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Abstract In this community effort, we compare measurements between 34 laboratories from 19 countries, utilizing mixtures of labelled authentic synthetic standards, to quantify by mass spectrometry four clinically used ceramide species in the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) human blood plasma Standard Reference Material (SRM) 1950, as well as a set of candidate plasma reference materials (RM 8231). Participants either utilized a provided validated method and/or their method of choice. Mean concentration values, and intra- and inter-laboratory coefficients of variation (CV) were calculated using single-point and multi-point calibrations, respectively. These results are the most precise (intra-laboratory CVs ≤ 4.2%) and concordant (inter-laboratory CVs < 14%) community-derived absolute concentration values reported to date for four clinically used ceramides in the commonly analyzed SRM 1950. We demonstrate that calibration using authentic labelled standards dramatically reduces data variability. Furthermore, we show how the use of shared RM can correct systematic quantitative biases and help in harmonizing lipidomics. Collectively, the results from the present study provide a significant knowledge base for translation of lipidomic technologies to future clinical applications that might require the determination of reference intervals (RIs) in various human populations or might need to estimate reference change values (RCV), when analytical variability is a key factor for recall during multiple testing of individuals.

The rapid increase in lipidomic studies has led to a collaborative effort within the community to establish standards and criteria for producing, documenting, and disseminating data. Creating a dynamic easy-to-use checklist that condenses key information about lipidomic experiments into common terminology will enhance the field's consistency, comparability, and repeatability. Here, we describe the structure and rationale of the established Lipidomics Minimal Reporting Checklist to increase transparency in lipidomics research.

Abstract Metabolic dysfunction‐associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) represents an impending global health challenge. Current management strategies often face setbacks, emphasizing the need for preclinical models that faithfully mimic the human disease and its comorbidities. The liver disease progression aggravation diet (LIDPAD), a diet‐induced murine model, extensively characterized under thermoneutral conditions and refined diets is introduced to ensure reproducibility and minimize species differences. LIDPAD recapitulates key phenotypic, genetic, and metabolic hallmarks of human MASLD, including multiorgan communications, and disease progression within 4 to 16 weeks. These findings reveal gut‐liver dysregulation as an early event and compensatory pancreatic islet hyperplasia, underscoring the gut‐pancreas axis in MASLD pathogenesis. A robust computational pipeline is also detailed for transcriptomic‐guided disease staging, validated against multiple harmonized human hepatic transcriptomic datasets, thereby enabling comparative studies between human and mouse models. This approach underscores the remarkable similarity of the LIDPAD model to human MASLD. The LIDPAD model fidelity to human MASLD is further confirmed by its responsiveness to dietary interventions, with improvements in metabolic profiles, liver histopathology, hepatic transcriptomes, and gut microbial diversity. These results, alongside the closely aligned changing disease‐associated molecular signatures between the human MASLD and LIDPAD model, affirm the model's relevance and potential for driving therapeutic development.

Objective: This study investigated the clinical effects and applicability of minimally invasive impacted teeth extraction using digital robots. Methods: A marker was bonded to the non-surgical area before surgery. A Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) scan was obtained and uploaded to the robot software to determine the drilling position of the ring drill. During the surgery, the robot arm automatically navigated to a predetermined position, and the ring drill removed part of the bone tissue and exposed and extracted the impacted teeth. Finally, the surgeon tightly sutured the wounds to the surgical area. Results: Three minimally invasive extractions of impacted teeth with robotic assistance were performed without complications. The surgical area showed good healing during the one-month follow-up examination. Conclusions: Digital robot-assisted minimally invasive extraction of impacted teeth is a highly feasible clinical procedure as it minimises trauma to the surgical area and protects the surrounding blood vessels and nerve bundles, making it a safe and valuable technique with significant potential for clinical application.

Abstract Background Postpartum depression (PPD) is a major public health problem worldwide. Previous studies have shown that postpartum negative life events and neuroticism are both important risk factors for PPD. However, few studies have considered the role of protective factors in the influence of postpartum negative life events and neuroticism on PPD. Based on the diathesis–stress model and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a moderated mediating model was established to examine the mediating role of neuroticism between postpartum negative life events and PPD, as well as the moderating role of psychological flexibility in this mediating effect. Methods A sample of 776 parturients from three different Grade A hospitals in China were assessed using the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale, the Postpartum Negative Life Events Scale, the Neuroticism Subscale of the Big Five Personality Scale, and the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire– II. Results PPD, postpartum negative life events, neuroticism, and experiential avoidance were significantly positively correlated with one another. Neuroticism partially mediated the relationship between postpartum negative life events and PPD. In this mediation model, the direct path and the second half of the mediation path were moderated by psychological flexibility. Specifically, the links between postpartum negative life events and PPD, as well as between neuroticism and PPD, were stronger when psychological flexibility was low, but weaker when psychological flexibility was high. Conclusions The results show that psychological flexibility plays an important role in buffering the negative effects of postpartum negative life events and neuroticism on PPD. These findings provide implications for the prevention and intervention of PPD using an ACT approach.

Multidrug resistance is a substantial obstacle in treating non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with therapies like cisplatin (DDP)-based adjuvant chemotherapy and EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Aaptamine-7 (AP-7), a benzonaphthyridine alkaloid extracted from Aaptos aaptos sponge, has been shown to exhibit a broad spectrum of anti-tumor activity. However, the anti-cancer activity of AP-7 in combination with DDP and its molecular mechanisms in multidrug-resistant NSCLC are not yet clear. Our research indicates that AP-7 bolsters the growth inhibition activity of DDP on multidrug-resistant NSCLC cells. AP-7 notably disrupts DDP-induced cell cycle arrest and amplifies DDP-induced DNA damage effects in these cells. Furthermore, the combination of AP-7 and DDP downregulates Chk1 activation, interrupts the DNA damage repair-dependent Chk1/CDK1 pathway, and helps to overcome drug resistance and boost apoptosis in multidrug-resistant NSCLC cells and a gefitinib-resistant xenograft mice model. In summary, AP-7 appears to enhance DDP-induced DNA damage by impeding the Chk1 signaling pathway in multidrug-resistant NSCLC, thereby augmenting growth inhibition, both in vitro and in vivo. These results indicate the potential use of AP-7 as a DDP sensitizer in the treatment of multidrug-resistant NSCLC.

Leaf chlorophyll content (LCC) is crucial in plant physiology and ecological research. Although several LCC products have recently been generated at a regional or global scale, understanding their accuracy is still a concern in the scientific community. We intercompared and analyzed five existing LCC products (MuSyQ LCC, MODIS LCC, MERIS LCC, GLCC, and GLOBMAP MERIS LCC) over China in terms of spatial continuity and spatiotemporal consistency over seven plant functional types. The products of 2011 and 2019 over China were used in this study. Research findings indicate (1) the 30 m-resolution MuSyQ LCC has the highest accuracy compared to field LCC of cropland and grassland types, with an RMSE of 19.5 μg/cm2, while MODIS LCC product demonstrates a more robust fit to the measured LCC, with an R2 of 0.341. (2) Interpolation of products with lower spatial resolution e.g. MODIS LCC, MERIS LCC, and GLOBMAP MERIS LCC, generally improves spatial continuity. The non-interpolated 30 m MuSyQ LCC exhibits good regional continuity due to its high spatial resolution. The lowest spatial continuity is found over shrubs for all products. (3) MODIS LCC and MuSyQ LCC of 2019 demonstrate high overall spatial consistency and exhibit the highest correlation over cropland sites. MODIS LCC and GLOBMAP MERIS LCC of 2011 demonstrate high temporal consistency over deciduous forests, evergreen forests, grasslands, and shrubs sites. The most robust overall temporal consistency is exhibited among all products in the deciduous needleleaved forest, followed by evergreen needleleaved forest and grassland. The findings of this research are essential for improving leaf chlorophyll content inversion algorithms and for understanding and better use of LCC products in land surface models.

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are known to have the effect of promoting plant growth. In this paper, three PGPR strains were selected from the previous work, which had plant growth-promoting activities such as phosphate solubilization, nitrogen fixation, phosphorus mobilization, etc. These strains named FJS-3(Burkholderia pyromania), FJS-7(Pseudomonas rhodesiae), and FJS-16(Pseudomonas baetica), respectively, were prepared into solid biological agents. Three widely planted commercial crops (tea plant, tobacco, and chili pepper) were selected for PGPR growth promotion verification. The results showed that the new shoots of tea seedlings under PGPR treatment were much more than the control. We also used tobacco, another important crop in Guizhou, to test the growth-promoting effect of individual bacteria, and the results showed that each of them could promote the growth of tobacco plants, and FJS-3(Burkholderia pyrrocinia) had the best effect. In addition, we carried out experiments on tobacco and pepper using multi-strain PGPR, the tobacco plants' height, fresh, and root weight increased by 30.15 %, 37.36 %, and 54.5 %, respectively, and the pepper plants' increased by 30.10 %, 56.38 % and 43.18 %, respectively, which both showed significantly better effects than that of a single strain. To further test the field performance, field trials were carried out in a mature Longjing43 tea plantation in Guizhou. There were four treatments: no fertilization (T1), combined application of PGPR biological agent and compound fertilizer (T2), only application of PGPR (T3), and only application of compound fertilizer (T4). In terms of yield, grouped with or without PGPR, there was a 15.38 % (T2:T4) and 92.31 % (T3:T1) increase between them, respectively. The tea's yield and tea flavor substances such as tea polyphenols, caffeine, and theanine were detected, and the T2 showed the most significant positive effect on both sides. Especially, an important indicator of Matcha green tea is the color, chlorophyll content was then tested, and PGPR application increased it and improved the appearance. All these results demonstrated that the PGPR we screened could significantly promote plant growth and quality improvement, and had good application potential in crop planting, which could contribute to environmental protection and economic growth.

This paper addresses the tracking control problem for a class of uncertain nonlinear systems with full state deferred constraints. The constraints considered occur after a period of system operation rather than from the beginning. An attempt has been made to use a shifting function to realize the purpose of deferred constraint. Moreover, the difficulty of asymmetric constraint on states comes from the design on barrier function. Due to this, an unified barrier function is proposed to prevent system states from violating the constraint range, indirectly. Meanwhile, it effectively removes the restriction condition used in existing results that the upper and lower bound signs of constraint functions are the same. Consequently, the goals of tracking a reference signal and state constraints are achieved through the control scheme designed. Theoretical analysis and simulations are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed control strategy.

Modulating Tankyrases (TNKS), interactions with USP25 to promote TNKS degradation, rather than inhibiting their enzymatic activities, is emerging as an alternative/specific approach to inhibit the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Here, we identified UAT-B, a novel neoantimycin analog isolated from Streptomyces conglobatus, as a small-molecule inhibitor of TNKS–USP25 protein–protein interaction (PPI) to overcome multi-drug resistance in colorectal cancer (CRC). The disruption of TNKS–USP25 complex formation by UAT-B led to a significant decrease in TNKS levels, triggering cell apoptosis through modulation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Importantly, UAT-B successfully inhibited the CRC cells growth that harbored high TNKS levels, as demonstrated in various in vitro and in vivo studies utilizing cell line-based and patient-derived xenografts, as well as APCmin/+ spontaneous CRC models. Collectively, these findings suggest that targeting the TNKS–USP25 PPI using a small-molecule inhibitor represents a compelling therapeutic strategy for CRC treatment, and UAT-B emerges as a promising candidate for further preclinical and clinical investigations.

Due to the harsh marine environment of chloride ion invasion and corrosion, the issues of long-term chloride transport and durability life evaluation for marine infrastructures constructed/maintained by recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) after enhancement remain poorly understood. For our studies, an accelerated carbonation modification method for recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) was adopted to prepare carbonated recycled coarse aggregate (CRCA) samples, and the macroproperties, i.e., apparent density and water absorption, of CRCA were enhanced by approximately 1.40-3.97% and 16.3-21.8%, respectively, compared with those of RCA. An in-door experiment for chloride transport into concrete specimens subjected to a simulated marine environment of alternating drying-wetting cycles was conducted. The chloride profiles and transport characteristics of carbonated recycled coarse aggregate concrete (CRCAC), recycled coarse aggregate concrete (RCAC), and natural coarse aggregate concrete (NCAC) were analysed and compared. The results indicated that the chloride penetration depths and concentrations of CRCAC were approximately 52.6-96.2% of those of RCAC, which highlighted the better chloride resistance of CRCAC. A chloride transport model for marine concrete structures with various coarse aggregate types in a corrosive marine environment was established. Taking a certain harbour wharf as an example, the durability life of this case considering the application of the CRCAC was evaluated based on the chloride transport model, and the durability life of the CRCAC structure was improved by approximately 28.10% compared with that of the RCAC. The CRCAC developed in this paper has improved mechanical performance and durability than those of RCAC, and it has the potential to replace the NCAC and further support the construction and maintenance of marine infrastructures.

Abstract Luminescent materials that display quick spectral responses to thermal stimuli have attracted pervasive attention in sensing technologies. Herein, a programmable luminescence color switching in lanthanide‐doped LiYO2 under thermal stimuli, based on deliberate control of the monoclinic (β) to tetragonal (α) phase transition in the crystal lattice, is reported. Specifically, a lanthanide‐doping (Ln3+) approach to fine‐tune the phase‐transition temperature in a wide range from 294 to 359 K is developed. Accordingly, an array of Ln3+‐doped LiYO2 crystals that exhibit progressive phase transition, and thus sequential color switching at gradually increasing temperatures, is constructed. The tunable optical response to thermal stimuli is harnessed for colorimetric temperature indication and quantitative detection, demonstrating superior sensitivity and temperature resolution (Sr = 26.1% K−1, δT = 0.008 K). The advances in controlling the phase‐transition behavior of luminescent materials also offer exciting opportunities for high‐performance personalized health monitoring.

Objective. To explore the value of the injury severity score (ISS) and the new injury severity score (NISS) for evaluating injuries and predicting complications (pneumonia and respiratory failure) and poor prognoses (in-hospital tracheal intubation, extended length of hospital stay, ICU admission, prolonged ICU stay, and death) in patients with thoracic trauma. Methods. The data of consecutive patients with thoracic trauma who were admitted to the department of cardiothoracic surgery of a tertiary hospital between January 2018 and December 2021 were retrospectively collected. ISS and NISS were calculated for each patient. The study outcomes were complications and poor prognoses. The differences in ISS and NISS between patients with complications and poor prognoses and patients without the abovementioned conditions were compared using the Mann‒Whitney U test. Discrimination and calibration of ISS and NISS in predicting outcomes were compared using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) and Hosmer‒Lemeshow (H-L) statistic. Results. A total of 310 patients were included. ISS and NISS of patients with complications and poor prognoses were greater than those of patients without complications and poor prognoses, respectively. The discrimination of ISS in predicting pneumonia, respiratory failure, in-hospital tracheal intubation, extended length of hospital stay, ICU admission, prolonged ICU stay, and death (AUCs: 0.609, 0.721, 0.848, 0.784, 0.763, 0.716, and 0.804, respectively) was not statistically significantly different from that of NISS in predicting the corresponding outcomes (AUCs: 0.628, 0.712, 0.795, 0.767, 0.750, 0.750, and 0.818, respectively). ISS showed better calibration than NISS for predicting pneumonia, respiratory failure, in-hospital tracheal intubation, extended length of hospital stay, and ICU admission but worse calibration for predicting prolonged ICU stay and death. Conclusion. ISS and NISS are both suitable for injury evaluation. There was no statistically significant difference in discrimination between ISS and NISS, but they had different calibrations when predicting different outcomes.

BackgroundPneumoconiosis is the most important occupational disease all over the world, with high prevalence and mortality. At present, the monitoring of workers exposed to dust and the diagnosis of pneumoconiosis rely on manual interpretation of chest radiographs, which is subjective and low efficiency. With the development of artificial intelligence technology, a more objective and efficient computer aided system for pneumoconiosis diagnosis can be realized. Therefore, the present study reported a novel deep learning (DL) artificial intelligence (AI) system for detecting pneumoconiosis in digital frontal chest radiographs, based on which we aimed to provide references for radiologists.MethodsWe annotated 49,872 chest radiographs from patients with pneumoconiosis and workers exposed to dust using a self-developed tool. Next, we used the labeled images to train a convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithm developed for pneumoconiosis screening. Finally, the performance of the trained pneumoconiosis screening model was validated using a validation set containing 495 chest radiographs.ResultsApproximately, 51% (25,435/49,872) of the chest radiographs were labeled as normal. Pneumoconiosis was detected in 49% (24,437/49,872) of the labeled radiographs, among which category-1, category-2, and category-3 pneumoconiosis accounted for 53.1% (12,967/24,437), 20.4% (4,987/24,437), and 26.5% (6,483/24,437) of the patients, respectively. The CNN DL algorithm was trained using these data. The validation set of 495 digital radiography chest radiographs included 261 cases of pneumoconiosis and 234 cases of non-pneumoconiosis. As a result, the accuracy of the AI system for pneumoconiosis identification was 95%, the area under the curve was 94.7%, and the sensitivity was 100%.ConclusionDL algorithm based on CNN helped screen pneumoconiosis in the chest radiographs with high performance; thus, it could be suitable for diagnosing pneumoconiosis automatically and improve the efficiency of radiologists.

The physical and mechanical properties of recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) are worse than those of natural coarse aggregate (NCA), and the overall performance of recycled concrete prepared from RCA is worse than that of natural aggregate concrete. Treatment of RCA by CO2-accelerated carbonation effectively improves the macroscopic properties of RCA. The degree of influence of raw material factors, i.e., the original concrete strength (OCS) and initial moisture content (IMC) of RCA, on the carbonation of RCAs is very complex. Herein, an accelerated carbonation experiment for RCA with different material factors as variables was carried out to explore the influence of the abovementioned factors on the physical properties of carbonated recycled coarse aggregate (CRCA). By analyzing the microstructure of the RCA with the best modification effect before and after carbonation, the carbonation modification mechanism of the RCA was revealed. The physical performance indexes, including the apparent density, water absorption and carbonation rate, of the dried RCA with an OCS of C40 and C50 were significantly improved. The research results can provide basic data and theoretical support for promoting the popularization and application of RCA and recycled concrete in practical engineering.

Cloud detection is an essential preprocessing step when using satellite-borne infrared hyperspectral sounders for data assimilation and atmospheric retrieval. In this study, we propose a cloud detection algorithm based solely on the sensitivity and detection characteristics of the FY-4A Geostationary Interferometric Infrared Sounder (GIIRS), rather than relying on other instruments. The algorithm consists of four steps: (1) combining observed radiation and clear radiance data simulated by the Community Radiative Transfer Model (CRTM) to identify clear fields of view (FOVs); (2) determining the number of clouds within adjacent 2 × 2 FOVs via a principal component analysis of observed radiation; (3) identifying whether there are large observed radiance differences between adjacent 2 × 2 FOVs to determine the mixture of clear skies and clouds; and (4) assigning adjacent 2 × 2 FOVs as a cloud cluster following the three steps above to select an appropriate classification threshold. The classification results within each cloud detection cluster were divided into the following categories: clear, partly cloudy, or overcast. The proposed cloud detection algorithm was tested using one month of GIIRS observations from May 2022 in this study. The cloud detection and classification results were compared with the FY-4A Advanced Geostationary Radiation Imager (AGRI)’s operational cloud mask products to evaluate their performance. The results showed that the algorithm’s performance is significantly influenced by the surface type. Among all-day observations, the highest recognition performance was achieved over the ocean, followed by land surfaces, with the lowest performance observed over deep inland water. The proposed algorithm demonstrated better clear sky recognition during the nighttime for ocean and land surfaces, while its performance was higher for partly cloudy and overcast conditions during the day. However, for inland water surfaces, the algorithm consistently exhibited a lower cloud recognition performance during both the day and night. Moreover, in contrast to the GIIRS’s Level 2 cloud mask (CLM) product, the proposed algorithm was able to identify partly cloudy conditions. The algorithm’s classification results departed slightly from those of the AGRI’s cloud mask product in areas with clear sky/cloud boundaries and minimal convective cloud coverage; this was attributed to the misclassification of clear sky as partly cloudy under a low-resolution situation. AGRI’s CLM products, temporally and spatially collocated to the GIIRS FOV, served as the reference value. The proportion of FOVs consistently classified as partly cloudy to the total number of partly cloudy FOVs was 40.6%. In comparison with the GIIRS’s L2 product, the proposed algorithm improved the identification performance by around 10%.

Electric vehicle systems and smart grid systems are setting stringent development targets to respond to global trends in energy saving, carbon reduction, and sustainable environmental development. In the field of batteries, there has been extensive discussion on the estimation of battery charge. In battery management systems (BMSs) and charging/discharging systems, the accuracy of the measurement of battery physical parameters is critical, as it directly affects the system, alongside the algorithm's estimation and error correction. Therefore, this paper proposes incorporating a low-power continuous-time delta-sigma analogue-to-digital converter into a battery measurement system to support deep learning algorithms for battery state estimation. This approach aims to maintain the accuracy of battery state estimation while reducing latency and overall system power consumption. Implemented using the UMC 0.18 μm CMOS 1P6M process, the proposed design achieves a measured signal-to-noise distortion ratio (SNDR) of 78.42 dB, an effective number of bits (ENOB) of 12.73 bits, and a power consumption of approximately 15.97 μW. The chip layout area is 0.67 mm × 0.56 mm. By applying delta-sigma modulators to energy management systems, this solution aims to increase the total number of battery monitoring units while reducing overall power consumption and construction costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition metal carbides (TMCs) are a class of materialswith excellent dielectric properties and thermal stability, which exhibit enormous potential in high temperature electromagnetic wave absorption (EWA). However, the high dielectric constant and electrical conductivity of TMCs usually cause impedance mismatch, and their high density also prevents further practical applications. To solve these problems, the lightweight and impedance matching NbC nanowires (NbCnws) were prepared by using bamboo powder as a carbon source and subsequent carbothermal reduction reaction process. The as-synthesized NbCnws all exhibit a low density of 0.23 g/cm³ and superior EMA performance. It is worth noting that the minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of the sample is -43.03 dB at 5.92 GHz and the corresponding matching thickness is only 3.7 mm when sintering temperature is 1500°C. The excellent electromagnetic wave absorption (EWA) performance is attributed to good impedance matching and strong dielectric loss. This research work provides a prospect for the development and utilization of one-dimensional TMC materials in the field of microwave absorption materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grain yield in rice is a complex trait and it is controlled by a number of quantitative trait loci (QTL). To dissect the genetic basis of rice yield, QTL analysis for nine yield traits was performed using an F2 population containing 190 plants, which was developed from a cross between Youyidao (YYD) and Sanfenhe (SFH), and each plant in the population evaluated with respect to nine yield traits. In this study, the correlations among the nine yield traits were analyzed. The grain yield per plant positively correlated with six yield traits, except for grain length and grain width, and showed the highest correlation coefficient of 0.98 with the number of filled grains per plant. A genetic map containing 133 DNA markers was constructed and it spanned 1831.7 cM throughout 12 chromosomes. A total of 36 QTLs for the yield traits were detected on nine chromosomes, except for the remaining chromosomes 5, 8, and 9. The phenotypic variation was explained by a single QTL that ranged from 6.19% to 36.01%. Furthermore, a major QTL for grain width and weight, qGW2-1, was confirmed to be newly identified and was narrowed down to a relatively smaller interval of about ~2.94-Mb. Collectively, we detected a total of 36 QTLs for yield traits and a major QTL, qGW2-1, was confirmed to control grain weight and width, which laid the foundation for further map-based cloning and molecular design breeding in rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the environment, degradable plastics are decomposed into biodegradable microplastics (Bio-MPs), but there is limited study on the impact on plant growth and development. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics (PLA-MPs) and nonbiodegradable polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) with different concentrations (0.02%, 0.2%, and 2% w/w) to explore their short-term toxic effects on cucumbers. The results of this study showed that PLA-MPs significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the aboveground and belowground biomass of cucumber seedlings compared to the control. At the level of 2% MPs, the chlorophyll content and PRI vegetation index of cucumber plants decreased significantly, anthocyanin content increased, and the photosynthetic system was disturbed. Likewise, the antioxidant defensive system of cucumber was affected after exposure to MPs stress, especially under 2% levels. The hyperspectral image is a novel technique which analyzed the chlorophyll content and absorption under MPs treatment; there was still a high correlation between chlorophyll content, anthocyanin content, and MCARI vegetation index, so a single vegetation index could be used for rapid detection of plant physiological status. Our study suggests that Bio-MPs have potential ecological toxicity that could affect the growth of cucumber seedlings through deactivation of the PSII reaction center. Therefore, biodegradable plastics do not seem to be the optimal solution, and there is an urgent need for long-term monitoring and evaluation of the biological toxicity of biodegradable MPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteochondroma is one of the most common benign bone tumors, mainly involving the bone ends of long bones, and involving the spine is rare. It often involves the competing, followed by the thoracic and lumbar spine, and rarely involves the sacrum. We report the imaging findings of a solitary osteochondroma of the sacrum. The patient was a 37-year-old woman who presented clinically with progressive low back pain associated with left buttock pain and discomfort. CT and MRI showed that the lesion originated from the left lamina of S1 and grew anteriorly and superiorly, resulting in compressive resorption of the L5 vertebral bone, left foraminal stenosis and adjacent nerve root swelling. The patient underwent surgery and the mass was completely excised and recovered well postoperatively. Osteochondroma arising from the sacrum is rare and can lead to compressive resorption of adjacent bone, and imaging techniques are conducive to the localization and characterization of the lesion and provide useful information for clinical treatment.