice.

In this work, non-thermal plasma combined with zeolites was used to remove inorganic pollutant ammonia nitrogen from wastewater. Ammonia nitrogen elimination performances at various operating parameters were investigated. Roles of active species in the removal of ammonia nitrogen were also discussed. The experimental results showed that 69.97% ammonia nitrogen can be removed from the plasma/zeolites synergistic system after 30 min treatment. The removal efficiency was 16.23% and 61.55% higher than that in sole zeolites adsorption system and that in sole discharge plasma system, respectively. Higher applied voltage, lower initial ammonia nitrogen concentration and weak acidic conditions were favorable for ammonia nitrogen removal. After the addition of zeolites, part of O3 and H2O2 generated in the plasma/zeolites system were decomposed into other oxygen species (•OH and 1O2), which improved the oxidation degree of ammonia nitrogen. In addition, the reaction mechanism of ammonia nitrogen in water by plasma/zeolites process was discussed. After repeated use three times, the effect of the zeolites in the plasma/zeolites system remained stable. Characterization of the zeolites after reaction was analyzed through BET, SEM, XRD and FT-IR. The experiments have confirmed the applicability of the plasma/zeolites system for the further treatment of low-concentration ammonia nitrogen wastewater.

The fundamental biological roles of a class of small noncoding RNAs (sncRNAs), derived from mature tRNAs or pre-tRNAs, in human diseases have received increasing attention in recent years. These ncRNAs are called tRNA-derived fragments (tRFs) or tRNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs). tRFs mainly include tRF-1, tRF-5, tRF-3 and tRNA halves (tiRNAs or tRHs), which are produced by enzyme-specific cleavage of tRNAs. Here, we classify tRF-5 and 5' tiRNAs into the same category: 5'-tRFs and review the biological functions and regulatory mechanisms of 5'-tRFs in cancer and other diseases (metabolic diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, pathological stress injury and virus infection) to provide a new theoretical basis for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

In vitro degradation behavior and biological performance of the extruded and aged Mg-6Zn-Mn alloys were investigated by electrochemical measurement, immersion test, cell culture cytotoxicity test, and hemolytic ability evaluation. The electrochemical corrosion indicates that the extruded alloy shows a better bio-corrosion resistance in simulated body fluid (SBF) solution than that the aged counterpart. Immersion test for one month revealed the corrosion rate of the extruded and aged alloys to be only 1.01 ± 0.10 mm/year and 1.26 ± 0.13 mm/year, respectively. The cytotoxicity test shows no significant deleterious effects on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) for Mg-6Zn-Mn alloys, indicating a good in vitro cytocompatibility. The hemolysis rates of the extruded and aged alloys are far lower than the safe value of 5% according to ISO 10993-4, which suggests that the present Mg-6Zn-Mn alloys are promising materials for biodegradable implants.