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Haijing Sui,1,&ast; Hong Shen,1,&ast; Chi Zhang,1 Minghui Wang,1 Zhen Zhen,1 Junbo Zhang2 1Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Junbo Zhang, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China, Email zhangjunbo354@163.com Zhen Zhen, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China, Email zhen_ent@163.comObjective: This study aimed to explore whether saliva pepsin concentration (SPC) could be regarded as a risk factor for the occurrence and unfavorable control of asthma in children with allergic rhinitis.Methods: A prospective study was conducted on a group of 20 consecutive children newly diagnosed with allergic rhinitis and asthma (referred to as the asthma group). All these children underwent fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) measurement, lung function tests, and assessment of asthma control using the 7-item Childhood Asthma Control Test (C-ACT) score. Simultaneously, a control group consisting of 20 children with simple allergic rhinitis, matched for baseline characteristics, was included. SPC measurement was performed in the two groups.Results: The SPC value was significantly higher in the asthma group than that in the control group (165.0 ± 82.8 ng/mL vs 68.4 ± 34.5 ng/mL) (P < 0.001). In the asthma group, SPC was independently associated with FeNO, the ratio of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) to forced vital capacity (FVC), and forced expiratory flow at 50% and 75% of FVC (FEF50 and FEF75) (all P < 0.05). The severity of nasal symptoms evaluated by the visual analogue scale (N-VAS) was independently associated with FEF75, the maximal mid-expiratory flow (MMEF), and C-ACT score (P < 0.05).Conclusion: Direct pepsin exposure and uncontrolled nasal symptoms may play crucial roles in the pathogenesis and progression of childhood allergic asthma. The SPC value can be considered as a risk factor for asthma in children with allergic rhinitis.Keywords: saliva pepsin concentration, asthma, allergic rhinitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease

Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text. Background: Visual snow syndrome (VSS) is associated with functional connectivity (FC) dysregulation of visual networks (VNs). We hypothesized that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, customized for visual symptoms (MBCT-vision), can treat VSS and modulate dysfunctional VNs. Methods: An open-label feasibility study for an 8-week MBCT-vision treatment program was conducted. Primary (symptom severity; impact on daily life) and secondary (WHO-5; CORE-10) outcomes at Week 9 and Week 20 were compared with baseline. Secondary MRI outcomes in a subcohort compared resting-state functional and diffusion MRI between baseline and Week 20. Results: Twenty-one participants (14 male participants, median 30 years, range 22–56 years) recruited from January 2020 to October 2021. Two (9.5%) dropped out. Self-rated symptom severity (0–10) improved: baseline (median [interquartile range (IQR)] 7 [6–8]) vs Week 9 (5.5 [3–7], P = 0.015) and Week 20 (4 [3–6], P < 0.001), respectively. Self-rated impact of symptoms on daily life (0–10) improved: baseline (6 [5–8]) vs Week 9 (4 [2–5], P = 0.003) and Week 20 (2 [1–3], P < 0.001), respectively. WHO-5 Wellbeing (0–100) improved: baseline (median [IQR] 52 [36–56]) vs Week 9 (median 64 [47–80], P = 0.001) and Week 20 (68 [48–76], P < 0.001), respectively. CORE-10 Distress (0–40) improved: baseline (15 [12–20]) vs Week 9 (12.5 [11–16.5], P = 0.003) and Week 20 (11 [10–14], P = 0.003), respectively. Within-subject fMRI analysis found reductions between baseline and Week 20, within VN-related FC in the i) left lateral occipital cortex (size = 82 mL, familywise error [FWE]-corrected P value = 0.006) and ii) left cerebellar lobules VIIb/VIII (size = 65 mL, FWE-corrected P value = 0.02), and increases within VN-related FC in the precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex (size = 69 mL, cluster-level FWE-corrected P value = 0.02). Conclusions: MBCT-vision was a feasible treatment for VSS, improved symptoms and modulated FC of VNs. This study also showed proof-of-concept for intensive mindfulness interventions in the treatment of neurological conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Even with advances in primary health care, depressive disorders remain a major global public health problem. We conducted an in-depth analysis of global, regional and national trends in depressive disorders incidence over the past 30 years. Methods Data on the incidence of depressive disorders were obtained by sex (female, male, and both), location (204 countries), age (5–84 years), year (1990–2019) from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2019. Further, age-period-cohort modeling was used to estimate the net drift, local drift, age, period and cohort effects between 1990 and 2019. Results In 2019, although the incidence of depressive disorders has increased by 59.3% to 290 million (95% UI: 256, 328), the age-standardized incidence rate has decreased by 2.35% to 3588.25 per 100,000 people (3152.71, 4060.42) compared to 1990. There was an emerging transition of incidences from the young and middle-aged population to the old population. From 1990 to 2019, the net drift of incidence rate ranged from −0.54% (−0.61%, −0.47%) in low-middle Socio-demographic Index (SDI) regions to 0.52% (0.25%, 0.79%) in high SDI regions. Globally, the incidence rate of depressive disorders increases with age, period effects showing a decreasing risk and cohort effects beginning to decline after the 1960s. Conclusions Our current findings reflect substantial health disparities and potential priority-setting of depressive disorders incidence in the three dimensions of age, period and cohort across SDI regions, countries. The scope of healthcare to improve the progression of depressive disorders events can be expanded to include males, females of all ages.

Parkinson's disease is a complex neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive movement impairments. Predominant symptoms encompass resting tremor, bradykinesia, limb rigidity, and postural instability. In addition, it also includes a series of non-motor symptoms such as sleep disorders, hyposmia, gastrointestinal dysfunction, autonomic dysfunction and cognitive impairment. Pathologically, the disease manifests through dopaminergic neuronal loss and the presence of Lewy bodies. At present, no significant breakthrough has been achieved in clinical Parkinson's disease treatment. Exploring treatment modalities necessitate the establishment of scientifically sound animal models. In recent years, researchers have focused on replicating the symptoms of human Parkinson's disease, resulting in the establishment of various experimental animal models primarily through drugs and transgenic methods to mimic relevant pathologies and identify more effective treatments. This review examines traditional neurotoxin and transgenic animal models as well as α-synuclein pre-formed fibrils models, non-human primate models and non-mammalian specie models. Additionally, it introduces emerging models, including models based on optogenetics, induced pluripotent stem cells, and gene editing, aiming to provide a reference for the utilization of experimental animal models and clinical research for researchers in this field.

Out of the several hundred copies of rRNA genes arranged in the nucleolar organizing regions (NOR) of the five human acrocentric chromosomes, ~50% remain transcriptionally inactive. NOR-associated sequences and epigenetic modifications contribute to the differential expression of rRNAs. However, the mechanism(s) controlling the dosage of active versus inactive rRNA genes within each NOR in mammals is yet to be determined. We have discovered a family of ncRNAs, SNULs (Single NUcleolus Localized RNA), which form constrained sub-nucleolar territories on individual NORs and influence rRNA expression. Individual members of the SNULs monoallelically associate with specific NOR-containing chromosomes. SNULs share sequence similarity to pre-rRNA and localize in the sub-nucleolar compartment with pre-rRNA. Finally, SNULs control rRNA expression by influencing pre-rRNA sorting to the DFC compartment and pre-rRNA processing. Our study discovered a novel class of ncRNAs influencing rRNA expression by forming constrained nucleolar territories on individual NORs.

IntroductionA digital twin is a virtual representation of a patient's disease, facilitating real-time monitoring, analysis, and simulation. This enables the prediction of disease progression, optimization of care delivery, and improvement of outcomes.MethodsHere, we introduce a digital twin framework for type 2 diabetes (T2D) that integrates machine learning with multiomic data, knowledge graphs, and mechanistic models. By analyzing a substantial multiomic and clinical dataset, we constructed predictive machine learning models to forecast disease progression. Furthermore, knowledge graphs were employed to elucidate and contextualize multiomic–disease relationships.Results and discussionOur findings not only reaffirm known targetable disease components but also spotlight novel ones, unveiled through this integrated approach. The versatile components presented in this study can be incorporated into a digital twin system, enhancing our grasp of diseases and propelling the advancement of precision medicine.

Orofacial muscles are particularly prone to refractory fibrosis after injury, leading to a negative effect on the patient's quality of life and limited therapeutic options. Gaining insights into innate inflammatory response-fibrogenesis homeostasis can aid in the development of new therapeutic strategies for muscle fibrosis. In this study, the crucial role of macrophages is identified in the regulation of orofacial muscle fibrogenesis after injury. Hypothesizing that orchestrating macrophage polarization and functions will be beneficial for fibrosis treatment, nanomaterials are engineered with polyethylenimine functionalization to regulate the macrophage phenotype by capturing negatively charged cell-free nucleic acids (cfNAs). This cationic nanomaterial reduces macrophage-related inflammation in vitr and demonstrates excellent efficacy in preventing orofacial muscle fibrosis in vivo. Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals that the cationic nanomaterial reduces the proportion of profibrotic Gal3 + macrophages through the cfNA-mediated TLR7/9-NF-κB signaling pathway, resulting in a shift in profibrotic fibro-adipogenic progenitors (FAPs) from the matrix-producing Fabp4 + subcluster to the matrix-degrading Igf1 + subcluster. The study highlights a strategy to target innate inflammatory response-fibrogenesis homeostasis and suggests that cationic nanomaterials can be exploited for treating refractory fibrosis., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Classic Formulas (Jing fang) are considered the essence and authority of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) due to their long history and proven efficacy. These formulas play a pivotal role in all kinds of different disease prevention and therapeutic strategies. Yiyi Fuzi Baijiang San (YYFZBJS), one of the Classic Formulas, was originally developed for the treatment of chronic intestinal abscess. With the accumulation of clinical experience and the exploration of modern pharmacological research in recent years, YYFZBJS has been extensively employed to address a broad spectrum of conditions such as colorectal cancer. Although numerous studies have explored the clinical efficacy and underlying mechanisms of YYFZBJS, no comprehensive review summarizing these findings exists to date. This study aims to systematically review and critically assess the current clinical and mechanistic research on YYFZBJS, with the objective of providing valuable insights and guidance for TCM research in the future., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The reviewer QJ declared a shared affiliation with the author NC to the handling editor at the time of the review., (Copyright © 2024 Zhang, Zhang, Chai, Wan and Sui.)

The management of large volumes of hazardous organic waste poses remarkable challenges due to costs and environmental pollution in industrial processes. Developing a universal strategy for recycling such waste is crucial for environmental protection. Herein, a reaction-based strategy has been proposed to recover and recycle the heavy phenolic slag wastes (HPSW) in a high-valued way. After analyzing the chemical structure of HPSW, the polycondensation method has been used to convert HPSW into an activated carbon adhesive (ACA) through reaction between phenolic hydroxyl groups and formaldehyde. The newly prepared activated carbon sample (AC-12, at optimal conditions) exhibited a high iodine value of 1320.80 mg·g -1 and a specific surface area of 1368.8 m 2 ·g -1 . It demonstrates high efficiency in adsorbing organic pollutants from both gaseous (p-xylene vapor) and liquid phases (methylene blue), with an equilibration time under 15 min, achieving the standard of high-end commercial ACs. This environmentally friendly and cost-effective method offers innovative approaches for the resourceful recycling and treatment of various types of organic waste, facilitating the efficient utilization and disposal of hazardous organic solid wastes in industries., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) refers to one of the critical image modalities for diagnosis, whereas its long acquisition time limits its application. In this study, the aim was to investigate whether deep learning-based techniques are capable of using the common information in different MRI sequences to reduce the scan time of the most time-consuming sequences while maintaining the image quality., Method: Fully sampled T1-FLAIR, T2-FLAIR, and T2WI brain MRI raw data originated from 217 patients and 105 healthy subjects. The T1-FLAIR and T2-FLAIR sequences were subsampled using Cartesian masks based on four different acceleration factors. The fully sampled T1/T2-FLAIR images were predicted from undersampled T1/T2-FLAIR images and T2WI images through deep learning-based reconstruction. They were qualitatively assessed by two senior radiologists in accordance with the diagnosis decision and a four-point scale image quality score. Furthermore, the images were quantitatively assessed based on regional signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs). The chi-square test was performed, where p < 0.05 indicated a difference with statistical significance., Results: The diagnosis decisions from two senior radiologists remained unchanged in accordance with the accelerated and fully sampled images. There were no significant differences in the regional SNRs and CNRs of most assessed regions (p > 0.05) between the accelerated and fully sampled images. Moreover, no significant difference was identified in the image quality assessed by two senior radiologists (p > 0.05)., Conclusion: Deep learning-based image reconstruction is capable of significantly expediting the brain MR imaging process and producing acceptable image quality without affecting diagnosis decisions., (© 2024 The Author(s). Brain and Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The migration of primary aromatic amines (PAAs) from food contact materials raises significant public health concerns. In this study, the migration levels of 26 PAAs were analyzed in 242 nylon cooking utensils using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. A total of 18 PAAs were detected, of which 14 were quantified, with 4,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane (4,4'-MDA) and aniline being the most prevalent ones. The compliance rates for nylon kitchenware were similar under both legislation of European Commission (76.9%) and Chinese legislation (77.9%). Probabilistic non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk assessment were conducted using Monte Carlo simulation, with read-across approach applied to fill the gap of toxicity data. The hazard quotients for 18 PAAs were calculated, revealing that 17 PAAs (excluding 4,4'-MDA) had acceptable hazard quotients (<1). Lifetime cancer risks for 17 PAAs were determined, with 15 PAAs (excluding benzidine and 4,4'-MDA) showing acceptable cancer risks (<10 -4 ). The study suggests that the non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks posed by PAAs migrating from FCMs can be effectively mitigated by promptly identifying non-compliant products and reducing exposure to high-risk PAAs such as 4,4'-MDA and benzidine. Enhancing the understanding of PAA hazard characterization and implementing measures to minimize health risks associated with PAA migration from FCMs is hence recommended., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common stromal tumors in the gastrointestinal tract. This study was designed to evaluate a gastrin-releasing peptide receptor antagonist PET tracer, [ 68 Ga]Ga-NOTA-RM26, and compare it with [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT in the assessment of patients with GISTs. Methods: With institutional review board approval and informed consent, 30 patients with suspected or proven GISTs based on abdominal CT or gastroscopy were recruited. All patients underwent [ 68 Ga]Ga-NOTA-RM26 and [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT scans. Pathology and other patient information were collected. Results: No radiopharmaceutical-related adverse events were observed in the patients. In total, 18 lesions in 16 patients were diagnosed as GIST, 3 patients were diagnosed with schwannoma, and 4 patients were diagnosed with leiomyoma. In 18 GISTs, the mean SUV max of [ 68 Ga]Ga-NOTA-RM26 PET was significantly higher than that of [ 18 F]FDG PET (17.07 ± 19.57 vs. 2.28 ± 1.65; P < 0.01), and [ 68 Ga]Ga-NOTA-RM26 PET/CT had a higher tumor detection rate than did [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT (88.9% vs. 50%; P < 0.01). The uptake of [ 68 Ga]Ga-NOTA-RM26 in GISTs was significantly higher than that in 2 other benign tumors (leiomyoma or schwannoma) (17.07 ± 19.57 vs. 4.23 ± 1.77; P = 0.014). With the SUV max cutoff value of 6.0, the sensitivity of 68 Ga-NOTA-RM26 PET/CT in diagnosing GISTs is 72% and the specificity is 85.7%. Conclusion: Compared with [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT, [ 68 Ga]Ga-NOTA-RM26 PET/CT is a promising and effective imaging modality for the detection of GISTs., (© 2024 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.)

This study investigated the regional, seasonal, and species abundance and characteristics of microplastics (MPs) in bivalves from Qingdao, China and assessed the dietary exposure of MPs through bivalve consumption. The average abundance was 1.17 ± 1.07 items/individual or 0.17 ± 0.22 items/g wet weight. Fiber was the dominant shape (91.5 %). The average size of MPs was 995.63 ± 796.59 μm. Rayon, PE, and PET contributed mostly to the MPs composition. There were no significant regional or seasonal differences in MPs abundance (p > 0.05), while there were significant species differences (p < 0.05) when describing the abundance by wet weight. The estimated daily intakes of MPs through bivalve consumption by general population, consumer only population, and coastal residents in China were 3.32 × 10 -3 , 0.08, and 0.16 μg/kg BW, respectively. The exposure assessment method by converting the quantity of MPs into mass may facilitate the risk characterization in the future., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Herein, a novel rich oxygen vacancy (Ov) cobalt-iron hydrotalcite composite cobalt metal-organic framework material (ZIF-67/CoFe-LDH) was prepared by simple urea water and heat reduction approach and utilized for the peroxymonosulfate (PMS) system to remove sulfamethoxazole (SMX). 95 ± 1.32 % SMX (20 mg/L) was able to degraded in 20 min with TOC removal of 53 ± 1.56 % in ZIF-67/CoFe-LDH/PMS system. The system maintained a fantastic catalytic capability with wide pH range (3-9) and common interfering substances (Cl - , NO 3 - , CO 3 2- , PO 4 2- and humic acid (HA)), and the degradation efficiency could even remain 80.2 ± 1.48 % at the fifth cycle. Meanwhile, the applicability and feasibility of the catalysts for practical water treatment was verified by the degradation effects of SMX in different water environments and several other typical pollutants. Co and Fe bimetallic active centers synergistically activate PMS, and density functional theory (DFT) predicted adsorption energy about Ov in ZIF-67/CoFe-LDH for PMS was 1.335 eV, and OO bond length of PMS was stretched to 1.826 Å. As a result, PMS was more easily activated and broken, which accelerated the singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ), sulfate radical (SO 4 •- ), high-valent metals and other reactive oxygen species (ROS). Radical and non-radical jointly degrading the pollutants improved the catalytic effect. Finally, SMX degradation intermediates were analyzed to explain the degradation pathway and their biotoxicity was also evaluated. This paper provides a new research perspective of oxygen vacancy activating PMS to degrade pollutants., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To demonstrate the clinical applicability of zero echo time magnetic resonance imaging (ZTE MRI) in bone assessment of the sacroiliac joint in ankylosing spondylitis., Method: Between January 2021 and November 2021, twenty-one ankylosing spondylitis patients underwent clinically indicated MRI including ZTE sequence, in addition, all patients underwent a CT scan covering the sacroiliac joints within 6 months of the MRI examination. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of ZTE MRI were calculated using CT as the reference standard. Cohen's κappa tests were applied to assess the agreement of positive imaging findings (including erosions, osteosclerosis, bony cystic changes, and joint space changes) between MRI and CT as well as the inter-reader agreement for the grading of sacroiliitis in AS patients., Results: There was no statistical significance between ZTE MRI and CT in detecting of ankylosing spondylitis(p＞0.05). The consistency of the diagnosis of positive imaging findings between ZTE MRI and CT was moderate to excellent (ranging from 0.611 to 0.889), and the consistency of the scores of positive imaging was good to excellent (ranging from 0.857 to 0.979)., Conclusions: ZTE MRI provides "CT-like" contrast for bony changes of the sacroiliac joint in ankylosing spondylitis and could simplify and reduce costs for some AS patients when both MRI and CT are typically required., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Rationale: Adenoid cystic carcinoma is a rare malignant tumor of the salivary glands, with few reports of metastasis to the liver in the literature. We present a case where an isolated hepatic lesion of adenoid cystic carcinoma was identified using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT)., Patient Concerns: A 76-year-old male experienced abdominal pain and underwent an enhanced CT scan and magnetic resonance imaging, which revealed a liver mass. Subsequent 18F-FDG PET/CT identified hypermetabolic lesions in both the left and right lobes of the liver, suggesting malignancy, with no other abnormalities detected., Diagnoses: A liver biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of adenoid cystic carcinoma., Interventions: No intervention., Outcomes: Following confirmation of the diagnosis, the patient chose to discontinue treatment and was discharged., Lessons: Hepatic metastasis from adenoid cystic carcinoma may be detected before the identification of the primary lesion. 18F-FDG PET/CT plays a critical role in differentiating benign from malignant liver tumors, selecting potential biopsy sites, and assessing the extent of metastatic disease., Competing Interests: The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is not only a key to the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and related diseases, but also the main entry point on cell surfaces for certain coronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and SARS-CoV-2. By analyzing the different key binding sites from the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, nine new ACE2-targeting peptides (A 1 to A 9 ) were designed, synthesized and connected with a chelator, 1,4,7-triazacyclononane- N,N',N' '-triacetic acid (NOTA). NOTA-A 1 , NOTA-A 2 , NOTA-A 4 , NOTA-A 5 , and NOTA-A 8 were successfully labeled with [ 68 Ga]Ga 3+ and were used for biological evaluation. [ 68 Ga]Ga-NOTA-A 2 , [ 68 Ga]Ga-NOTA-A 5 , and [ 68 Ga]Ga-NOTA-A 8 showed specific binding to ACE2 via cell assays, and their binding sites and binding capacity were calculated by molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations. In tumor-bearing mice, A549 tumors were visualized 60 min postinjection of [ 68 Ga]Ga-NOTA-A 2 , [ 68 Ga]Ga-NOTA-A 5 , or [ 68 Ga]Ga-NOTA-A 8 . These peptides also accumulated in the organs with high-level ACE2 expression, confirmed by immunohistochemical stain. Among them, [ 68 Ga]Ga-NOTA-A 5 exhibited the highest tumor uptake and tumor/background ratio, and it successfully tracked the increased ACE2 levels in mice tissues after excessive Losartan treatment. In a first-in-human study, the distribution of [ 68 Ga]Ga-NOTA-A 5 was evaluated with positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in three participants without adverse events. 68 Ga-labeled peptides originated from the coronavirus RBD, with [ 68 Ga]Ga-NOTA-A 5 as a typical representative, seem to be safe and effective for the evaluation of ACE2 expression in vivo with PET/CT, facilitating further mechanism investigation and clinical evaluation of ACE2-related diseases., Competing Interests: The authors declare the following competing financial interest(s): L. L., G. H., Z. J. and Z. Z hold the patent rights for [68Ga]Ga-NOTA-A2/5/8 and related technology. Other authors declare no other conflict of interests., (© 2024 American Chemical Society.)

The pUC-derived plasmid yield from E. coli using polypropylene tubes (PP) was compared among round and conical tubes. The yield from cells grown in a cheaper conical-PP with flat-bottom was 1.5-fold higher (p < 0.001) than other PP. The use of the conical-PP can save research budgets in the current inflationary environment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) is a prevalent food additive, yet comprehensive data on particle size and dietary exposure are lacking in China. Transmission electron microscopy results revealed that the quantitative proportion of nanoparticles (NPs) in food-additive TiO 2 was 37.7%, with a mass fraction of 9.89%. Laboratory test results showed that among the domestic products surveyed, candies excluding gum-based candies contained the highest content of TiO 2 . Using consumption data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey in 2018, the average dietary exposure for TiO 2 and TiO 2 NPs in the Chinese population were calculated at 34.84 and 3.44 μg/kg bw/day, respectively. The primary dietary sources were puffed food and powdered drinks. Exposure varied significantly across age and region, with children and Inner Mongolia residents having the highest intake. TiO 2 NP exposure showed a negative correlation with age. Despite this, the dietary exposure risk of TiO 2 NPs for the Chinese population remains deemed acceptable.

Cleft lip and palate deformities are usually accompanied by abnormal external nasal morphology which seriously affects facial aesthetics and quality of life. In-depth understanding of the growth pattern of external nasal morphology in patients with cleft lip and palate is essential for deciding the optimal timing of surgical intervention and for furthering improvements in surgical technique. In this review we systematically depict the cross-sectional changes in external nose morphology during growth in the normal population and in patients with clefts, and summarise the iatrogenic impacts on growth of the cleft nose, aiming to provide a reference to further improve the management of the nose in patients with clefts., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest We have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

The advancement of metal-air batteries is critically contingent on the progression of efficient catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The potential applications of a series of FeN 4 -doped carbon nanotubes (Fe-N 4 CNTs) of varying diameters as ORR catalysts were examined using density functional theory. We explored the stability and electronic properties of Fe-N 4 CNTs by analyzing the energy and examining the density of states. A marked dependence of the catalytic performance on the nanotube diameter was observed: as the transition from (5, 5) to (10, 10) Fe-N 4 CNTs occurred, the catalytic activity on the outer surface of the carbon tubes enhanced progressively, with the overpotential reducing from 0.94 to 0.86 V. Conversely, the catalytic activity on the inner surface of the carbon tubes decreased progressively with the overpotential also increasing from 0.62 to 1.04 V. In addition, we found that curvature significantly affected the electronic structure and charge transfer at the FeN 4 site, regulating the adsorption and desorption of reactants, intermediates, and products during electrocatalysis and thus influencing the catalytic activity of the Fe-N 4 CNTs. This investigation offers valuable guidance for the design of Fe-based single-atom catalysts and the practical application of Fe-N-C materials.

Reactive lymphocytes may indicate diseases such as viral infections. Identifying these abnormal lymphocytes is crucial for disease diagnosis. Currently, reactive lymphocytes are mainly manually identified by pathological experts with microscopes and morphological knowledge, which is time-consuming and laborious. Some studies have used convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to identify peripheral blood leukocytes, but there are limitations in the small receptive field of the model. Our model introduces a transformer based on CNN, expands the receptive field of the model, and enables it to extract global features more efficiently. We also enhance the generalization ability of the model through virtual adversarial training (VAT) without changing the parameters of the model. Finally, our model achieves an overall accuracy of 93.66% on the test set, and the accuracy of reactive lymphocytes also reaches 88.03%. This work takes another step toward the efficient identification of reactive lymphocytes., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© 2024 Optica Publishing Group.)

Fluorination has emerged as a promising strategy in medicinal chemistry to improve the pharmacological profiles of drug candidates. Similarly, incorporating fluorinated non-canonical amino acids into macrocyclic peptides expands chemical diversity and enhances their pharmacological properties, from improved metabolic stability to enhanced cell permeability and target interactions. However, only a limited number of fluorinated non-canonical amino acids, which are canonical amino acid analogs, have been incorporated into macrocyclic peptides by ribosomes for de novo construction and target-based screening of fluorinated macrocyclic peptides. In this study, we report the ribosomal translation of a series of distinct fluorinated non-canonical amino acids, including mono-to tri-fluorinated variants, as well as fluorinated l-amino acids, d-amino acids, β-amino acids, etc. This enabled the de novo discovery of fluorinated macrocyclic peptides with high affinity for EphA2, and particularly the identification of those exhibiting broad-spectrum activity against Gram-negative bacteria by targeting the BAM complex. This study not only expands the scope of ribosomally translatable fluorinated amino acids but also underscores the versatility of fluorinated macrocyclic peptides as potent therapeutic agents., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Combined exposure to phthalate esters (PAEs) has garnered increasing attention due to potential synergistic effects on human health. This study aimed to develop an in vitro model using human macrophages to evaluate the combined toxicity of PAEs and explore the underlying mechanisms. A high-throughput screening system was engineered by expressing a PPRE-eGFP reporter in THP-1 monocytes to monitor macrophage polarization upon PAEs exposure. Individual PAEs exhibited varied inhibitory effects on M2 macrophage polarization, with mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP) being the most potent. Isobologram analysis revealed additive interactions when MEHP was combined with other PAEs, resulting in more pronounced suppression of M2 markers compared to individual compounds. Mechanistic studies suggested PAEs may exert effects by modulating PPARγ activity to inhibit M2 polarization. Notably, an equimolar mixture of six PAEs showed additive inhibition of M2 markers. In vivo experiments corroborated the combined hepatotoxic effects, with mice exposed to a PAEs mixture exhibiting reduced liver weight, dyslipidemia, and decreased hepatic M2 macrophages compared to DEHP alone. Transcriptome analysis highlighted disruptions in PPAR signaling, and distinct pathway alterations on cholesterol metabolism in the mixture group. Collectively, these findings underscore the importance of evaluating mixture effects and provide a novel approach for hazard assessment of combined PAEs exposure with implications for environmental health risk assessment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the major causes of cancer‑related death worldwide. Cisplatin is a front‑line chemotherapeutic agent in NSCLC. Nevertheless, subsequent harsh side effects and drug resistance limit its further clinical application. Polydatin (PD) induces apoptosis in various cancer cells by generating reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, underlying molecular mechanisms of PD and its effects on cisplatin‑mediated antitumor activity in NSCLC remains unknown. MTT, colony formation, wound healing analyses and flow cytometry was employed to investigate the cell phenotypic changes and ROS generation. Relative gene and protein expressions were evaluated by reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR and western blot analyses. The antitumor effects of PD, cisplatin and their combination were evaluated by mouse xenograft model. In the present study, it was found that PD in combination with cisplatin synergistically enhances the antitumor activity in NSCLC by stimulating ROS‑mediated endoplasmic reticulum stress, and the C‑Jun‑amino‑terminal kinase and p38 mitogen‑activated protein kinase signaling pathways. PD treatment elevated ROS generation by promoting expression of NADPH oxidase 5 (NOX5), and NOX5 knockdown attenuated ROS‑mediated cytotoxicity of PD in NSCLC cells. Mice xenograft model further confirmed the synergistic antitumor efficacy of combined therapy with PD and cisplatin. The present study exhibited a superior therapeutic strategy for some patients with NSCLC by combining PD and cisplatin.

Rare Earth Elements (REEs) have been implicated in potential health effects. However, the health risk of REE exposure among tea drinkers in China remains poorly understood. This study aimed to characterize the concentration of REEs in different tea categories and evaluate the associated health risks for tea consumers in China. By analyzing the content of 16 REEs in 4326 tea samples from China, the exposure level of REEs to the general population was estimated. The content of these 16 REEs was similar across six types of tea, with oolong tea exhibiting the highest levels. The concentration of light rare earth elements (LREEs) in six types of tea was higher than that of heavy rare earth elements (HREEs). The daily mean and 95th percentile (P95) exposure to REEs from tea for the general population in China were 0.0328 μg/kg BW and 0.1283 μg/kg BW, respectively, which are significantly lower than the temporary acceptable daily dose (tADI). Our findings suggest that REEs from tea do not pose a known health risk to Chinese consumers., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare they have no actual or potential competing financial interests., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In perovskite solar cells (PSCs), the electron transfer layer (ETL) characteristics have significant effects on the photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of the devices. Herein, a natural chelating agent polymer polyaspartic acid (PASP) is doped into the SnO 2 precursor solution attributed to a strong interaction between PASP molecules and SnO 2 , which strengthens the interface contact and passivates the vacancy oxygen trap of the obtained SnO 2 ETL, thus promoting the transfer of electrons. In addition, PASP can also regulate the growth of perovskite crystals, leading to an improved crystal quality of the perovskite films. Meanwhile, there is an excellent chelate anchoring of PASP to uncoordinated Pb 2+ , facilitating the reduction of trap defects at the interface, improving the stability of device, and suppressing the leakage of toxic Pb. Finally, the photovoltaic performance of the optimized device was greatly improved, and the PCE was increased from 21.22 to 23.49%, with outstanding environmental stability. This work provides an inexpensive and efficient treatment strategy that improves the performance and stability of friendly environmental PSCs.

Background: Depression manifests as a mental disorder characterized by a low mood, suicidal tendencies, disturbances in sleep-wake cycles, psychomotor agitation, and pronounced feelings of hopelessness and anhedonia. Baicalin, a natural flavonoid compound, shows significant promise in alleviating depressive symptoms in animals. This study aims to assess the impact of baicalin on experimental models of depression., Methods: A systematic search of electronic databases was conducted using the search terms "baicalin" AND "depression" OR "depressed" OR "anti-depression". Preclinical animal models representing experimental depression were included in the analysis. The risk of bias in the included studies was evaluated using the CAMARADES tools., Results: Baicalin significantly increased sucrose preference test (SPT) [SMD= 21.31, 95%CI (16.32, 26.31), P < 0.00001]. mThe tail suspension test (TST) duration significantly decreased in the baicalin group compared to the model group [SMD = -39.3, 95%CI (-49.71, -28.89), P < 0.0001]. Furthermore, baicalin reduced immobility time in rats subjected to the forced swim test (FST) [SMD = -39.73, 95%CI (-48.77, -30.69) P < 0.0001]. Compared to the model group, baicalin treatment also significantly increased the frequency of crossings in the open field test (OFT) [SMD = 32.44, 95%CI (17.74, 47.13), P < 0.00001]., Conclusion: Baicalin significantly improves the manifestations of depressive symptoms. The effect of baicalin against depression is exerted through its anti-inflammatory actions, inhibition of oxidative stress, regulation of the HPA axis, and restoration of neuroplasticity. Future studies will be needed to further explore how these promising preclinical findings can be translated into clinical treatment for depression., Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42023472181., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wang, Ren, Guo, Zhang, Sui and Zhang.)

Peptide-bile acid hybrids offer promising drug candidates due to enhanced pharmacological properties, such as improved protease resistance and oral bioavailability. However, it remains unknown whether bile acids can be incorporated into peptide chains by the ribosome to produce a peptide-bile acid hybrid macrocyclic peptide library for target-based de novo screening. In this study, we achieved the ribosomal incorporation of lithocholic acid (LCA)-d-tyrosine into peptide chains. This led to the construction of a peptide-LCA hybrid macrocyclic peptide library, which enabled the identification of peptides TP-2C-4L3 (targeting Trop2) and EP-2C-4L5 (targeting EphA2) with strong binding affinities. Notably, LCA was found to directly participate in binding to EphA2 and confer on the peptides improved stability and resistance to proteases. Cell staining experiments confirmed the high specificity of the peptides for targeting Trop2 and EphA2. This study highlights the benefits of LCA in peptides and paves the way for de novo discovery of stable peptide-LCA hybrid drugs.

Purpose: Pathological fibrosis of the myodural bridge (MDB) affects cerebrospinal fluid circulation. However, no optimal drug treatments are available. We aimed to explore the antifibrotic effect of resveratrol on bleomycin-induced pathological fibrosis of the MDB and its underlying mechanisms., Methods: Genes common to the potential targets of resveratrol were determined using network pharmacology, genes related to muscle and tendon fibrosis were acquired from the GeneCards database, and genes related to MDB development were determined using Venny. These genes were considered potential resveratrol treatment targets in bleomycin-induced pathological fibrosis of the MDB and were annotated using bioinformatics methods. We validated the intersected genes using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and performed molecular docking analysis to calculate the binding activity between the target gene and resveratrol. Hematoxylin and eosin and Masson staining were used to detect the morphological changes in bleomycin-induced fibrosis of the MDB following resveratrol treatment. We used qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry to evaluate the expression of the sirtuin 3 (SIRT3)/transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)/Smad pathway and the profibrotic markers α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and Collagen Ⅰ., Results: Through network pharmacology and bioinformatics analyses, we identified four core intersected genes, and SIRT3 expression was validated using qRT-PCR. Molecular docking analysis revealed that resveratrol had good binding affinity for SIRT3. Resveratrol ameliorated morphological abnormalities in bleomycin-induced pathological fibrosis of the MDB by inhibiting fibroblast activation and excessive collagen fiber deposition. Resveratrol exerted its antifibrotic effect by regulating the SIRT3/TGF-β1/Smad pathway., Conclusion: Resveratrol has an antifibrotic effect in bleomycin-induced pathological fibrosis of the MDB in vivo and may be considered a novel therapeutic strategy., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Interfacial challenges in unconventional oil extraction include heavy oil-water-solid multiphase separation and corrosion inhibition. Herein, a novel strategy based on interfacial hydrogen bonding reconstruction is proposed for constructing multifunctional interfacially active materials (MIAMs) to address multi-interfacial separation needs. A simple one-pot method is applied to successfully synthesize four different MIAM varieties, integrating site groups (-NH 2 , OSO, -COOH, and Si-O-Si) with multiple hydrogen bonds (HBs) into allyl polyether chains. The results indicate that all synthesized MIAMs excel in demulsification, detergency, and corrosion inhibition simultaneously, even at 25 °C. Their dehydration efficiency for different water-in-oil emulsions (even heavy oil emulsion) surpasses 99.9 % even at 16 °C, showing their excellent energy-saving potential for field applications. Furthermore, they demonstrate effective, nondestructive static cleaning (up to 86 %) of adhered oil from solid surfaces at 25 °C and provide corrosion inhibition effects (up to 92.09 %) on mild steel immersed in saturated brine. Mechanistic tests reveal that incorporating multiple HB sites in MIAMs dramatically enhances their effectiveness in interfacial separations. Based on these findings, an HB-dominated noncovalent interaction reconstruction strategy is tentatively proposed to develop advanced materials for low-carbon, efficient interfacial separations., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests. Lin He has patent pending to Tianjin University. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Cellular senescence is an important process related to the pathogenic mechanism of different disorders, especially bone loss. During senescence, bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) lose their self-renewal and functional differentiation abilities. Therefore, finding signals opposing the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs within bone marrow microenvironment is the important for elucidating these above-mentioned mechanisms. Inflammatory cytokines affect bone physiology and remodeling. However, the function of interleukin-19 (IL-19) in skeletal system remains unclear., Methods: The mouse model of IL-19 knockout was established through embryonic stem cell injection for analyzing how IL-19 affected bone formation. Micro-CT examinations were performed to evaluate bone microstructures. We performed a three-point bending test to measure bone stiffness and the ultimate force. Antibody arrays were performed to detect interleukin family members in bone marrow aspirates. BMSCs were cultured and induced for osteogenic differentiation., Results: According to our findings, there was increased IL-19 accumulation within bone marrow in old mice relative to that in their young counterparts, resulting in bone loss via the inhibition of BMSCs osteogenic differentiation. Among Wnt/β-catenin pathway members, IL-19 strongly upregulated sFRP1 via STAT3 phosphorylation. The inhibition of STAT3 and sFRP1 abolished IL-19's inhibition against the BMSCs osteogenic differentiation., Conclusion: To sum up, IL-19 inhibited BMSCs osteogenic differentiation in old mice. Our findings shed novel lights on pathogenic mechanism underlying age-related bone loss and laid a foundation for further research on identifying novel targets to treat senile osteoporosis., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a promising target for diagnosis and radioligand therapy (RLT) of prostate cancer. Two novel PSMA-targeting radionuclide therapy agents, [ 177 Lu]Lu-P17-087, and its albumin binder modified derivative, [ 177 Lu]Lu-P17-088, were evaluated in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients. The primary endpoint was dosimetry evaluation, the second endpoint was radiation toxicity assessment (CTCAE 5.0) and PSA response (PCWG3)., Methods: Patients with PSMA-positive tumors were enrolled after [ 68 Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT scan. Five mCRPC patients received [ 177 Lu]Lu-P17-087 and four other patients received [ 177 Lu]Lu-P17-088 (1.2 GBq/patient). Multiple whole body planar scintigraphy was performed at 1.5, 4, 24, 48, 72, 120 and 168 h after injection and one SPECT/CT imaging was performed at 24 h post-injection for each patient. Dosimetry evaluation was compared in both patient groups., Results: Patients showed no major clinical side-effects under this low dose treatment. As expected [ 177 Lu]Lu-P17-088 with longer blood circulation (due to its albumin binding) exhibited higher effective doses than [ 177 Lu]Lu-P17-087 (0.151 ± 0.036 vs. 0.056 ± 0.019 mGy/MBq, P = 0.001). Similarly, red marrow received 0.119 ± 0.068 and 0.048 ± 0.020 mGy/MBq, while kidney doses were 0.119 ± 0.068 and 0.046 ± 0.022 mGy/MBq, respectively. [ 177 Lu]Lu-P17-087 demonstrated excellent tumor uptake and faster kinetics; while [ 177 Lu]Lu-P17-088 displayed a slower washout and higher average dose (7.75 ± 4.18 vs. 4.72 ± 2.29 mGy/MBq, P = 0.018). After administration of [ 177 Lu]Lu-P17-087 and [ 177 Lu]Lu-P17-088, 3/5 and 3/4 patients showed reducing PSA values, respectively., Conclusion: [ 177 Lu]Lu-P17-088 and [ 177 Lu]Lu-P17-087 displayed different pharmacokinetics but excellent PSMA-targeting dose delivery in mCRPC patients. These two agents are promising RLT agents for personalized treatment of mCRPC. Further studies with increased dose and frequency of RLT are warranted to evaluate the potential therapeutic efficacy., Trial Registration: 177 Lu-P17-087/ 177 Lu-P17-088 in Patients with Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer (NCT05603559, Registered at 25 October, 2022). URL OF REGISTRY: https://classic., Clinicaltrials: gov/ct2/show/NCT05603559 ., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

A total of 769 wheat kernels collected from six provinces in China were analyzed for beauvericin (BEA) and four enniatins (ENNs), namely, ENA, ENA 1 , ENB and ENB 1 , using a solid phase extraction (SPE) technique with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The results show that the predominant toxin was BEA, which had a maximum of 387.67 μg/kg and an average of 37.69 μg/kg. With regard to ENNs, the prevalence and average concentrations of ENB and ENB 1 were higher than those of ENA and ENA 1 . The geographical distribution of BEA and ENNs varied. Hubei and Shandong exhibited the highest and lowest positive rates of BEA and ENNs (13.46% and 87.5%, respectively). However, no significant difference was observed among these six provinces. There was a co-occurrence of BEA and ENNs, and 42.26% of samples were simultaneously detected with two or more toxins. Moreover, a significant linear correlation in concentrations was observed between the four ENN analogs ( r range: 0.75~0.96, p < 0.05). This survey reveals that the contamination and co-contamination of BEA and ENNs in Chinese wheat kernels were very common.

Lacking effective therapeutic targets heavily restricts the improvement of clinical prognosis for patients diagnosed with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Ubiquitin Specific Peptidase 21 (USP21) is dysregulated in plenty of human cancers, however, its potential function and relevant molecular mechanisms in ESCC malignant progression as well as its value in clinical translation remain largely unknown. Here, in vitro and in vivo experiments revealed that aberrant upregulation of USP21 accelerated the proliferation and metastasis of ESCC in a deubiquitinase-dependent manner. Mechanistically, we found that USP21 binds to, deubiquitinates, and stabilizes the G3BP Stress Granule Assembly Factor 1 (G3BP1) protein, which is required for USP21-mediated ESCC progression. Further molecular studies demonstrated that the USP21/G3BP1 axis played a tumor-promoting role in ESCC progression by activating the Wnt/β-Catenin signaling pathway. Additionally, disulfiram (DSF), an inhibitor against USP21 deubiquitylation activity, markedly abolished the USP21-mediated stability of G3BP1 protein and significantly displayed an anti-tumor effect on USP21-driving ESCC progression. Finally, the regulatory axis of USP21/G3BP1 was demonstrated to be aberrantly activated in ESCC tumor tissues and closely associated with advanced clinical stages and unfavorable prognoses, which provides a promising therapeutic strategy targeting USP21/G3BP1 axis for ESCC patients., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

A highly sensitive, selective and recyclable histidine detection method based on magnetic Fe 3 O 4 @mTiO 2 (M-TiO 2 ) nanocomposites with SERRS was developed. Mesoporous M-TiO 2 nanoparticles were functionalized with 4-aminothiophenol and then coupled with histidine through an azo coupling reaction in 5 min, producing the corresponding azo compound. The strong and specific SERRS response of the azo product allowed for ultrasensitive and selective detection for histidine with an M-TiO 2 device loaded with Ag NPs due to the molecular resonance effect and plasmonic effect of Ag NPs under a 532 nm excitation laser. The sensitivity was further enhanced with the magnetic enrichment of M-TiO 2 . The limit of detection (LOD) was as low as 8.00 × 10 -12 mol/L. The M-TiO 2 demonstrated applicability towards histidine determination in human urine without any sample pretreatment. Additionally, the M-TiO 2 device can be recycled for 3 cycles with the photodegradation of the azo product under UV irradiation due to TiO 2 -assisted and plasmon-enhanced photocatalysis. In summary, a multifunctional and recyclable M-TiO 2 device was synthesized based on azo coupling and SERRS spectroscopy for ultra-sensitive and specific histidine sensing. In addition, the proposed system demonstrated the potential for the multiplex determination of toxic compounds in the fields of food safety, industrial production and environmental protection, which benefit from the fingerprint property and universality of SERRS.

Persulfate oxidants are widely used in soil remediation and wastewater treatment but perform poorly in degrading polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), especially heavy fractions in solids. Herein, we propose the utilization of a green peroxymonosulfate-ferrate-FeS (PFI) oxidant as a promising process aid for remediating soils contaminated with heavy petroleum components, including asphaltenes and resins. The PFI oxidant could degrade heavy petroleum fractions because of dual activation of the peroxymonosulfate and ferrate by FeS at ambient conditions. Nevertheless, when dealing with soil with high oil content (>10%), the degradation efficiency remains limited (<30%) regardless of the quantity of oxidants employed. Surface elemental analysis shows that a coating of secondary products (Fe(OH) 3 , Fe 2 O 3 ) on the surface and in pores of the soil-pollutant matrix explains the failure of oxidation and inefficient use of oxidant. To address this issue, a strategy of pre-solvent extraction-oxidation hybrid process with sequent acidic washing is proposed, where dichloromethane serves as the solvent, and PFI acts as the oxidant. In this system over 90% of the oil could be recovered with an oxidation efficiency of 80% by alleviating the problem of iron oxide coating the matrix surface. The oxidant consumption is also reduced to 70 wt% of the sludge. The PFI oxidant is found to exhibit excellent universality in treating oily sludge with low petroleum content (<2%), reducing the petroleum content in the residue to less than 0.3 wt% (meeting the national standards). The degradation of low oil content sludge by the PFI oxidant followed pseudo first-order kinetics. These findings not only elucidate the failure of PFI oxidation for high oil content oily sludge and identify its potential engineering application range, but also offer a practical strategy for processing petroleum-contaminated soil with varying oil contents through wet oxidation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:The authors are devoted to commercialize the preparation of this kind of 18 oxidation process and their applications in the soil remediation., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

According to previous studies, the quality and fertilization rate of fresh sperm from boars of different ages were significantly different. However, the difference of freeze-thaw sperm quality and fertility in boars of different ages is unclear. In this study, boars of a Chinese native breed were assigned into two groups. Each group consisted of five boars aged aged either 2-3 years (young boars = YB) or 5-6 years (aging boars = AB) A total of 60 ejaculates for each group were collected and cryopreserved. Semen quality and in vitro fertility of post-thaw sperm was evaluated. The results showed that the concentration and motility of fresh sperm collected from AB were similar to YB, but their semen volume was higher than that in YB ( p  < 0.05). Frozen-thawed sperm of AB had lower viability than YB, and higher abnormal rate and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels of YB ( p  < 0.05). There was no effect of the age on post-thaw sperm motility and time survival. Functional assessments indicated that increasing age markedly compromises the integrity of the sperm plasma membrane and acrosome, as well as mitochondrial functionality post-thaw, albeit without affecting DNA integrity. Furthermore, increasing age of boars reduces the ability of sperm to bind to the oocyte zona pellucida after thawing, delaying the time of the first embryo cleavage after fertilization. Finally, the early developmental efficiency of in vitro fertilized embryos progressing from 4-cell to blastocyst derived from post-thaw sperm in AB significantly decreased compared to those from YB ( p  < 0.05). Taken together, these results suggest that increasing age in boars impairs the quality and in vitro fertility of frozen thawed sperm., Competing Interests: JJ was employed by Anhui Haoyu Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Xu, Yang, Sui, Tong, Zhang, Zheng, Jiao, Wang, Cao and Zhang.)

Polypropylene (PP)-based composites have attracted numerous attention as a replacement of prevailing cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) for high-voltage insulation due to their ease of processing, recyclability, and excellent electrical performance. However, the poor resistances against high-temperature creep and thermal aging are obstacles to practical applications of PP-based thermoplastic high-voltage insulation. To address these problems, in this Letter, we synthesized an impact polypropylene copolymer (IPC) containing multifold long-chain branched (LCB) structures in phases, especially the interfaces between the PP matrix and the rubber phase. The results indicated that the structural stability of LCBIPC was significantly enhanced under extreme conditions. In comparison to IPC (without LCB structures), 24.1% less creep strain and 75.2% less unrecoverable deformation are achieved in LCBIPC at 90 °C. In addition, the thermal aging experiments were performed at 135 °C for 48 and 88 days for IPC and LCBIPC, respectively. The results show that the resistance against thermal aging was also enhanced in LCBIPC, which showed a 133% longer thermal aging life compared to IPC. Further results revealed that the interfacial layer between the PP matrix and the rubber phase was constructed in LCBIPC. The two phases are tightly linked by chemical bonds in LCB structures, leading to enforced constraints of the rubber phase at the micro level and better resistance performance against creep and thermal aging at the macro level. Evidently, the reported eco-friendly LCBIPC thermoplastic insulation shows great potential for applications in high-voltage cable insulation.

Currently, the utilization of coalbed methane resources in the Guizhou region faces challenges such as complex reservoir structure, high gas content, and microporous development. Based on these, the pore structure and adsorption capacity of Guizhou tectonic deformed coals (TDCs) were evaluated using a suite of integrated diagnostic techniques including low-temperature nitrogen adsorption (LT-N 2 A), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), methane isothermal adsorption. Through the above methods, the pore structure and adsorption characteristics of the samples were characterized; The samples were divided into the range of joint pores by combining the results of MIP and LT-N 2 A; Using the molecular simulation software, the 2 nm, 4 nm, 10 nm pores affecting the methane endowment state were investigated respectively, and from the perspective of the heat of adsorption and energy, the concept of the three-phase transition of methane was proposed, and explore the change of the pore spacing affecting the endowment state of methane from the solid state pore to the gas state pore. The results provide new ideas for the in-depth study of gas storage in tectonic coal reservoirs in Guizhou Province., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: The health and size of the testes are crucial for boar fertility. Testicular development is tightly regulated by epigenetics. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification is a prevalent internal modification on mRNA and plays an important role in development. The mRNA m6A methylation in boar testicular development still needs to be investigated., Results: Using the MeRIP-seq technique, we identify and profile m6A modification in boar testes between piglets and adults. The results showed 7783 distinct m6A peaks in piglets and 6590 distinct m6A peaks in adults, with 2,471 peaks shared between the two groups. Enrichment of GO and KEGG analysis reveal dynamic m6A methylation in various biological processes and signalling pathways. Meanwhile, we conjointly analyzed differentially methylated and expressed genes in boar testes before and after sexual maturity, and reproductive related genes (TLE4, TSSK3, TSSK6, C11ORF94, PATZ1, PHLPP1 and PAQR7) were identified. Functional enrichment analysis showed that differential genes are associated with important biological functions, including regulation of growth and development, regulation of metabolic processes and protein catabolic processes., Conclusion: The results demonstrate that m6A methylation, differential expression and the related signalling pathways are crucial for boar testicular development. These results suggest a role for m6A modification in boar testicular development and provided a resource for future studies on m6A function in boar testicular development., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The chemical and pore structures of coal play a crucial role in determining the content of free gas in coal reservoirs. This study focuses on investigating the impact of acidification transformation on the micro-physical and chemical structure characteristics of coal samples collected from Wenjiaba No. 1 Mine in Guizhou. The research involves a semi-quantitative analysis of the chemical structure parameters and crystal structure of coal samples before and after acidification using Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments. Additionally, the evolution characteristics of the pore structure are characterized through high-pressure mercury injection (HP-MIP), low-temperature nitrogen adsorption (LT-N2A), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The experimental findings reveal that the acid solution modifies the structural features of coal samples, weakening certain vibrational structures and altering the chemical composition. Specifically, the asymmetric vibration structure of aliphatic CH2, the asymmetric vibration of aliphatic CH3, and the symmetric vibration of CH2 are affected. This leads to a decrease in the contents of -OH and -NH functional groups while increasing aromatic structures. The crystal structure of coal samples primarily dissolves transversely after acidification, affecting intergranular spacing and average height. Acid treatment corrodes mineral particles within coal sample cracks, augmenting porosity, average pore diameter, and the ratio of macro-pores to transitional pores. Moreover, acidification increases fracture width and texture, enhancing the connectivity of the fracture structure in coal samples. These findings provide theoretical insights for optimizing coalbed methane (CBM) extraction and gas control strategies., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright: © 2024 Li et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The mixture of whole-plant soybean and whole-plant corn silage (WPSCS) is nutrient balanced and is also a promising roughage for ruminants. However, few studies have investigated the changes in bacterial community succession in WPSCS inoculated with homofermentative and heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and whether WPSCS inoculated with LAB can improve fermentation quality by reducing nutrient losses. This study investigated the effect of Lactobacillus plantarum ( L. plantarum ) or Lactobacillus buchneri ( L. buchneri ) on the fermentation quality, aerobic stability, and bacterial community of WPSCS. A 40:60 ratio of whole-plant soybean corn was inoculated without (CK) or with L. plantarum (LP), L. buchneri (LB), and a mixture of LP and LB (LPB), and fermented for 14, 28, and 56 days, followed by 7 days of aerobic exposure. The 56-day silage results indicated that the dry matter content of the LP and LB groups reached 37.36 and 36.67%, respectively, which was much greater than that of the CK group (36.05%). The pH values of the LP, LB, and LPB groups were significantly lower than those of the CK group ( p  < 0.05). The ammoniacal nitrogen content of LB was significantly lower than that of the other three groups ( p  < 0.05), and the ammoniacal nitrogen content of LP and LPB was significantly lower than that of CK ( p  < 0.05). The acetic acid content and aerobic stability of the LB group were significantly greater than those of the CK, LP, and LPB groups ( p  < 0.05). High-throughput sequencing revealed a dominant bacteria shift from Proteobacteria in fresh forage to Firmicutes in silage at the phylum level. Lactobacillus remained the dominant genus in all silage. Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEFSe) analysis identified Lactobacillus as relatively abundant in LP-treated silage and Weissella in LB-treated groups. The results of KEGG pathway analysis of the 16S rRNA gene of the silage microbial flora showed that the abundance of genes related to amino acid metabolism in the LP, LB, and LPB groups was lower than that in the CK group ( p  < 0.05). In conclusion, LAB application can improve the fermentation quality and nutritional value of WPSCS by regulating the succession of microbial communities and metabolic pathways during ensiling. Concurrently, the LB inoculant showed the potential to improve the aerobic stability of WPSCS., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Xu, Ma, Sa, Sui, Wang, Li, Zhu, Wu, Hu and Niu.)

Induced oncoproteins degradation provides an attractive anti-cancer modality. Activation of anaphase-promoting complex (APC/C CDH1 ) prevents cell-cycle entry by targeting crucial mitotic proteins for degradation. Phosphorylation of its co-activator CDH1 modulates the E3 ligase activity, but little is known about its regulation after phosphorylation and how to effectively harness APC/C CDH1 activity to treat cancer. Peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase NIMA-interacting 1 (PIN1)-catalyzed phosphorylation-dependent cis-trans prolyl isomerization drives tumor malignancy. However, the mechanisms controlling its protein turnover remain elusive. Through proteomic screens and structural characterizations, we identify a reciprocal antagonism of PIN1-APC/C CDH1 mediated by domain-oriented phosphorylation-dependent dual interactions as a fundamental mechanism governing mitotic protein stability and cell-cycle entry. Remarkably, combined PIN1 and cyclin-dependent protein kinases (CDKs) inhibition creates a positive feedback loop of PIN1 inhibition and APC/C CDH1 activation to irreversibly degrade PIN1 and other crucial mitotic proteins, which force permanent cell-cycle exit and trigger anti-tumor immunity, translating into synergistic efficacy against triple-negative breast cancer., (© 2024. The Author(s).)