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BackgroundHealth behaviors of older people are influenced by many factors, and physical activity are important lifestyle behaviors that promote healthy aging.PurposeThis study is to analyze the intrinsic mechanism of the influence of cultural capital on the physical fitness level of older people, and to provide a theoretical basis for the improvement of the differences in physical fitness level caused by the differences in physical fitness concepts of the classes brought about by cultural capital, and the unequal distribution of resources.MethodsThe subjects of this study were derived from people over 60 years old in the 2020 China National Fitness Activity Status Survey, and a total of 20,896 samples were obtained using the principle of multi-stage stratified random sampling. The dependent variable was assessed by the Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3) to calculate the physical activity level score of the older adult population. Pearson correlation analysis and stratified regression methods were used to analyze and explore the factors influencing the physical fitness level of sport older adult people, followed by quantile regression to explore the distribution of the influence of institutional cultural capital in different physical fitness levels. The use of quantile regression not only provided a robust test of the results of stratified linear regression, but also analyzed the differential effects of institutional cultural capital among individuals with different fitness levels. Finally, Bootstrap methods were used to test the mediating effects of household income and physical cultural capital.ResultsInstitutional cultural capital (p

Global warming, primarily driven by emissions of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide, has emerged as a widely acknowledged concern. Hence, the development of novel carbon capture materials with high capacity and low cost holds substantial practical significance. This study investigates the influence of aging time, pH, and copper salt on the synthesis of Cu2(OH)PO4 and its CO2 adsorption performance. Cu2(OH)PO4 adsorbents were synthesized under various aging time, pH, and copper salt conditions, and their morphology and surface functional groups were characterized. Experimental findings indicate that excessively prolonged or abbreviated aging times adversely affect the formation of distinct, discernible lamellar structures within the material. Different pH levels influence the stacking configuration of the lamellae, impacting both their thickness and size. Under acidic conditions, lamellae exhibit dispersed three-dimensional stacking; under neutral conditions, lamellae notably enlarge and demonstrate two-dimensional stacking; at pH 9, lamellae stack three-dimensionally and aggregate. Additionally, the CO2 adsorption performance of Cu2(OH)PO4 adsorbents synthesized with different copper salts varies. By examining the relationship between surface functional group content and CO2 adsorption capacity, we deduced the mechanism by which various synthesis conditions affect both surface functional groups and adsorption capacity. Cu2(OH)PO4 synthesized with a 24 h aging time, pH 7, and CuSO4 as the copper salt exhibits the highest CO2 adsorption capacity, achieving 1.006 mmol/g.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with different sizes have been extensively adopted in various commercial products, causing ecological concerns because of the inevitable release of AgNPs into the environment. Hence, understanding the interaction of different-sized AgNPs with environmental substances is important for assessing the environmental risk and fate of AgNPs. In this work, we investigated the impact of anions (NO3−, SO42−, HCO3−/CO32−, Cl−) in aquatic environments on the physicochemical properties and antibacterial activity of different-sized AgNPs (20, 40 and 57 nm). The results showed that the anions whose corresponding silver-based products had lower solubility were more likely to decrease the zeta potential (more negative) of particles, inhibit the dissolution of AgNPs and reduce their antibacterial activity. This should be attributed to the easier generation of coating layers on the surface of AgNPs during the incubation process with such anions. Additionally, the generation of coating layers was also found to be particle-size dependent. The anions were more prone to adsorbing onto larger-sized AgNPs, promoting the formation of coating layers, subsequently resulting in more pronounced variations in the physicochemical properties and antibacterial activity of the larger-sized AgNPs. Therefore, larger-sized AgNPs were more prone to experiencing specific effects from the anions.

The decrease and functional failure of the central cholinergic neurons caused by degeneration and necrosis, not only directly led to a series of clinical symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but also seriously affected the efficacy of cholinesterase inhibitors. At present, the clinical treatment of AD has extremely limited effect. In this work, a novel nanoparticle incorporating Nogo Receptor-siRNA (NgR-siRNA) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was designed and synthesized to realize the synergic treatment of AD with high efficiency. After brain-targeted modification, the nanoparticles overcome the blood-brain barrier were delivered into the basal forebrain and temporal hippocampus of the AD model by tail vein and brain-directed injection to achieve the effective promotion of the regeneration and repair of cholinergic neurons. The experimental results showed that the proposed nanoparticles could efficiently eliminate the limitations of currently AD treatment methods, enabling it a promising and reliable nanoplatform for AD treatment.

Potassium (K) has a significant effect on wheat yield and quality. Owing to the limitations of irrigation and production costs, soil-based applications of potassium fertilizer are not performed in wheat production on the Loess Plateau of China. In the late growth stage of wheat, potassium deficiency occurs even under sufficient nitrogen/phosphorus (N/P) levels, so it is necessary to supplement potassium through foliar spraying. However, there are few studies on the effect of the foliar application of potassium fertilizer (KFA) on wheat quality. Field experiments were conducted at two experimental sites for 2 years to study the effects of different potassium fertilizer application levels and periods on wheat yield and quality. The results showed that KFA had no significant effect on the yield of the wheat variety Xinong 20 (XN20) but increased the yield of the wheat variety Xiaoyan 22 (XY22). The improvement effect of KFA on the wet gluten content and stabilization time (ST) of XN20 was better than that on these parameters of XY22, while the sedimentation value (SV) and formation time (FT) showed the opposite trend. KFA significantly reduced the albumin content of the two varieties but had no significant effect on the globulin content. Compared with that at the other two stages, the potassium application in the form of potash fertilizer spray at a concentration of 60 mmol L−1 (K2) at the flowering stage (BBCH 65) significantly increased the protein content, wet gluten content, SV and gluten protein content in XN20 grains, whereas the application at 10 days after flowering (AA10, BBCH 71) at the K2 concentration was more beneficial to prolonging the dough FT. For XY22, the application of potassium fertilizer at the K2 concentration at the flowering stage increased the wet gluten and gluten protein levels and dough development time. There were significant genotypic differences in the composition and content of HMW-GS between the two varieties. KFA significantly increased the levels of the 1, 7 + 8, and 4 + 12 subunits in XN20 and the 1 subunit in XY22, but had no significant effect on the 2 + 12 subunit in XY22. Partial least squares path modelling (PLS-PM) analysis showed that the processing quality indexes (SV, FT, ST) and gluten protein and HMW-GS levels were regulated by the potassium fertilizer foliar spraying stage and concentration and revealed in part that KFA affected the processing quality by affecting the HMW-GS content.

PurposeThe application of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in the diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis (TBM) remains poorly characterized. Here, we retrospectively analyzed data from patients with TBM who had taken both mNGS and conventional tests including culture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and acid-fast bacillus (AFB) stain, and the sensitivity and specificity of these methods were compared.MethodsWe retrospectively recruited TBM patients admitted to the hospital between December 2015 and October 2018. The first collection of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples underwent both mNGS and conventional tests. In addition, patients with bacterial/cryptococcal meningitis or viral meningoencephalitis were mNGS positive controls, and a patient with auto-immune encephalitis was an mNGS negative control.ResultsTwenty three TBM patients were classified as 12 definite and 11 clinical diagnoses, which were based on clinical manifestations, pathogen evidence, CSF parameters, brain imaging, and treatment response. The mNGS method identified sequences of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MBTC) from 18 samples (18/23, 78.26%). In patients with definite TBM, the sensitivity of mNGS, AFB, PCR, and culture to detect MTB in the first CSF samples were 66.67, 33.33, 25, and 8.33%, respectively. The specificity of each method was 100%. Among the four negative mNGS cases (4/23, 17.39%), three turned out positive by repeated AFB stain. The agreement of mNGS with the total of conventional methods was 44.44% (8/18). Combination of mNGS and conventional methods increased the detection rate to 95.65%. One patient was diagnosed as complex of TBM and cryptococcal meningitis, in which AFB stain and cryptococcal antigen enzyme immunoassay were positive and the DNA of Cryptococcus neoformans was detected by mNGS.ConclusionOur study indicates that mNGS is an alternative method to detect the presence of mycobacterial DNA in CSF samples from patients with TBM and deserves to be applied as a front-line CSF test.

Background and purpose Endovascular treatment could improve functional outcomes and reduce mortality in patients with intracranial large artery occlusion. This registry aims to evaluate the endovascular treatment delivery and to improve endovascular treatment algorithm in clinical practice for patients with stroke in China.Methods and analysis This multicentric, nationwide, prospective registry plans to include 20 stroke centres and recruit 900 consecutive AIS patients with large-artery occlusion under endovascular treatment. This registry will enrol acute large vessel occlusion patients suitable for endovascular treatment and the inclusion and exclusion criteria. In this study, 90 days functional independence (modified Rankin Scale score ≤2) is the primary efficacy endpoint. The procedural efficacy endpoint of this registry is target artery recanalisation defined by modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction score 2b or 3 after endovascular therapy. Symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage with 24±3 hours after the procedure is the primary safety endpoint of this registry.Ethics and dissemination Beijing Tiantan Hospital’s Ethics committee and all other participating centres approved the protocol and data collection of Acute Ischaemic Stroke Cooperation Group of Endovascular Treatment registry. Each participant or representative had a written informed consent.

Many studies have focused on the use of BiVO4 as a photocatalyst, but few have investigated the production of free radicals during the photocatalytic process. Following synthesis of flowerlike BiVO4 and characterization by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) Scanning electron microscopy (EDX), UV-Vis and XPS, we successfully prepared BiVO4. Then we used electron spin resonance (ESR) to determine the production and degradation of individual active free radicals, including the superoxide radical (·O2-) and the hydroxyl radical (·OH). In the first experiment, we used ESR to detect the signals of free radicals (·O2- and ·OH) under varying oxygen conditions. The results shown that in addition to production by ·O2-, ·OH could also be produced by oxidation of h+ to OH−. In the next experiment, we detected ·OH under varying pH to identify the result of the first experiment, and found that signal intensities increased with increasing pH, indicating the mechanism for ·OH production. Finally, we conducted a trapping experiment to examine free radical degradation mechanisms. We identified ·OH and h+ as the main active free radicals and showed the complete production about ·OH. These results improve current knowledge of free radical production mechanisms, which can be used to enhance the photocatalytic performance of BiVO4.

Fluorescence lifetime is not only associated with the molecular structure of fluorophores, but also strongly depends on the environment around them, which allows fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) to be used as a tool for precise measurement of the cell or tissue microenvironment. This review introduces the basic principle of fluorescence lifetime imaging technology and its application in clinical medicine, including research and diagnosis of diseases in skin, brain, eyes, mouth, bone, blood vessels and cavity organs, and drug evaluation. As a noninvasive, nontoxic and nonionizing radiation technique, FLIM demonstrates excellent performance with high sensitivity and specificity, which allows to determine precise position of the lesion and, thus, has good potential for application in biomedical research and clinical diagnosis.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Ginkgolide B (GB) on doxorubicin (DOX) induced cardiotoxicity in vitro and in vivo. Rat cardiomyocyte cell line H9c2 was pretreated with GB and subsequently subjected to doxorubicin treatment. Cell viability and cell apoptosis were assessed by MTT assay and Hoechst staining, respectively. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), Akt phosphorylation and intracellular calcium were equally determined in order to explore the underlying molecular mechanism. To verify the in vivo therapeutic effect of GB, we established a mouse model of cardiotoxicity and determined left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) and left ventricular mass (LVM). The in vitro experimental results indicated that pretreatment with GB significantly decreases the viability and apoptosis of H9c2 cells by decreasing ROS and intracellular calcium levels and activating Akt phosphorylation. In the in vivo study, we recorded an improved LVEF and a decreased LVM in the group of cardiotoxic rats treated with GB. Altogether, our findings anticipate that GB exerts a cardioprotective effect through possible regulation of the ROS, Akt and calcium pathways. The findings suggest that combination of GB with DOX in chemotherapy could help avoid the cardiotoxic side effects of GB.

The application of straw and nutrients to agricultural subsoils is of significant interest to enhance carbon (C) sequestration and soil fertility. However, little research has explored the effect straw application on microbial stoichiometry, soil organic carbon (SOC) mineralization and accumulation and their relationships, in subsoil. In order to address these knowledge gaps, we examined the soil characteristics (organic carbon mineralization, available nutrient contents and microbial stoichiometric ratio) under straw addition (maize leaf and stem) with and without nitrogen (N) supplementation (no addition, 30 mg N kg-1 dry soil-1, 60 mg N kg-1 dry soil-1) during an 80-day incubation experiment. The microbial stoichiometric ratio imbalance (C:N and C:Phosphorus (P)) and extracellular enzyme stoichiometry were measured as indicators of the systematic relationship between soil resource availability and the mineralization of organic carbon. Our study demonstrated that the addition of straw significantly enhanced CO2 emissions and led to an increase in the C:N imbalance, while simultaneously decreasing microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE). In addition, stem addition showed 5.6% lower CUE, but 8.2% higher SOC compared with leaf addition. We also found that nitrogen addition to subsoil alleviated microbial nitrogen limitation. 60 mg N kg-1 dry soil rates of nitrogen application had a positive effect on reducing C:N imbalance and promoting the accumulation of SOC. Extracellular enzyme activity and microbial stoichiometric ratio were the most important controlling factors of SOC mineralization and microbial CUE, respectively. In conclusion, the application of straw alongside N to balance stoichiometric ratios can significantly increase SOC content, indicating the potential for carbon sequestration in agricultural subsoils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The band gaps of bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) and bismuth sulfide (Bi2S3) are about 2.40 eV and 1.30 eV, respectively. Although both BiVO4 and Bi2S3 are capable of strong visible light absorption, electron-hole recombination occurs easily. To solve this problem, we designed a one-step hydrothermal method for synthesizing a Bismuth sulfide (Bi2S3)/Bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) heterojunction using polyvinylpyrrolidone K-30 (PVP) as a structure-directing agent, and 2-Amino-3-mercaptopropanoic acid (L-cysteine) as a sulfur source. The pH of the reaction solution was regulated to yield different products: when the pH was 7.5, only monoclinic BiVO4 was produced (sample 7.5); when the pH was 8.0 or 8.5, both Bi2S3 and BiVO4 were produced (samples 8.0 and 8.5); and when the pH was 9.0, only Bi2S3 was produced (sample 9.0). In sample 8.0, Bi2S3 and BiVO4 were closely integrated with each other, with Bi2S3 particles formed on the surface of concentric BiVO4 layers, but the two compounds grew separately in a pH solution of 8.5. Visible-light photocatalytic degradation experiments demonstrated that the degradation efficiency of the Bi2S3/BiVO4 heterojunction was highest when prepared under a pH of 8.0. The initial rhodamine B in the solution (5 mg/L) was completely degraded within three hours. Recycling experiments verified the high stability of Bi2S3/BiVO4. The synthesis method proposed in this paper is expected to enable large-scale and practical use of Bi2S3/BiVO4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel Ag-reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) (AgGB) ternary compositewas successfully synthesized via a one-stepmethod. The prepared compositewas characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area measurement, Raman scattering spectroscopy, and ultraviolet-visible diffuse-reflection spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS). The results showed that bulk monoclinic needle-like BiVO4 and Ag nanoparticles with a diameter of approximately 40 nm formed microspheres (diameter, 5-8 µm) with a uniform size distribution that could be loaded on rGO sheets to facilitate the transport of electrons photogenerated in BiVO4, thereby reducing the rate of recombination of photogenerated charge carriers in the coupled AgGB composite system. Ag nanoparticles were dispersed on the surface of the rGO sheets, which exhibited a localized surface plasmon resonance phenomenon and enhanced visible light absorption. The removal efficiency of rhodamine B dye by AgGB (80.2%) was much higher than that of pure BiVO4 (51.6%) and rGO-BiVO4 (58.3%) under visible light irradiation. Recycle experiments showed that the AgGB composite still presented significant photocatalytic activity after five successive cycles. Finally, we propose a possible pathway and mechanism for the photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B dye using the composite photocatalyst under visible light irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]