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In the recent decade, the amount of software runtime logs has increased rapidly and spawned a line of automated log analysis research using machine learning or data mining algorithms. In the typical workflow of log analysis, log parsing, which aims to transform unstructured or semistructured logs into structured logs, is crucial to various downstream algorithms. While the state-of-the-art (SOTA) parsers achieve extremely high accuracy, recent research shows that these parsers are far from being useful under stricter evaluation metrics. Thus, researchers and practitioners are unclear about the current state of log parsing research and what might be important to explore in the future. To this end, we conduct an empirical study to revisit log parsing by running extensive experiments of SOTA parsers on 16 widely used log datasets under five evaluation metrics with different preprocessing settings. Our results show that the performance of log parsers varies significantly under different evaluation metrics. In addition, preprocessing plays an important role in the evaluation. In particular, preprocessing with common regular expressions can cause a 0.38 performance difference in group accuracy, highlighting the importance of reporting preprocessing details in parsing research. We also generalize the word-level regular expressions in preprocessing and try to use them to parse the whole logs, which leads to surprisingly decent accuracy. These results imply that formulating log parsing as a word-level classification task is a feasible future direction. Moreover, we find out that the most widely used dataset (i.e., LogHub) contains labeling errors. To address this issue, we make an extensive manual effort to fix the errors in the log dataset, providing a revised ground truth for future log parsing research. On the revised log dataset, our simple parser (word-level regular expression-based) achieves 0.97 precision-template accuracy on the Spark dataset and an average recall-template accuracy of 0.93 on 16 datasets, which outperforms all existing parsers.

While associations between metal exposure and adult blood pressure (BP) have been widely explored, those between multimetal coexposure and children’s BP remain unclear. We aimed to assess the associations between multimetal coexposure and children’s BP. In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 1165 children aged 6–12 years from China’s heavy metal-polluted areas. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‒MS) was used to measure urinary levels of 17 metals (titanium, vanadium, chromium, iron, strontium, cobalt, nickel, copper, arsenic, selenium, rubidium, cadmium, molybdenum, antimony, thallium, lead, and uranium) in children. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) penalized regression models, multimetal-adjusted logistic or linear regression models and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) models were used to evaluate the associations of multimetal coexposure with elevated BP (systolic BP and diastolic BP) in children. A total of 253 (21.7%) participants had abnormal BP. Urinary vanadium (V), selenium (Se) and titanium (Ti) were found to have greater effects on abnormal BP in children by LASSO regression. In the covariate-adjusted multimetal (V, Se and Ti) logistic regression models, the highest quartiles of urinary V, Ti and Se were associated with a 5.21 (95% CI: 2.29, 11.88)-, 2.66 (95% CI: 1.22–5.82)- and 0.20 (95% CI: 0.11–0.37)-fold risk of abnormal BP, compared with the lowest quartile. Covariate-adjusted multimetal linear regression analysis and BKMR regression analysis further found that urinary V was positively correlated and urinary Se was negatively correlated with children’s BP levels. Interaction analysis found that higher levels of urinary Se attenuated the effects of urinary V on children’s diastolic BP levels. Higher urinary V and Ti levels were risk factors for abnormal BP in children, and urinary Se was a protective factor.

Two-dimensional (2D) photocatalysts loaded with metal nanosheets, possessing enhanced charge transfer efficiency between the large 2D/2D interfaces, exhibit unprecedented advantages in photocatalysis. However, the inhibitory influence of surfactants on catalysis limits their applications. Herein, surfactant-free Pd nanosheets (Pd NSs) with tunable size are in situanchored on graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets (CNs). PdCl42−is used as the precursor and CO is used as both reducing and structure-directing agents. Moreover, by using the same strategy, surfactant-free Pd NSs can also be anchored onto other 2D materials, such as TiO2nanoplates and graphene oxide (GO). Importantly, the obtained surface-clean Pd NSs/CN exhibits improved visible-light photocatalytic activity toward CO2reduction to CO and CH4compared with surfactant-coated Pd NSs/CN. This work affords a general and facile method for fabricating nanosheet supported surfactant-free 2D metals, and reveals the negative effects of surfactant on photocatalytic performance.

In this study, we developed a poly(β-amino ester) (PBAE) hydrogel for the double release of vancomycin (VAN) and total flavonoids of Rhizoma Drynariae (TFRD). VAN was covalently bonded to PBAE polymer chains and was released to enhance the antimicrobial effect first. TFRD chitosan (CS) microspheres were physically dispersed in the scaffold, TFRD was released from the microspheres, and osteogenesis was induced subsequently. The scaffold had good porosity (90.12 ± 3.27%), and the cumulative release rate of the two drugs in PBS (pH 7.4) solution exceeded 80%. In vitro antimicrobial assays demonstrated the antibacterial properties of the scaffold against Staphylococcus aureus(S. aureus) and Escherichia coli(E. coli). Besides these, cell viability assays indicated that the scaffold had good biocompatibility. Moreover, alkaline phosphatase and matrix mineralization were expressed more than in the control group. Overall, cell experiments confirmed that the scaffolds have enhanced osteogenic differentiation capabilities. In conclusion, the dual-drug-loaded scaffold with antibacterial and bone regeneration effects is promising in the field of bone repair.

Meniscus tear is a common problem in sports trauma, and its imaging diagnosis mainly relies on MRI. To improve the diagnostic accuracy and efficiency, a deep learning model was employed in this study and the identification efficiency was evaluated.

We aimed to investigate the association of self-reported nighttime sleep duration and daytime napping duration with hypertension in rural areas of China. The participants, who were from rural areas of Hunan Province in China, were enrolled during 2016–2017. Nighttime sleep duration (<7 h, 7–8 h, and ≥9 h) and daytime napping duration(no nap, 0-1 h, and >1 h) were determined by a self-reported questionnaire. Hypertension was defined as a mean systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg and/or a mean diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg or a self-reported physician diagnosis of hypertension and current use of antihypertensive medication. Of 1763 enrolled participants, 52% had hypertension. A total of 640 (36%) were male and 1123 (64%) were female; the mean age was 56 years. After adjusting for potential confounders, participants who slept for ≥9 h per night had a 1.29-fold (95% CI: 1.03, 1.60) increased odds of hypertension compared to the reference group (7–8 h per night). Daytime napping >1 h was negatively associated with hypertension, with an adjusted OR (95% CI) of 0.70 (0.51, 0.97), and the protective effect of longer daytime napping was still found in the subgroup sleeping 7–8 h per night. Among the rural population in China, long nighttime sleep duration is associated with a higher prevalence of hypertension, and longer daytime napping is related to a decreased prevalence of hypertension.

ABSTRACTHepatoblastoma (HB) is the most commonly seen pediatric liver malignancy. With frequent mutations in CTNNB1 gene that encodes β‐catenin, hepatoblastoma has been considered as a Wnt/β‐catenin‐activated malignant tumor. Altered glucose metabolism upon nutrient deprivation (glucose starvation) might also be a critical event in hepatoblastoma carcinogenesis. The present study provides a lncRNA NBR2/miR-22/TCF7 axis modulating proliferation, invasion, migration, and apoptosis of hepatoblastoma cells upon glucose starvation through Wnt and downstream TCF7 signaling pathways. The expression of NBR2 is significantly increased within hepatoblastoma tissue samples; moreover, under incubation with 0 mM glucose (glucose starvation), NBR2 expression is significantly upregulated. NBR2 silencing not only inhibited hepatoblastoma cell viability, invasion, and migration under normal culture condition but also promoted the cell apoptosis under glucose starvation. NBR2 silencing in hepatoblastoma cells also decreased TCF7 mRNA expression and TCF7 protein levels, as well as the protein levels of the cell cycle, glucose entrapment, and EMT markers. miR-22 is directly bound to both NBR2 and TCF7; lncRNA NBR2 counteracted miR-22-mediated repression on TCF7 via acting as a ceRNA. The effects of NBR2 silencing on TCF7 expression, hepatoblastoma cell phenotype, and cell cycle, glucose entrapment, and EMT markers were all significantly reversed by miR-22 inhibition. In conclusion, lncRNA NBR2 aggravates hepatoblastoma cell malignancy through competing with TCF7 for miR-22 binding, therefore counteracting miR-22-mediated repression on TCF7. LncRNA NBR2 might be a promising target to inhibit hepatoblastoma cell proliferation under glucose starvation.

The prolonged mei-yu/baiu system with anomalous precipitation in the year 2020 has swollen many rivers and lakes, caused flash flooding, urban flooding and landslides, and consistently wreaked havoc across large swathes of China, particularly in the Yangtze River basin. Significant precipitation and flooding anomalies have already been seen in magnitude and extension so far this year, which have been exerting much higher pressure on emergency responses in flood control and mitigation than in other years, even though a rainy season with multiple ongoing serious flood events in different provinces is not that uncommon in China. Instead of delving into the causes of the uniqueness of this year’s extreme precipitation-flooding situation, which certainly warrants in-depth exploration, in this article we provide a short view toward a more general hydrometeorological solution to this annual nationwide problem. A "glocal" (global to local) hydrometeorological solution for floods (GHS-F) is considered to be critical for better preparedness, mitigation, and management of different types of significant precipitation-caused flooding, which happen extensively almost every year in many countries such as China, India and the United States. Such a GHS-F model is necessary from both scientific and operational perspectives, with the strength in providing spatially consistent flood definitions and spatially distributed flood risk classification considering the heterogeneity in vulnerability and resilience across the entire domain. Priorities in the development of such a GHS-F are suggested, emphasizing the user’s requirements and needs according to practical experiences with various flood response agencies.

Domain reduction design has been proposed to improve the transmittance in the ultrahigh definition display. The inherent confusing concern about the convergence of dark fringe gets completely understood through investigating the vertical alignment procedure. Electric field modulation by terrain and voltage contributes to a favorable LC alignment upon data line BM less structure. Consequently, the interior LC disclination is induced to converge to the inter‐sub‐pixel and the transmittance can be effectively improved.

Previously four chlorinated and brominated halo-benzoquinones were reported as new disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in drinking water, which have drawn great concern due to their high toxicity. In this study, three new iodinated halobenzoquinones, including 2-chloro-6-iodo-1,4-benzoquinone (2,6-CIBQ), 2-bromo-6-iodo-1,4-benzoquinone (2,6-BIBQ), and 2,6-diiodo-1,4-benzoquinone (2,6-DIBQ), were detected and identified in drinking water for the first time. Their cytotoxicity was evaluated, and their formation under various conditions was examined. Since they were not stable during chloramination, their further decomposition during chloramination was also explored. The results indicated that the concentrations of 2,6-CIBQ, 2,6-BIBQ, and 2,6-DIBQ in drinking water were in the ranges of 0.7–1.3, 1.8–8.0, and 0.4–15.9 ng/L, respectively. Compared with 2,6-dibromo-1,4-benzoquinone, the iodinated halobenzoquinones were generally more cytotoxic. The formation of 2,6-DIBQ during chloramination was significantly affected by the iodide concentration, pH, and natural organic matter. The five tested iodinated halobenzoquinones decomposed during chloramination following pseudo-first-order decay, with the decomposition rate constants in the rank order of 2,6-CIBQ > 2,6-BIBQ > 2,6-DIBQ > 2,3-diiodo-1,4-benzoquinone >2-iodo-1,4-benzoquinone. Nine polar halogenated intermediates as well as ten aliphatic halogenated DBPs were detected as the decomposition products of 2,6-DIBQ during chloramination, based on which the decomposition pathways of 2,6-DIBQ during chloramination were proposed and verified.

Antibiotics play an irreplaceable role in the prevention and treatment of bacterial infection diseases. However, because of the improper use of antibiotics, bacterial resistance emerges as a major challenge of public health all over the world. The small thiol molecules such as glutathione can directly react and conjugate with some antibiotics, which thus contribute to drug susceptibility and resistance. Recently, accumulating evidence shows that there is a close link between the antibacterial activities of some antibiotics and Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). Thioredoxin and glutathione systems are two main cellular disulfide reductase systems maintaining cellular ROS level. Therefore, these two thioldependent antioxidant systems may affect the antibiotic susceptibility and resistance. Microorganisms are equipped with different thiol-dependent antioxidant systems, which make the role of thioldependent antioxidant systems in antibiotic susceptibility and resistance is different in various bacteria. Here we will focus on the review on the advances of the effects of thiol-dependent antioxidant system in the bacterial antibiotic susceptibility and resistance.

Pd nanosheets (Pd NSs) have attracted extensive attention due to their promising application in photothermal therapy. However, their photodynamic properties have rarely been reported. Herein, holey Pd NSs (H-Pd NSs) with intrinsic photodynamic and hypoxia-resistant capacities are fabricated for the first time using an anisotropic oxidative etching strategy, which introduces one-dimensional nanoholes with active (100) facets on the hole walls. Gradual degradation of H-Pd NSs is observed in simulated physiological media due to the oxidative etching. In vitroand in vivostudies indicate that the single-component H-Pd NSs can act as a photothermal/photodynamic agent for imaging-guided hypoxic tumor therapy, with a high tumor inhibition rate of 99.7%. This work provides ideas for introducing active facets in metallic pore walls, broadening the application of Pd NSs and the design of biodegradable noble metal nanotheranostic agents for cancer therapy.

Carbon nanomaterials have flourished for cancer therapy for decades. However, their practical applications on clinical bases still pose a challenge to address the dilemma of metabolism in vivo. In this study, an attempt is made to design a degradable carbon–silica nanocomposite (CSN) with immunoadjuvant property, which could undergo an enzyme-free degradation process into small particles (∼5 nm) and facilitate its clinical application. CSN harbors photothermal and photodynamic properties and as an immunoadjuvant would help to generate tumor-associated antigens and mature dendritic cells (DCs). Potent antitumor effects have been achieved in both 4T1 and patient-derived xenograft tumor models with tumor inhibition efficiencies of 93.2% and 92.5%, respectively. We believe that this strategy will benefit the possible clinical translation and carbon–silica-nanomaterial-based cancer therapy.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is an aggressive malignant tumor with a poor prognosis due to insidious symptoms that make early diagnosis difficult. Despite the combination of multiple treatment modalities, the recurrence and mortality rates of ESCC remain high. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy is an emerging treatment modality that improves the prognosis of patients with ESCC. However, owing to the presence of hyperprogression and pseudoprogression, the currently used methods cannot accurately evaluate the efficacy of this therapy in patients, thus creating an evaluation bias and depriving these patients of the opportunity to benefit. We used untargeted lipidomics to identify the differences in lipid composition between cancer specimens and normal tissue specimens in the neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with the immunotherapy group and the surgery-alone group of esophageal cancer patients and constructed a prediction model based on sphingomyelin 12:1;2O/30:0 and triglyceride (TG) 60:3 | TG 18:0_24:1_18 using a machine learning approach, which helps to better evaluate the neoadjuvant efficacy of combination therapy and better guide the treatment of ESCC.

Photodynamic therapy’s antitumor efficacy is hindered by the inefficient generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) due to the photogenerated electron–hole pairs recombination of photosensitizers (PS). Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop efficient PSs with enhanced carrier dynamics. Herein, we designed Schottky junctions composed of cobalt tetroxide and palladium nanocubes (Co3O4@Pd) with a built-in electric field as effective PS. The built-in electric field enhanced photogenerated charge separation and migration, resulting in the generation of abundant electron–hole pairs and allowing effective production of ROS. Thanks to the built-in electric field, the photocurrent intensity and carrier lifetime of Co3O4@Pd were approximately 2 and 3 times those of Co3O4, respectively. Besides, the signal intensity of hydroxyl radical and singlet oxygen increased to 253.4% and 135.9%, respectively. Moreover, the localized surface plasmon resonance effect of Pd also enhanced the photothermal conversion efficiency of Co3O4@Pd to 40.50%. In vitro cellular level and in vivo xenograft model evaluations demonstrated that Co3O4@Pd could generate large amounts of ROS, trigger apoptosis, and inhibit tumor growth under near-infrared laser irradiation. Generally, this study reveals the contribution of the built-in electric field to improving photodynamic performance and provides new ideas for designing efficient inorganic PSs.

A label-free and enzyme-free colorimetric sensor for rapid detection of Pb2+is reported, which is based on the strategy of DNAzyme-mediated RNA cleavage combined with an annealing-accelerated DNA hybridization chain reaction (HCR). As a trigger DNA, the substrate strand (STM) of DNAzyme can initiate HCR effectively. However, when it is cleaved by DNAzyme in the presence of Pb2+, the separation of DNA functional domains leads to a serious decrease in HCR efficiency. As a result, the difference in Pb2+concentration converts into the difference of DNA assembly, which eventually leads to the color change of colloidal gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). In this work, a DNA strand (cGR5) completely complementary to the catalytic strand (GR5) of DNAzyme is used to improve the dissociation of STMto enhance the HCR efficiency. In addition, the simple operation of DNA annealing is first used to accelerate the HCR process, enabling the Pb2+detection to be completed in about 30 min. As advantages of high sensitivity, good selectivity, strong anti-interference ability, and good practical performance are achieved, it is anticipated that the cheap and simple colorimetric sensor will be helpful for on-site detection of environmental and food samples.

Nicking endonucleases, widely applied for signal amplification, have an intrinsic limitation on sequences, as they require specific nucleotide sequences to recognize. Endonuclease IV (Endo IV) recognizes a specific site rather than specific sequences and is used for the first time to amplify colorimetric signals for DNA detection in this work. Our proposed colorimetric sensing platform with Endo IV-aided signal amplification and G-quadruplex-hemin DNAzyme is demonstrated using the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) DNA as a target model. We designed a visual signal probe containing an apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) site. In the presence of the targeted DNA, the signal probe turns from “Off” to “On”, and thus the AP site can be recognized and cleaved by Endo IV to circularly release the G-quadruplex DNAzyme sequences for signal amplification. Consequently, color changes related to G-quadruplex DNAzyme can be acquired, which is discernable even with the naked eye. Our proposed sensing platform shows a good ability for detection of the targeted DNA ranging from 2.50 nM to 120 nM, with a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 1.22 nM. This sensing platform also shows a high selectivity towards the targeted DNA. Moreover, the sensing platform has been demonstrated to be potentially useful for the targeted DNA detection in human serum. Considering the good sensitivity and specificity, as well as the intuitive and simple-to-operate features, this sensing platform has a great potential of becoming a routine tool for DNA detection and provides valuable information for biological studies and early clinical diagnosis.

A novel, Ω-shaped fiber-optic localized surface plasmon resonance (FOLSPR) biosensor was designed for sensitive real-time and label-free bacterial detection. The designed Ω-shaped fiber-optic probe exhibits an outstanding sensitivity, due to the effect of unique geometry on performance. The results show that refractive index (RI) sensitivity of the Ω-shaped fiber-optic probe is 14 times and 2.5 times higher than those of the straight-shaped and the U-shaped FOLSPR, respectively. In addition, the reason for the geometry and the bending radius effects on RI sensitivity was discussed by investigating the relationship between RI sensitivity and the bending area. The results show that RI sensitivity was enhanced with the increase of bending area, and the best RI sensitivity obtained by Ω-shaped FOLSPR was 64.582 (a.u.)/RIU. Combined with this newly designed Ω-shaped FOLSPR biosensor, a real-time, label-free, sensitive, and highly selective bacterial detection method was established. In this work, the aptamers immobilized on the surface of FOLSPR could specifically capture SalmonellaTyphimurium, resulting in an intense change of the absorption peak. In line with this principle, the FOLSPR biosensor achieved high detection sensitivity for SalmonellaTyphimurium down to 128 CFU/mL within a linear range from 5 × 102to 1 × 108CFU/mL and showed good selectivity for SalmonellaTyphimurium detection compared to other bacteria. Furthermore, the FOLSPR biosensor was successfully applied to the detection of SalmonellaTyphimurium in a chicken sample with the recoveries of 85–123%. With these characteristics, the novel biosensor is a potential alternative tool in food analysis and environmental monitoring.

The threat of food safety and the limited analytical methods with high performance promote the growing interest in the development of pathogenic bacteria biosensors. This study presents a pathogenic bacteria biosensing system, where a novel three-dimensional (3D) chip acts as an analytical carrier and DNA-programmed hybridization chain reaction (HCR) causes signal amplification. The 3D chip is designed featuring a compact multichannel structure. It has a large surface area for sensitive sensing and exhibits multiple functions of target capture, separation, rinsing, and signal detection to simplify the analysis processes. HCR, which enables the fluorophore’s polymerization, is designed as two signal amplification modes, each with unique advantages. Mode I achieves highly sensitive detection in a “sandwich” assay format, in which a long HCR-amplified probe is used to boost the fluorescence signal. In mode II, the assembly of HCR is performed on the inner surface of the 3D chip. Especially, a group of rapid-assembly HCR sequences is proposed, of which the assembly time as short as 15 min stands out among the related works previously reported. Under the optimal conditions, the proposed biosensing system has the limits of detection (LOD) of 4 and 8 cfu/mL in mode I for Staphylococcus aureusdetection and in mode II for Salmonella entericaTyphimurium detection, respectively. The specificity and the real sample applications are evaluated. This multichannel-structured 3D chip based on HCR signal amplification has potential applications in food safety monitoring and biosensor development.

Furfural is directly converted to levulinate esters (isopropyl levulinate and furan-2-ylmethyl-levulinate) as potential biofuel feedstocks, through a combined catalytic strategy. Nb2O5-ZrO2mixed oxide microspheres are used as bifunctional catalysts for hydrogen-transfer hydrogenation and acid-catalyzed alcoholysis in isopropanol. Bifunctional catalysts improve sustainability of furfural conversion through process intensification. Hydrogen transfer hydrogenation from isopropanol avoids dangerous hydrogen gas, and abates process and environmental costs. Isopropyl levulinate and furan-2-ylmethyl-levulinate are the main products that can be applied as blending components in biodiesel or hydrocarbon fuels.

ABSTRACTAutophagy and apoptosis, which could be induced by common stimuli, play crucial roles in development and disease. The functional relationship between autophagy and apoptosis is complex, due to the dual effects of autophagy. In the BombyxBm-12 cells, 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) treatment or starvation-induced cell death, with autophagy preceding apoptosis. In response to 20E or starvation, BmATG8 was rapidly cleaved and conjugated with PE to form BmATG8–PE; subsequently, BmATG5 and BmATG6 were cleaved into BmATG5-tN and BmATG6-C, respectively. Reduction of expression of BmAtg5or BmAtg6by RNAi decreased the proportion of cells undergoing both autophagy and apoptosis after 20E treatment or starvation. Overexpression of BmAtg5or BmAtg6induced autophagy but not apoptosis in the absence of the stimuli, but promoted both autophagy and apoptosis induced by 20E or starvation. Notably, overexpression of cleavage site-deleted BmAtg5or BmAtg6increased autophagy but not apoptosis induced by 20E or starvation, whereas overexpression of BmAtg5-tNand BmAtg6-Cwas able to directly trigger apoptosis or promote the induced apoptosis. In conclusion, being cleaved into BmATG5-tN and BmATG6-C, BmATG5 and BmATG6 mediate apoptosis following autophagy induced by 20E or starvation in BombyxBm-12 cells, reflecting that autophagy precedes apoptosis in the midgut during Bombyxmetamorphosis.

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) shows great application potential in the activation of CO2due to its basic surface functionalities and highly specific electronic properties. Herein, to improve its catalytic performance, g-C3N4was activated by protonation using H2SO4. The texture, surface chemistry and electronic properties of the as-prepared g-C3N4were then studied. The synthesis of cyclic carbonate from the cycloaddition of CO2and epoxide was selected as a model reaction to investigate the catalytic performance. The protonated g-C3N4exhibited a much higher catalytic activity than the pristine g-C3N4. The generation of terminal amino and hydroxyl groups due to the hydrolysis of g-C3N4under acidic conditions as well as the higher specific surface area are responsible for the enhanced catalytic performance.

Recent studies suggest that copper exposure, even at very low levels, can produce significant toxic effects on the brains of mice. This study is aimed to explore the effects of low levels of copper on the hippocampal proteome of mice. Two-dimensional fluorescence difference gel electrophoresis was performed on hippocampal homogenate obtained from mice, which were given either drinking water only (control) or water supplemented with 0.13 ppm copper (copper-treated) for a period of 8 months beginning at an age of 3 months. A total of 9 differentially expressed proteins between copper-treated mice and control mice were identified. Protein functional analysis revealed that the altered proteins mainly involved energy metabolism-related proteins, synaptic proteins, molecular chaperones and cellular structural components. Among these differentially expressed proteins, serine racemase (SRR) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were significantly down-regulated and up-regulated, respectively, in the hippocampus of copper-treated mice compared with the control mice. SRR was shown to be involved in memory formation. The increased expression of GFAP, an astrocyte marker, indicated that long-term low levels of copper exposure caused activation of the inflammatory response, a process linked to spatial memory impairment. In agreement with the data from proteomic analysis, memory impairment was observed in copper-treated mice as measured by the Morris water maze test. In summary, this study has identified a number of abnormally expressed proteins in the hippocampus of copper-treated mice, and the identified protein, such as SRR, together with inflammatory responses, as evidenced by the increased expression of GFAP, could contribute to memory impairment resulting from copper exposure. Our findings provide insights for a better understanding of copper neurotoxicity at the protein level in response to low levels of copper exposure.

MiR-1188 at the imprinted Dlk1-Dio3 domain is a novel player in hepatocellular carcinoma. MiR-1188 expression was found to be decreased in hepatoma cells, and, when overexpressed, miR-1188 inhibited Bcl2 and Sp1 expression, suppressed cell proliferation and migration, promoted apoptosis in vitro, and inhibited tumor growth in vivo.

Nanosheets of graphitic carbon nitride were prepared through direct heat treatment of guanidinium chloride at 450–600 °C in air. The resultant materials had a surface area of 109.9 m2g−1and their physicochemical properties were closely related to the condensation temperature. Decomposition of rhodamine (RhB) in aqueous solution was selected as the model reaction to investigate the photocatalytic performance of nanostructured graphitic carbon nitride. The sample with higher surface area exhibited better optical properties and had enhanced photocatalytic activity. These findings suggest that graphitic carbon nitride prepared from guanidinium chloride will be promising for use in pollutants degradation and solar energy utilization.

Abstract: This paper presents the study on co-capture of SO2 and NO x in O2/CO2 recycled coal combustion in a pilot scale facility with the heat input of 0.3 MW by using high-sulphur lean coal. Detailed comparison of SO2 and NO x emission indexes and desulphurization and denitration rates have been made among three working conditions of O2/CO2, O2/CO2 with limestone injection (O2/CO2+Ca) and O2/RFG (recycled flue gas) with limestone injection (O2/RFG+Ca). Combustion in air was performed as a base case. Results showed that in the O2/RFG with limestone injection, desulphurization and denitration rates could reach up to 96% and 89%, respectively. Limestone injection under the high-CO2 atmosphere caused a significant reduction on SO2 emission and NO x emission as well. This indicated O2/CO2 recycled coal combustion could reduce the investment on the flue gas purification. The techno-economic evaluation indicated that Oxy-combustion technique is not only feasible for CO2 emission control based on existing power plants but is also cost-effective.

•CK2 was highly expressed in GIST biopsies.•The inhibition of CK2 Inhibited GIST cell viability and promoted apoptosis.•The dual treatment with CX-4945 (CX) and imatinib (IM) were more potent inhibiting GIST cell viability and decreased cell apoptosis compared with mono-treatment.•CK2 inhibition along with Imatinib treatment exhibited synergistic anti-cancer effects on GIST cells by inhibiting PI3K/AKT pathway.

Due to the widespread use of tetracycline (TC), there is an increasing demand for rapid detection as well as effective removal of residual tetracycline for environment and food safety. Herein, we report an Eu/Zr-MOF material that combines the high adsorption performance of water-stable Zr-MOF and the unique emission characteristics of Eu3+, which enables both sensing and adsorption functions for TC. Eu/Zr-MOF can be achieved facilely by doping Eu3+into Zr-MOF via the traditional hydrothermal method. In aqueous medium, the Eu3+preferentially coordinate with TC molecules, which in turn acts as an antenna for UV–Vis absorbance to enhance the characteristic fluorescence of Eu3+. In such way, TC can be specifically detected in a wide dynamic range (0.001–0.5 µg/mL) with a low detection limit (0.00092 µg/mL). Moreover, by taking advantage of the unsaturated character of ZrO centers, the Eu/Zr-MOF has a TC loading capacity as high as 289 mg g-1. As a consequence, based on the Eu/Zr-MOF, rapid detection and efficient removal of TC from food and environment was realized at once. The principle of design proposed in this work may find more applications to synthesize new platforms for simultaneous sensing and removal of specific pollutants.

Signal amplification is critical to achieving sensitive biosensing, but complex strategies often bring problems like system instability, false positive, or narrow target spectrum. Here, a self-extending DNA-mediated isothermal amplification (SEIA) system with simple reaction components is introduced to achieve rapid, robust, and significant signal amplification. In SEIA, based on spontaneous refolding of specific DNA domains and using the previous generation product as a template, a DNA strand can extend continuously in an approximate exponential growth pattern, which was accurately predicted by our formula and well supported by AFM results. Based on a set of proof-of-concept experiments, it was proved that the SEIA system can output different signals and flexibly integrate various functional nucleic acids, which makes it suitable for different scenarios and realizes broad-spectrum target detection. Taking into account the advantages of simplicity, flexibility, and efficiency, the SEIA system as an independent signal amplification module will enrich the toolbox of biosensing design.

El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is an important driver of interannual climate variability with increasing attention for its impacts on water and flood management. The impact of ENSO on basin‐scale floods during the TRMM period (1998–2013) is examined by using the streamflow outputs from the Dominant river Routing Integrated with VIC Environment model (DRIVE). Significant simultaneous correlations between flood indices and Niño 3.4 appear in many flood‐prone river basins during peak flood months across both the tropics and midlatitudes especially for flood frequency and flood duration. Gauged by significant lag‐correlations between floods and Niño 3.4, significant ENSO‐leading‐floods relations are found as well in many river basins in South America, south and southeastern Asia, and northern Africa. These ENSO‐floods‐relations can greatly enhance understanding of physical mechanisms relevant to the ENSO impact and may also improve the skills of basin‐scale monthly‐to‐seasonal flood forecast, thus allowing for better preparedness and management of flood risks. As a naturally occurring phenomenon involving quasi‐periodic variation of air pressure and sea surface temperature, the ENSO impacts global floods through its modulation of atmospheric circulations, weather, and precipitation. Previous studies on ENSO‐floods‐relations are often limited in supporting practical flood disaster preparedness and risk analyses because of the lack of a “complete” reconstruction of past flood events likely due to scattered gauge‐based streamflow data and/or coarse‐resolution retrospective simulations. Here flood events at model grids and for individual river basins are identified using the outputs from the Dominant river Routing Integrated with VIC Environment model (DRIVE) with a high spatial resolution (0.125° × 0.125°) driven by the state‐of‐the‐art satellite precipitation product TMPA. Simultaneous and lagged responses of basin‐scale floods to ENSO are explored to provide an improved knowledge of the ENSO effect on global floods and a guidance for flood disaster planning and risk management for the regions consistently impacted by ENSO. Simultaneous correlations between flood indices and Nino 3.4 appear in many flood‐prone river basins in the tropics and midlatitudesENSO‐leading‐floods relations gauged by significant lag‐correlations between floods and Nino 3.4 can also be seen in many river basinsThese ENSO‐floods‐relations can greatly help our efforts of exploring basin‐scale monthly‐to‐seasonal flood predictability

Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) is a measurement interpreted as arterial stiffness. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between baPWV, and components of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in different age and gender groups.