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Human breast milk is the primary source of choline and choline-containing compounds for infants at early stages of life. Choline data across lactation in Chinese human milk were limited. This study aimed to quantify the five choline compounds in Chinese human breast milk and explore associated factors. A total of 540 lactating mothers from the MUAI (Maternal Nutrition and Infant Investigation) study were included. The content of water-soluble choline (free choline, phosphocholine, glycerophosphocholine) and lipid-soluble choline (phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin) in 892 human milk samples collected from 0 to 400 days postpartum were examined, and associated factors were explored. Choline concentrations in human milk varied from postpartum day 0–400 (92.06 ± 65.22 to 171.01 ± 47.84 mg/L). Water-soluble choline was the major component (88.6%–93.8%) in human milk and ranged from 793.03 (659.22) to 1544.43 (443.32) μmol/L. Its trajectory followed that of total choline, increasing from colostrum to transitional milk and then declining in mature milk. In contrast, lipid-soluble choline accounted for 6.2%–11.4% over lactation and had an opposite trajectory. Choline composition varied by delivery mode and parity history. The concentrations of individual choline and choline-containing compounds during lactation in Chinese human breast milk were described for the first time. Our results address gaps in extant Chinese human milk choline data and support tailored dietary reference intakes for Chinese lactating women and infants. Our data describes the level and profile of choline from 0 to 400 days postpartum in Chinese human breast milk. This is the most updated data on choline and also the first report of water-soluble choline as the predominant type in Chinese human milk. Our results compensate for the deficiencies in data on choline in Chinese human milk. Clinical Trial Registry number: ChiCTR1800015387. Web link to study on registry: https://www.chictr.org.cn/index.aspx. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Inflammatory markers are indicators of co-infections. • Age is an important predisposing factor for Talaromyces marneffei infection in patients who are HIV-negative. • Persistent infection is more likely to occur in patients with Talaromyces marneffei infection who are HIV-negative. • Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the most common co-infection in HIV-negative hosts. Talaromyces marneffei is an emerging pathogen, and the number of infections in HIV-negative individuals is rapidly increasing. Nevertheless, there is no sufficient comprehensive report on this issue, and awareness needs to be raised among clinicians. We analyzed the differences in the clinical data of patients who are HIV-negative and HIV-positive with Talaromyces marneffei infection (TMI) from 2018 to 2022. A total of 848 patients were included, among whom 104 were HIV-negative. The obvious differences between the HIV-positive and HIV-negative groups were as follows: (i) the patients who are HIV-negative were older and more likely to exhibit cough and rash, (ii) the time in days from symptom onset to diagnosis among patients who are HIV-negative was longer, (iii) the laboratory findings and radiological presentations seemed more severe in patients who are HIV-negative, (iv) differences were observed regarding the underlying conditions and co-infection pathogens, and correlation analysis showed that correlations existed for many indicators, (v) and persistent infection was more likely to occur in patients who are HIV-negative. TMI in patients who are HIV-negative differs from that in patients who are HIV-positive in many aspects, and more investigations are needed. Clinicians should be more aware of TMI in patients who are HIV-negative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Most economically important tungsten (W) deposits are of magmatic-hydrothermal origin. The species and partitioning of W during fluid exsolution, considered to be the controlling factors for the formation of ore deposits, are thus of great significance to investigate. However, this issue has not been well addressed mainly due to the significant difference in reported partition coefficients (e.g., from strongly incompatible to strongly compatible) between fluid and melt (D W fluid/melt). Here, we used an in situ Raman spectroscopic approach to describe the W speciation, and to quantitatively determine the D fluid/melt of individual and total W species in granite melts and coexisting Na 2 WO 4 solutions at elevated temperatures (T ; 700–800 °C) and pressures (P ; 0.35–1.08 GPa). Results show that WO 4 2− and HWO 4 − are predominant W species, and the fractions of these two species are similar in melt and coexisting fluid. The partitioning behaviors of WO 4 2− and HWO 4 − are comparable, exhibiting strong enrichment in the fluid. The total D W fluid/melt ranges from 8.6 to 37.1. Specifically, D W fluid/melt decreases with rising T – P , indicating that shallow exsolution favors enrichment of W in evolved fluids. Furthermore, Rayleigh fractionation modeling based on the obtained D W fluid/melt data was used to describe the fluid exsolution processes. Our results strongly support that fluid exsolution can serve as an important mechanism to generate W-rich ore-forming fluids. This study also indicates that in situ approach can be used to further investigate the geochemical behavior of ore-forming elements during the magmatic-hydrothermal transition, especially for rare metals associated with granite and pegmatite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SARS-CoV-2, the newly identified human coronavirus causing severe pneumonia pandemic, was probably originated from Chinese horseshoe bats. However, direct transmission of the virus from bats to humans is unlikely due to lack of direct contact, implying the existence of unknown intermediate hosts. Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the receptor of SARS-CoV-2, but only ACE2s of certain species can be utilized by SARS-CoV-2. Here, we evaluated and ranked the receptor-utilizing capability of ACE2s from various species by phylogenetic clustering and sequence alignment with the currently known ACE2s utilized by SARS-CoV-2. As a result, we predicted that SARS-CoV-2 tends to utilize ACE2s of various mammals, except murines, and some birds, such as pigeon. This prediction may help to screen the intermediate hosts of SARS-CoV-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chromoblastomycosis (CBM) is a chronic cutaneous and subcutaneous fungal infection caused by certain dematiaceous fungi (usually Fonsecaea, Phialophora , or Cladophialophora). Histologically, CBM is characterized by the presence of medlar bodies. However, the diagnosis is difficult because of the rarity of these pathognomonic presentations and the wide variety of presentations. Treatment of these infections is challenging as it lacks standardization. Herein, we report a case of chromoblastomycosis caused by Phialophora , in a 42-year-old immunocompetent male agriculturist from the humid and subtropical region of southern China. He had a 3-month history of pneumonia with intermittent fever, coughing, and expectoration. The infection subsequently spread to the bone and lymph nodes forming deep lesions and eventually resulting in osteolysis and lymphadenectasis. These subcutaneous nodules were observed after 9 months. Antifungal treatment was administered for 20 months leading to clinical improvement before the patient was lost to follow-up. This case is unique because such deep lesions are rare in immunocompetent individuals and because the initial onset was associated with pneumonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The correlation between microbial community succession and volatile flavor substance changes in the fermentation of new pickle fermentation broth was revealed in this study via high-throughput sequencing and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Microbiological analysis demonstrated that Lactobacillus (relative abundance ≥93.98%) was the dominant bacterial genus in the broth, whereas Enterobacter was richest only in the first sampling. E-nose and GC-MS inspections revealed that the types and contents of volatile flavor compounds increased continuously with fermentation, rising from 27 volatile flavor compounds in the first sampling to a maximum of 62 species, with the content increasing from 8.686 μg/mL to 106.083 μg/mL. Olefins and alcohols had the highest proportions throughout the fermentation process. The Spearman correlation coefficient revealed that 77 volatile flavor compounds and 22 bacterial genera had medium-high correlations (|ρ| >0.6). Lactobacillus (Gen1), the most dominant genus, was significantly positively correlated with 21 volatile compounds (ρ > 0.6), including myrcene (Ole7), terpinene (Ole12) and ocimene (Ole1), but negatively associated with 13 volatile compounds (ρ < -0.6), including 5-methyl-4-nonene (Ole5l), anisole (Ole26) and 2-octen-4-one (Ket6). Thus, this study may provide a theoretical basis to improve the flavour and overall quality of the new pickle fermentation broth. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 20 years, the spatial distribution of electrical generation and its relationship to cross-regional power transmission has impacted China's power generation system and significantly affected the total amount of NO x and the aggregated nitrogen oxides intensity (ANI) of the system. An investigation of the driving mechanisms of ANI that considers the unevenness of regional electricity generation will be crucial to future improvements in the NO x efficiency of the electrical generation system in China. In this study, we built a decomposition model for ANI by incorporating the spatial distribution of electrical generation and found that the spatial distribution of electricity generation together with energy-related factors gradually caused decreases in ANI. The efficiency of electricity generation presented the dominant inhibitory effect on ANI, but its effect size has weakened since 2010. In contrast, the fossil fuel structure of thermal power shows an increasingly positive effect on changes in ANI. The primary energy composition only slightly affected changes in ANI. Moreover, the changed geographical distribution of electricity generation is non-negligible and has a positive effect on reduction of the ANI of the Chinese electrical generation system. The transferred amount of local NO x emissions by cross-provincial electricity transmission, however, could cause lead to additional environmental costs for generators. This issue should receive more attention in the future. Highlights • The ANI of electrical generation has decreased by 33.18% over the past 20 years. • Electrical generation efficiency inhibited ANI strongly but gradually weakened over time. • The geographical distribution effect reduced the ANI but transferred environmental costs. • The electrical generation structure will hopefully affect ANI reduction in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Sorbent-sorbate based hybrid ML model shows good adaptability to OP-MP sorption. • Sensitivity analyses show valid results of OP and MP feature importance. • Compared with MPs, the properties of OPs have a greater influence on sorption. • Major mechanisms are hydrophobic partitioning, H-bond formation and π-π interaction. Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitously distributed in freshwater systems and they can determine the environmental fate of organic pollutants (OPs) via sorption interaction. However, the diverse physicochemical properties of MPs and the wide range of OP species make a deeper understanding of sorption mechanisms challenging. Traditional isotherm-based sorption models are limited in their universality since they normally only consider the nature and characteristics of either sorbents or sorbates individually. Therefore, only specific equilibrium concentrations or specific sorption isotherms can be used to predict sorption. To systematically evaluate and predict OP sorption under the influence of both MPs and OPs properties, we collected 475 sorption data from peer-reviewed publications and developed a poly-parameter-linear-free-energy-relationship-embedded machine learning method to analyze the collected sorption datasets. Models of different algorithms were compared, and the genetic algorithm and support vector machine hybrid model displayed the best prediction performance (R2 of 0.93 and root-mean-square-error of 0.07). Finally, comparison results of three feature importance analysis tools (forward step wise method, Shapley method, and global sensitivity analysis) showed that chemical properties of MPs, excess molar refraction, and hydrogen-bonding interaction of OPs contribute the most to sorption, reflecting the dominant sorption mechanisms of hydrophobic partitioning, hydrogen bond formation, and π-π interaction, respectively. This study presents a novel sorbate-sorbent-based ML model with a wide applicability to expand our capacity in understanding the complicated process and mechanism of OP sorption on MPs. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ginsengs, has long been used as one medicinal herb in China for more than two thousand years. Many studies have shown that ginsengs have preventive and therapeutic roles for cancer, and play a good complementary role in cancer treatment. Ginsenosides, as most important constituents of ginseng, have been extensively investigated and emphasized in cancer chemoprevention and therapeutics. However, the functional mechanism of Ginsenosides on cancer is not well known. This review will focus on introducing the functional mechanisms of ginsenosides and their metabolites, which regulate signaling pathways related with tumor growth and metastasis. Ginsenosides inhibit tumor growth via upregulating tumor apoptosis, inducing tumor cell differentiation and targeting cancer stem cells. In addition, Ginsenosides regulate tumor microenvironment via suppressing tumor angiogenesis-related proteins and pathways. Structural modification of ginsenosides and their administration alone or combinations with other Chinese medicines or chemical medicines have recently been developed to be a new therapeutic strategy for cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions have been declining in recent years, whereas NOx generation continues to increase. This has prompted a growing focus of policy design to inspect the driving mechanisms of NOx generation. In this study, a decomposition model of NOx generation in China from 1995 to 2014 was built using the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) method. According to the decomposition results, technological effects (e.g., energy intensity and the sector generation factor) inhibited NOx generation in China, while gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was found to have the most positive effect on increasing NOx generation, accounting for 151.00% of the total change and showing an increasing trend in recent years. The sector structure of energy consumption always increased NOx generation, which contradicts the results of previous studies. All population effects considered in this study contributed to the growth in NOx generation. The population scale effect was increasingly impactful on the growth of NOx generation; the population spatial structure was active but less impactful. In general, technological impact cannot offset the increases caused by economic, structural, and population effects. Considering NOx reduction policy in China, more attention should be given to emission reduction policies, energy consumption, and socio-economic effects; together, these approaches will improve initiatives to reduce NOx. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An innovative cathode-enhanced EOCFB-MES (CC-FeCB) was first constructed with nano-Fe 3 O 4 modification. • The CC-FeCB was firstly applied in 2300 m2 of urban surface water for 1-year operation. • CC-FeCB showed excellent pollutant removal via ectopic electron compensation in low-carbon water. • Electroactive bacteria and nitrogen converting bacteria were visibly enriched in CC-FeCB. • The ectopic electron compensation mechanism with Fe 3 O 4 -modified cathode in CC-FeCB was studied. Ecological floating bed coupled with microbial electrochemical system (ECOFB-MES) has great application potential in micro-polluted water remediation yet limited by low electron transfer efficiency on the microbial/electrode interface. Here, an innovative cathode-enhanced EOCFB-MES was constructed with nano-Fe 3 O 4 modification and applied for in-situ remediation both at lab scale (6 L, 62-day operation) and demonstration scale (2300 m2, 1-year operation). The cathode-enhanced ECOFB-MES exhibited superior removal in TOC (81.43 ± 2.05%), TN (85.12% ± 1.46%) and TP (59.80 ± 2.27%), much better than those of original ECOFB-MES and anode-enhanced ECOFB-MES in the laboratory test. Meanwhile, cathode-enhanced ECOFB-MES boosted current output by 33% than that of original ECOFB-MES, which made a great contribution to the improvement of ectopic electronic compensation for pollutant decontamination. Notably, cathode-enhanced ECOFB-MES presented high efficiency, stability and durability in the demonstration test, and fulfilled the average concentration of COD (9.5 ± 2.81 mg/L), TN (1.00 ± 0.21 mg/L) and TP (0.10 ± 0.04 mg/L) of effluent water to meet the Grade III (GB 3838–2002) with stable operation stage. Based on the KOSIM calculation, the removal loads of cathode-enhanced ECOFB-MES in carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus could reach 37.14 g COD/(d·m2), 2.62 g TN/(d·m2) and 0.55 g TP/(d·m2), respectively. According to the analysis of microbial communities and functional genes, the cathode modified by Fe 3 O 4 made a sensible enrichment in electroactive bacteria (EAB) and nitrogen-converting bacteria (NCB) as well as facilitated the functional genes expression in electron transfer and nitrogen metabolism, resulting in the synergistic removal of carbon in sediment and nitrite in water. This study provided a brandnew technique reference for in-situ remediation of surface water in practical application. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The hydrophilic properties of the substrate surface can be increased by femtosecond laser direct writing technique. • The PS particles will be transported along the pattern path which is consist of the micro-concave structures. • The silicon substrate with the micro-concave array could serves as a template for transferring PS particles from the silicon substrate to PDMS. Particle patterning, referred to as colloidal patterning or natural patterning, has wide applications in the development of devices for photonic and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy applications. On the other hand, interfacial materials with special wettability properties have gained significant research interest over the past decade. In this study, we developed a self-assembly method for particle patterning using femtosecond (fs)-laser micromachined micro-concave arrays to modify surface wettability. Experimental results showed that arrays of micro-concave structures could reduce the water contact angle from 68° to 36°, thereby increasing the wettability of a surface and providing a uniform dispersion of polystyrene (PS) micro-particles. Subsequently, surfaces with different patterns consisting of these micro-concave structures were used to create more complex patterns of particles on silicon substrates; the patterned particles were able to be transferred to PDMS surfaces directly to create micro-particle templates on the flexible PDMS surface. This work provides new applications for fs-laser micro/nano processing and insights for the advancement of micro/nanoparticle self-assembly processes and transfer-printing in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]