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N6-methyladenine (6mA) in DNA, a type of DNA methylation in epigenetic modification, has attracted extensive attention in recent years. In order to improve our understanding of 6mA biological activities and mechanisms in plant genomes, we need to be able to accurately identify 6mA sites. Because traditional wet-lab experiments frequently necessitate a large amount of manpower and time, a plethora of computational methods, particularly machine learning, have emerged to achieve fast and accurate 6mA site prediction. Traditional machine learning methods, on the other hand, rely heavily on manual features and integrated learning to improve performance, resulting in a reliance on prior knowledge and a large model scale. Furthermore, many models are only trained and tested for one species, with no comparison of model generalization performance, resulting in models with limited practical usability. In order to increase the generalization capability of the model, we propose a lightweight structure predictor Plant6mA based on Transformer encoder. Based on results on independent test sets, our proposed Plant6mA has better generalization performance than the most advanced methods in predicting 6mA location in plant genomes. Plant6mA's MultiHead Attention mechanism effectively enhances its expressive ability by capturing potential biological information from multiple scales of the input sequence. Furthermore, we used a dimensionality reduction tool to visualize Plant6mA's training process and visually demonstrate the effectiveness of our model.

Gut microbiota community shift with coronary artery disease (CAD) has been reported in several limited cohorts during the past several years. However, whether the enriched or decreased microbiota taxa with CAD can be reproducible deserves further investigation and validation. In this study, 78 human subjects were recruited. Of these, 19 were diagnosed without stenosis in coronary artery (control group, referred to herein as Ctrl), 14 with stenosis less than 50% (LT50), and 45 with stenosis greater than 50% (GT50). Fecal samples were collected and DNA was extracted to perform 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were analyzed to identify taxa specific to different groups; next, multivariate logistic regression was employed to test whether the defined taxa could independently predict CAD risk. We found that Deltaproteobacteria, Fusobacterium, Bilophila, Actinomyces, and Clostridium XIX were enriched in Ctrl; Prevotellaceae, Parabacteriodes, and Butyricicoccus were enriched in LT50; and Roseburia and Butyricimonas were enriched in GT50. Further analysis revealed that increased populations of Deltaproteobacteria, Fusobacterium, Bilophila, and Desulfovibrionaceae were associated with a 0.26-fold, 0.21-fold, 0.18-fold, and 0.26-fold decreased risk of CAD, respectively (p

Objectives The aim of the present study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of thinner strut Firesorb (100/125 μm) sirolimus-eluting bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS) versus cobalt-chromium everolimus-eluting stents (CoCr-EES) in patients with coronary artery disease. Background First-generation thicker strut BRS were associated with unexpected device-related adverse outcomes at long-term follow-up. Methods Eligible patients with 1 or 2 de novo noncomplex coronary lesions were randomized to the Firesorb BRS group or CoCr-EES group in a 1:1 ratio. The primary endpoint was 1-year angiographic in-segment late loss (LL), powered for noninferiority testing. The key secondary endpoint was the 1-year proportion of covered struts assessed on optical coherence tomography, powered for noninferiority and subsequent superiority testing. Results A total of 433 participants from 28 Chinese centers were randomized to the Firesorb BRS group (n = 215) or CoCr-EES group (n = 218). Patient-level 1-year in-segment LL was 0.17 ± 0.27 mm in the Firesorb BRS group and 0.18 ± 0.37 mm in the CoCr-EES group (difference −0.01 mm; 95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.07 to 0.06; pnoninferiority Conclusions The thinner strut Firesorb BRS was noninferior to the CoCr-EES for the primary endpoint of 1-year angiographic in-segment LL and the key secondary endpoint of 1-year proportion of covered struts by optical coherence tomography. (A Trial of Firesorb in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease: FUTURE-II [FUTURE-II]; NCT02890160 )

Background Macroreentrant biatrial tachycardia (BiAT) associated with interatrial septal incisions after mitral valve (MV) surgery has been rarely reported. Objective The purpose of this study was to assess the mapping and ablation strategy of this special category of atrial tachycardia (AT). Methods We identified 10 BiATs from a total of 84 ATs after MV surgery performed at 3 institutions. Activation maps for both the right atrium (RA) and left atrium (LA) were obtained using an ultrahigh-density mapping system. We also performed entrainment pacing from multiple LA and RA site within the speculative circuit. Results By analyzing activation and propagation maps of both atria, we classified the circuit into 3 distinct types. In all types, posteroinferior interatrial connections act as a critical limb that, combined with other interatrial connections (Bachmann bundle, fossa ovalis, and coronary sinus ostium in 3 types, respectively), complete the circuit of BiATs. Most ATs (8/10) were terminated targeting the RA and LA end of posteroinferior interatrial connection sites. Conclusion Ultrahigh-density mapping provides a detailed description of the macroreentrant circuit of BiAT associated with interatrial septal incisions. Posteroinferior interatrial connections were essential for the circuit and should be the preferred target for ablation.

Background ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a fatal cardiovascular emergency requiring rapid reperfusion treatment. During the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, medical professionals need to strike a balance between providing timely treatment for STEMI patients and implementing infection control procedures to prevent nosocomial spread of COVID-19 among health care workers and other vulnerable cardiovascular patients. Objectives This study evaluates the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and China Chest Pain Center’s modified STEMI protocol on the treatment and prognosis of STEMI patients in China. Methods Based on the data of 28,189 STEMI patients admitted to 1,372 Chest Pain Centers in China between December 27, 2019 and February 20, 2020, the study analyzed how the COVID-19 outbreak and China Chest Pain Center’s modified STEMI protocol influenced the number of admitted STEMI cases, reperfusion strategy, key treatment time points, and in-hospital mortality and heart failure for STEMI patients. Results The COVID-19 outbreak reduced the number of STEMI cases reported to China Chest Pain Centers. Consistent with China Chest Pain Center’s modified STEMI protocol, the percentage of patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention declined while the percentage of patients undergoing thrombolysis increased. With an average delay of approximately 20 min for reperfusion therapy, the rate of in-hospital mortality and in-hospital heart failure increased during the outbreak, but the rate of in-hospital hemorrhage remained stable. Conclusions There were reductions in STEMI patients’ access to care, delays in treatment timelines, changes in reperfusion strategies, and an increase of in-hospital mortality and heart failure during the COVID-19 pandemic in China., Central Illustration

Pheochromocytoma is a neuroendocrine tumor of the adrenal gland that secretes excess amount of catecholamine, which in turn leads to extremely varied clinical manifestations, such as hypertension, headache, sweating and palpitations. This eventually leads to delay or mistakes in diagnosing the disease. This could be fatal due to misdiagnosis as it receives a totally different treatment. We herein reported a case of pheochromocytoma with recurrent ventricular tachycardia. A literature review was conducted to investigate the clinical features of these patients.

Bone morphogenetic protein 9 (BMP9) is an effective osteogenic factor and a promising candidate for bone tissue engineering. The osteoblastic potential of BMP9 needs to be further increased to overcome its shortcomings. However, the details of how BMP9 triggers osteogenic differentiation in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are unclear. In this study, we used real-time PCR, western blot, histochemical staining, mouse ectopic bone formation model, immunofluorescence, immunoprecipitation, and chromatin immunoprecipitation to investigate the role of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4) in BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation of C3H10T1/2 cells, as well as the underlying mechanism. We found that PDK4 was upregulated by BMP9 in C3H10T1/2 cells. BMP9-induced osteogenic markers and bone mass were increased by PDK4 overexpression, but decreased by PDK4 silencing. β-catenin protein level was increased by BMP9, which was enhanced by PDK overexpression and decreased by PDK4 silencing. BMP9-induced osteogenic markers were reduced by PDK4 silencing, which was almost reversed by β-catenin overexpression. PDK4 increased the BMP9-induced osteogenic markers, which was almost eliminated by β-catenin silencing. Sclerostin was mildly decreased by BMP9 or PDK4, and significantly decreased by combined BMP9 and PDK4. In contrast, sclerostin increased significantly when BMP9 was combined with PDK4 silencing. BMP9-induced p-SMAD1/5/9 was increased by PDK4 overexpression, but was reduced by PDK4 silencing. PDK4 interacts with p-SMAD1/5/9 and regulates the sclerostin promoter. These findings suggest that PDK4 can increase the osteogenic potential of BMP9 by enhancing Wnt/β-catenin signaling via the downregulation of sclerostin. PDK4 may be an effective target to strengthen BMP9-induced osteogenesis.

A microfluidic SERS chip integrated with blood separation and in-situ detection was designed and fabricated for the rapid detection of clinical blood samples. Each functional unit in the microfluidic SERS chip consist of separation-decantation cavity based on centrifugal separation principle, mixing channels and SERS detection chamber built with integrated nano-Au on Ag film microstructure. The serum creatinine was selected as a typical sample to demonstrate the capability of microfluidic SERS chip. It was found that the creatinine SERS characteristic peaks at 678 cm−1 can be effectively identified and the detection limit could be as low as 4.42 × 10−3 μmol mL−1 in water. The blood samples were also tested in microfluidic SERS chip. The whole separation and test process could be completed within 2 min, which is a significant improvement in the field of creatinine detection. The whole blood of six cases clinical blood samples were also tested, and the results were consistent with the enzymatic results. The developed microfluidic SERS chip has advantages including reduction of the required quantity of blood sample, reusable and easy to operate. It is expected to provide a new method for rapid diagnostics.

Aluminum bowtie nanoantenna arrays fabricated by colloid lithography followed by oxygen plasma processing were used to demonstrate the localized-surface-plasmon enhancement of UV light emission from ZnO grown by atomic layer deposition. 4-fold photoluminescence enhancement in the peak of the near band edge emissions was obtained by introducing Al nanotriangles with the gap distance of 31 nm by accurate control of the time of oxygen plasma treatment. Extinction spectra and theoretical simulations showed that this improvement benefited from the resonance coupling between the surface plasmons and the excitons of ZnO and the tremendously elevated local electromagnetic fields across the gaps. This cost-effective and facile approach paves an attractive way for high performance optoelectronic devices.

Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the angiographic efficacy and clinical outcomes of the Restore paclitaxel-coated balloon in a randomized trial designed to enable its approval with an indication for small-vessel disease (SVD). Background Higher rates of restenosis and stent thrombosis limit the effectiveness of drug-eluting stent (DES) treatment of SVD. Whether a drug-coated balloon (DCB)–only strategy is effective in de novo SVD is not yet established. Methods In the noninferiority RESTORE SVD China trial, eligible patients with reference vessel diameter ≥2.25 and ≤2.75 mm were randomized to the Restore DCB or the RESOLUTE Integrity DES in a 1:1 ratio stratified by diabetes and number of lesions treated. Patients with RVD ≥2.00 and Results Between August 2016 and June 2017, a total of 230 subjects at 12 sites were randomized to the DCB group (n = 116) or DES group (n = 114); 32 patients were treated with the DCB in the very small vessel cohort. Nine-month in-segment percentage diameter stenosis was 29.6 ± 2.0% with the DCB versus 24.1 ± 2.0% with the DES; the 1-sided 97.5% upper confidence limit of the difference was 10.9%, achieving noninferiority of the DCB compared with the DES (p for noninferiority Conclusions In this multicenter randomized trial, the Restore DCB was noninferior to the RESOLUTE DES for 9-month in-segment percentage diameter stenosis. (Assess the Efficacy and Safety of RESTORE Paclitaxel Eluting Balloon Versus RESOLUTE Zotarolimus Eluting Stent for the Treatment of Small Coronary Vessel Disease; NCT02946307)

Objective: We sought to investigate the precise electrophysiological mechanisms of multiple scar-related RA ATs using an ultrahigh density mapping system. Methods: Eighteen patients with scar related RA AT and no prior cardiac surgery were enrolled. In each case, we sought to map each AT circuit in detail. Low-voltage zones(LVZs) ,electrically silent areas(ESAs) and lines of double potentials (LDPs) were all visualized on the voltage and activation map. Results: A total of 52 different ATs (mean 3.2{plus minus}1.5 ATs per patient) were observed . We endeavored to complete activation maps for 45 ATs. In all cases, a large area of LVZ was located between the crista terminalis(CT) and the tricuspid annulus(TA). Inside the LVZ, several discrete ESAs or LDPs separated by a low-voltage channel were present. By analyzing activation maps, we classified ATs into six categories. The discrepant location and extension of ESAs were associated with different AT mechanisms. Conclusions: Multiple scar related RA ATs were observed in patients without previous cardiac surgery. The detailed activation patterns of these ATs could be clearly demonstrated by using an ultra-high density mapping system.

Recently, a large number of studies have indicated that circRNAs with covalently closed loops play important roles in biological processes and have potential as diagnostic biomarkers. Therefore, research on the circRNA-disease relationship is helpful in disease diagnosis and treatment. However, traditional biological verification methods require considerable labor and time costs. In this paper, we propose a new computational method (RGCNCDA) to predict circRNA-disease associations based on relational graph convolutional networks (R-GCNs). The method first integrates the circRNA similarity network, miRNA similarity network, disease similarity network and association networks among them to construct a global heterogeneous network. Then, it employs the random walk with restart (RWR) and principal component analysis (PCA) models to learn low-dimensional and high-order information from the global heterogeneous network as the topological features. Finally, a prediction model based on an R-GCN encoder and a DistMult decoder is built to predict the potential disease-associated circRNA. The predicted results demonstrate that RGCNCDA performs significantly better than the other six state-of-the-art methods in a 5-fold cross validation. Furthermore, the case study illustrates that RGCNCDA can effectively discover potential circRNA-disease associations.

A novel compact rotary magneto-rheological (MR) damper with variable damping and stiffness has been proposed and analyzed. Its variable damping is generated by tuning yield stress of MR fluid in both pre-yield and post-yield regimes. The controllable storage modulus in pre-yield region of MR fluid is used to achieve magnetic field dependent stiffness. To ensure the MR rotary damper output variable stiffness in large angle, a unique structure that contains two driven disks and an active rotary disk is proposed. The effects of current, angle and frequency on the torque–angle loops and torque-frequency loops have been investigated experimentally. Adaptive network based fuzzy inference system with learning ability is adapted to capture the non-linear behaviors of variable damping and stiffness. By comparing with the MR dampers with one driven disk and that with no driven disk, it can be found that the proposed MR rotary damper with two driven disks can provide variable stiffness in larger angle. The results made the concept of proposed damper with variable damping and stiffness become feasible.

Previous studies demonstrated that AIB1 or HER2 copy number gain (CNG), respectively, were independent predictors for poor prognosis of glioma patients, especially in females. We hypothesize that there are some connections between the two genes and sex-specific characteristics, thus this study aimed to analyze gender-related differences in the prognosis of glioma patients.Using Real-Time Quantitative Reverse Transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) method, we examined AIB1 and HER2 CNG in gliomas samples (n = 114), and inspected the correlation of various genotypes with patients outcomes.Concomitant AIB1 and HER2 amplification were closely related to shorter survival time and radiotherapy resistance in female gliomas patients (P0.01), which also served as an independent risk factor. No significant prognostic value was found with AIB1 and HER2 CNG in male patients. However, linear regression analysis showed a positive relationship between the copy number of AIB1 and HER2 (P0.01) in male patients, rather than female patients.In this study, we reveal a gender difference in the prognostic value of concomitant AIB1 and HER2 CNG in glioma patients which were barely noticed before. These observations indicated that genetic alterations synergistic with essential respects of sex determination influence glioma biology and patients outcomes.

The authors sought to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the NeoVas bioresorbable scaffold (BRS) compared with metallic drug-eluting stents.BRS have the potential to improve very late outcomes compared with metallic drug-eluting stents, but some BRS have been associated with increased rates of device thrombosis before complete bioresorption. NeoVas is a new poly-l-lactic acid BRS that elutes sirolimus from a poly-D, l-lactide coating.Eligible patients with a single de novo native coronary artery lesion with a reference vessel diameter 2.5 to 3.75 mm and a lesion length ≤20 mm were randomized 1:1 to NeoVas BRS versus cobalt-chromium everolimus-eluting stents (CoCr-EES). Angiographic follow-up was performed in all patients at 1 year. The primary endpoint was angiographic in-segment late loss (LL), and the major secondary endpoint was the rate of angina. Baseline and follow-up optical coherence tomography and fractional flow reserve were performed in a pre-specified subgroup of patients.The authors randomized 560 patients at 32 centers to treatment with NeoVas (n = 278) versus CoCr-EES (n = 282). One-year in-segment LL with NeoVas and CoCr-EES were 0.14 ± 0.36 mm versus 0.11 ± 0.34 mm (difference 0.03 mm; upper 1-sided 97.5% confidence interval 0.09 mm; pThe NeoVas BRS was noninferior to CoCr-EES for the primary endpoint of 1-year angiographic in-segment LL, and resulted in comparable 1-year clinical outcomes, including recurrent angina. (NeoVas Bioresorbable Coronary Scaffold Randomized Controlled Trial; NCT02305485).

Heavy metal cadmium (Cd) pollution is a serious problem affecting the sustainable development of aquaculture and the safety of aquatic foods. Research about the use of probiotics to attenuate toxic damage caused by Cd2+ in aquatic animals has received widespread attention. Bacillus coagulans (B. coagulans), a kind of probiotics commonly used in aquaculture, has been shown to adsorb Cd2+ both in vivo and vitro. Here, we aimed to determine the effects of B. coagulans on Cd2+ bioaccumulation, gut barrier function, oxidative stress and gut microbiota in common carp following Cd2+ exposure. The fish were exposure to Cd2+ at 0 and 0.5 mg/L and/or fed a B. coagulans-containing diet at 107, 108 and 109 CFU/g for 8 weeks. The results indicated that B. coagulans can maintain gut barrier function in Cd2+-exposed fish by reducing Cd2+ bioaccumulation, increasing the mRNA levels of tight junction protein genes (occludin, claudin-2 and zonula occludens-1), and decreasing the levels of diamine oxidase and D -lactic acid. In addition, B. coagulans could relieve oxidative stress in Cd2+-exposed fish by restoring the activities of glutathione peroxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase. Moreover, Cd2+ exposure decreased the intestinal microbiota diversity and changed the intestinal microbiota compositions in common carp. However, supplementation with B. coagulans could reverse the altered intestinal microbiota diversity and composition after Cd2+ exposure, decrease the abundance of some pathogens (Shewanella and Vibrio), and increase the abundance of probiotics (Bacillus and Lactobacillus). These results indicate that B. coagulans may serve as a potential antidote for alleviating Cd2+ toxicity.

Growth of high-k dielectrics on two-dimensional (2D) materials is vital for the fabrication of electronic and optoelectronic devices. In this work, the uniform high-k ZrO2 dielectric thin films were successfully grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on monolayer MoS2 with Al2O3 buffer layers. No significant variations appear for MoS2 after deposition of Al and ZrO2 thin films. The properties of composite dielectrics on MoS2 films have been studied by Cr-Au/ZrO2/Al2O3/MoS2 Metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices, in which H2O and O3 were used as the oxidants for ZrO2 growth, respectively. Moreover, the top-gated monolayer MoS2 field-effect transistors (FETs) with ZrO2/Al2O3 as composite dielectrics have been successfully fabricated. Importantly, the top-gated structure gives the transistors with a high mobility of 11.14 cm2 V−1 s−1, a high on/off-state current ratio of 107 at VDS = 0.1 V, a small subthreshold swing of 0.93 V dec−1, and a proper threshold voltage of 2.29 V. Hence, the integration of the high-k dielectrics on MoS2 develops the possibilities to prepare high-performance top-gated FETs based on 2D materials.

A multifunctional microfluidic chip integrated with multi-orifice flow fractionation (MOFF) and magnetic capture technique was developed to specifically separate and capture HepG2 cells in artificial samples. The chip contained a glass substrate and a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) micro-channel cover plate. The PDMS cover plate consisted of three 10-mm-long injection channels, a MOFF separation zone and a hexagonal cavity cell enrichment detection zone. The MOFF separation zone, with a total length of 20 mm, was consisted of 80 semi-rhombic shrinkage and expansion units with a length of 0.18 mm, a depth of 50 μm, a shrinkage area width of 0.06 mm, and an expansion area of 0.20 mm. The angle between each group of shrinkage and expansion units was 103.0°. In this work, HepG2-blood cell suspension was used as the sample. Based on the principle that the magnetic beads surface modified c-Met antibody could specifically bind to HepG2 cells, an immune-magnetic beads (anti-MNCs) suspension at a concentration of 50 μg mL−1 was prepared by surface carboxylated beads, EDC (1 mg mL−1), NHS (1 mg mL−1) and c-Met antibody. At the optimized flow rate of 50 μL min−1, HepG2 in suspension samples was efficiently captured at the detection zone of chip via a magnetic field. The carbon quantum dots were prepared by microwave heating with citric acid and thiourea to label HepG2 cells which made it possible that the captured HepG2 could be visualized in-situ. The captured cells in the chip detection area were counted by microscope. It was shown that the capture rate of HepG2 cells was 88.5% ± 6.7% (500 μL volume contained 106 blood cells and 10 HepG2 cells). The results demonstrated the developed multifunctional microfluidic chip may serve as a promising tool for separation and capture of tumour cells.

Objectives The authors sought to assess the clinical outcomes of left atrial appendage (LAA) closure with the LAmbre closure system in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). Background Over 90% of thrombi are located in the LAA in NVAF patients. Methods A prospective, multicenter study was conducted in 153 NVAF patients with CHADS2 score ≥1. Results The LAA was successfully occluded in 152 patients. Serious complications occurred in 5 patients. During the 12-month follow-up, ischemic stroke occurred in 2 patients, 1 patient had incomplete LAA sealing, and there was no device embolization. Conclusions LAA closure with the LAmbre device shows encouraging results for stroke prevention.

Lipid droplet (LD) accumulation in hepatocytes is a typical character of steatosis. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, one of the risk factors related to steatosis, induced LD accumulation in cultured cells. However, the mechanisms of which HCV induce LD formation are not fully revealed. Previously we identified cytosolic phospholipase A2 gamma (PLA2G4C) as a host factor upregulated by HCV infection and involved in HCV replication. Here we further revealed that PLA2G4C plays an important role in LD biogenesis and refined the functional analysis of PLA2G4C in LD biogenesis and HCV assembly. LD formation upon fatty acid and HCV stimulation in PLA2G4C knockdown cells was impaired and could not be restored by complementation with PLA2G4A. PLA2G4C was tightly associated in the membrane with the domain around the amino acid residues 260-292, normally in ER but relocated into LDs upon oleate stimulation. Mutant PLA2G4C without enzymatic activity was not able to restore LD formation in PLA2G4C knockdown cells. Thus, both the membrane attachment and the enzymatic activity of PLA2G4C were required for its function in LD formation. The participation of PLA2G4C in LD formation is correlated with its involvement in HCV assembly. Finally, PLA2G4C overexpression itself led to LD formation in hepatic cells and enhanced LD accumulation in the liver of high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice, suggesting its potential role in fatty liver disease.

Background: GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic t...

As the urgent need for rapid detection of airborne microbes in a specific environment, a biochip which was integrated with the functions of enrichment and detection was designed and developed. It was composed of cover plate, copper microelectrodes modified with poly-dopamine-co-chitosan (PDA-co-CS) composite gel, sealing washer and substrate containing copper sheet electrode. The microbes were enriched due to the good ventilation efficiency and adhesion of the PDA-co-CS composite gel. The enrichment efficiency of microbes was 99.9%. The electrical impedance spectrum (EIS) test system which was composed of the copper electrodes and the copper sheet electrode were used to detect the concentrated microbes and establish the quantitative detection method of single microbe (S. aureus ATCC 6538) and mixed microbes (S. aureus ATCC 6538, E. coli JM109, and Candida albicans). It was shown that the biochip could respond to the aerosol with 1.26 × 103 cfu/m3 S. aureus ATCC 6538, which was 25 times as high as the detection limit of natural deposition method. Meanwhile, the Surface-enhanced Raman Spectrum (SERS) of different microbes were detected in-situ with the help of the silver sol. The SERS data of S. aureus, E. coli and Candida albicans had been analyzed to establish recognition model by the principal component analysis (PCA) method and the three microbes were successfully identified. It was demonstrated that the designed biochip could be applied for separation, enrichment and detection of microbes in the aerosol.

Background The everolimus-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) is designed to achieve results comparable to metallic drug-eluting stents at 1 year, with improved long-term outcomes. Whether the 1-year clinical and angiographic results of BVS are noninferior to current-generation drug-eluting stents has not been established. Objectives This study sought to evaluate the angiographic efficacy and clinical safety and effectiveness of BVS in a randomized trial designed to enable approval of the BVS in China. Methods Eligible patients with 1 or 2 de novo native coronary artery lesions were randomized to BVS or cobalt-chromium everolimus-eluting stents (CoCr-EES) in a 1:1 ratio stratified by diabetes and the number of lesions treated. Angiographic and clinical follow-up were planned at 1 year in all patients. The primary endpoint was angiographic in-segment late loss (LL), powered for noninferiority with a margin of 0.15 mm. Results A total of 480 patients were randomized (241 BVS vs. 239 CoCr-EES) at 24 sites. Acute clinical device success (98.0% vs. 99.6%; p = 0.22) and procedural success (97.0% and 98.3%; p = 0.37) were comparable in BVS- and CoCr-EES–treated patients, respectively. The primary endpoint of in-segment LL at 1 year was 0.19 ± 0.38 mm for BVS versus 0.13 ± 0.38 mm for CoCr-EES; the 1-sided 97.5% upper confidence limit of the difference was 0.14 mm, achieving noninferiority of BVS compared with CoCr-EES (p noninferiority = 0.01). BVS and CoCr-EES also had similar 1-year rates of target lesion failure (cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction, or ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization; 3.4% vs. 4.2%, respectively; p = 0.62) and definite/probable scaffold/stent thrombosis (0.4% vs. 0.0%, respectively; p = 1.00). Conclusions In the present multicenter randomized trial, BVS was noninferior to CoCr-EES for the primary endpoint of in-segment LL at 1 year. (A Clinical Evaluation of Absorb Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold [Absorb BVS] System in Chinese Population—ABSORB CHINA Randomized Controlled Trial [RCT]; NCT01923740 )

Photosynthesis is the basis of crop yield and quality. Real-time, quantitative monitoring of crop photosynthetic parameters is important to assess crop growth status, and to predict yield and quality. In the present study, we conducted two field experiments using two rice cultivars (Japonica and Indica), and nitrogen levels and light response curves (LRCs) of different leaf positions at different growth stages were determined. The leaf maximum net photosynthesis (Pn-max) and initial quantum efficiency (α) were estimated using LRCs and then the leaf layer maximum net photosynthesis (Pnl-max) and initial quantum efficiency (αl) were estimated using the Gaussian integration method. The results showed that the dynamic change characteristics of Pnl-max and αl at the rice leaf layer under the different growth stages presented the same trend: Increasing first and then decreasing. The relationship between the photosynthetic parameters of the leaf layer and multi-spectral vegetation indices obtained from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) multi-spectral reflectance showed that the modified structure-insensitive pigment index (SIPIm (R720-R550)/(R800-R680)) correlated with an R2 of 0.72 and 0.61 for Pnl-max and αl, respectively. Therefore, Pnl-max and αl of the rice leaf layer could be obtained quickly by UAV. In addition, the leaf layer light response curve (LRCl) model could be estimated by combining the canopy respiration (Rd) obtained by accumulating different leaf layers’ respiration rates with Pnl-max and αl. Daily photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) variation, measured using a QSO-S PAR sensor, was used as the input parameter of an LRCl model. This allowed the prediction of daily variation of rice canopy photosynthesis based on UAV and the LRCl model.

Transparent and flexible capacitors with composite electrodes consisting of ZnO:Al(AZO) and Cr–Au nanomeshes and dielectric ZrO2 films were directly prepared on plastic substrates. The transparent composite electrodes exhibited an ultralow sheet resistance (5.6 Ω·square−1) and good flexural properties. ZrO2 thin films were grown by atomic layer deposition to serve as dielectric layers. The capacitors showed a higher capacitance density (17.8 fF μm−2) than that capacitors with AZO electrodes (9.8 fF μm−2) while maintained an extra-low leakage current density (1.3 × 10−9 A cm−2 at 1 V). Additionally, the quality factor was increased from 9.6 to 80.5 at a frequency of 1 MHz with the incorporation of Cr–Au nanomeshes, which greatly reduced the power consumptions. More importantly, the capacitors with the composite electrodes exhibited excellent bendability, good cycling stability, and relatively high transparency. It is, therefore, a promising route for application in developing transparent, flexible, high-performance and low-cost integrated circuits.

Trichlorfon is an organic phosphorus pesticide used to control different parasitic infections in aquaculture. The repeated, excessive use of trichlorfon can result in environmental pollution, thus affecting human health. This study aimed to determine the effects of different concentrations of trichlorfon (0, 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 mg/L) on the intestinal barrier, oxidative stress, inflammatory response and intestinal microbiome of common carp. Trichlorfon exposure significantly reduced the height of intestinal villus and decreased the expression levels of tight junction genes, such as claudin-2, occludin and ZO-1, in common carp. Moreover, the activities of antioxidant enzymes, such as CAT, SOD and GSH-Px, exhibited a decreasing trend with increasing trichlorfon concentrations, while the contents of MDA and ROS elevated in the intestinal tissues of common carp. The mRNA and protein levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β were significantly upregulated by trichlorfon exposure. The level of anti-inflammatory cytokine TGF-β was remarkably higher in 1.0 mg/L trichlorfon treatment group compared to control group. In addition, the results demonstrated that trichlorfon exposure could affect the microbiota community composition and decreased the community diversity in the gut of common carp. Notably, the proportions of some probiotic bacteria, namely, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium and Akkermansia, were observed to be reduced after trichlorfon exposure. In summary, the findings of this study indicate that exposure to different concentrations of trichlorfon can damage intestinal barrier, induce intestinal oxidative damage, trigger inflammatory reaction and alter gut microbiota structure in common carp.

Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signal transduction is known to be associated with neurogenesis and neuronal differentiation and as such may be related to the synaptic plasticity associated with cognitive function. Although antipsychotic drug studies have suggested a potential role for the ERK cascade in schizophrenia, the mechanistic basis is unknown. The maternal immune activation (MIA) rat model is a well-known to simulate many of the clinical symptoms of schizophrenia, including cognitive deficits, but a role in this model for dynamic changes in ERK has not been established. In this study, polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid was administered to rats intravenously at a dose of 10 mg/kg on embryonic day 9.5 to produce MIA. The effect of MIA on behavior and ERK phosphorylation within the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus of adolescent and adult offspring were explored. We also examined neurofilaments, a marker of neurogenesis, which have been reported to be modulated by ERK signaling. The results demonstrate an age- and region-specific profile of ERK expression and phosphorylation and suggest possible relationships among ERK, neurofilament expression, and cognitive performance in schizophrenia.

Objectives Sleep habits vary among different countries, and sleep problems may cause various health problems. The aim of our study was to evaluate the separate and combined associations of night-shift work, sleep duration, and daytime napping with breast cancer risk among the Chinese population. Methods This study conducted face-to-face interviews with 712 women diagnosed with incident invasive breast cancer before treatment and 742 age-matched controls. Information on sleep habits, demographic characteristics, and suspected or established risk factors of breast cancer were collected from the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results Night-shift work was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer [OR (95% CI): 1.34 (1.05–1.72)]. Compared to women with a sleep duration of 6.1–8.9 h/day, women who had shorter [(≤6.0 h/day) (OR (95% CI): 1.53 (1.10–2.12)] and longer (≥9.0 h/day) sleep duration [(OR (95% CI): 1.59 (1.17–2.17)] had an increased risk of breast cancer. In addition, daytime napping was associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer among night-shift workers [OR (95% CI): 0.57 (0.36–0.90)], but no association was found among women who never had night-shift work [OR (95% CI): 1.01 (0.75–1.35)] ( P for interaction = 0.054). Night-shift work and longer sleep duration also synergistically increased breast cancer risk [OR (95% CI): 3.69 (1.94–7.02)] ( P for interaction = 0.009). Conclusions Sleep problems, including night-shift work, and shorter and longer sleep duration, are associated with an increased breast cancer risk. In particular, the combined effects of night-shift work with no daytime napping or longer sleep duration are greater than the independent effects.

Background Previous experimental studies have shown an antagonistic interaction between cadmium and selenium. We explored the interaction between cadmium and selenium on human breast cancer risk. Methods A case–control study, enrolled 240 incident invasive breast cancer patients and 246 age-matched controls from 2 hospitals, was conducted in Guangzhou, China. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to examine urinary concentrations of cadmium and selenium. Association and interaction of the metal levels with breast cancer risk were tested using generalized additive and logistic regression models. Results As continuous variables, urinary cadmium [OR (95% CI): 1.16 (1.01–1.34)] but not selenium was significantly linearly associated with breast cancer risk. As tertiles, urinary cadmium did not significantly increase breast cancer risk; whereas women with the second tertile of selenium concentration had a significantly decreased risk of breast cancer as compared with those in the lowest tertile [OR (95% CI): 0.50 (0.30–0.81)]. Among the women with the lowest tertile of selenium, the highest tertile of cadmium significantly increased the risk of breast cancer [OR (95% CI): 2.83 (1.18–6.86)] compared to the lowest tertile of cadmium. A multiplicative interaction was found between tertiles of cadmium and selenium on breast cancer risk (P = 0.018), particularly among postmenopausal women. Conclusions These results suggested that the association of urinary cadmium with breast cancer risk was modified by urinary selenium.

Physical activity, a protective factor for breast cancer, increases the level of DNA methylation. Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2), a confirmed breast cancer susceptibility gene, is predisposed to be methylated. Therefore, DNA methylation related genes, such as methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), methionine synthase (MTR), and DNA methyltransferase (DNMT), together with physical activity and FGFR2, may interact with each other to effect breast cancer risk.A total of 839 incident breast cancer cases and 863 age-matched controls from Guangzhou, China were included in this study. We used questionnaires to assess physical activity in metabolic equivalent (MET)-h/week/year and a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry platform to ascertain genotypes. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated from logistic regression models.Exercise activity and FGFR2 rs2981582 were confirmed to be associated with breast cancer risk, and were found to significantly interact (P for multiplicative and additive interactions = 0.045 and 0.021, respectively). Women who had CT/TT genotypes of FGFR2 rs2981582 and experienced exercise activity3 MET-h/week/year had significantly increased risk (OR = 3.15, 95% CI = 2.28-4.35) compared to women with CC genotype and ≥ 3 MET-h/week/year. There was also a significant interaction between FGFR2 rs2981582 and MTHFR rs1801133 on breast cancer risk (P for multiplicative and additive interactions = 0.039 and 0.023, respectively).We found both a gene-environment (FGFR2-exercise activity) and a gene-gene (FGFR2-MTHFR) interaction on breast cancer risk. Our results suggest that environmental factors, such as physical activity, may be able to counteract genetic susceptibility to breast cancer.

This study aimed to identify aberrant transcripts of the new splice-site mutation c.3244-2A>C in the Wilson disease (WD) gene (ATPase, Cu++ transporting, beta polypeptide, ATP7B) and discuss its genotype and clinical phenotype. DNA and RNA were extracted from peripheral blood lymphocytes, amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and nested reverse transcription PCR (RT-nested PCR) to characterize the aberrant transcripts. RT-nested PCR product sequencing comparison showed that c.3244-2A>C splice-site mutation caused aberrant transcripts and formatted a new splice acceptor. Patient carrying the splice-site mutation c.3244-2A>C presented early onset age, severe clinical manifestations, and poor prognosis. WD patients with the splice-site mutation show severe clinical manifestations, indicating that aberrant transcripts have important implications for WD phenotype.

Energetic particles exist ubiquitously in nature, and when they hit DNA molecules in organisms, they may induce critical biological effects such as mutation. It is however still a challenge to measure directly and quantitatively the damage imposed by the energetic ions on target DNA molecules. In this work we attempted to employ Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to assess the ion-induced direct damage of four nucleic acid bases, namely, thymine (T), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and adenine (A), which are the building blocks of DNA molecules. The samples were prepared as thin films, irradiated by argon ion-beams at raised ion fluences, and in the meantime measured by FTIR spectroscopy for the damage in a quasi-in-situ manner. It was found that the low-energy ion-beam induced radiosensitivity of the four bases shows the sequence G > T > C > A, wherein the possible mechanism was also discussed. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ionizing radiation influences life profoundly for it can modify genetic materials. It is a long-standing task to investigate the interaction between energetic particles and DNA together with its components such as nucleotides, nucleosides and bases so as to predict and assess the potential biological effects. In this study, argon gas discharge was employed to produce energetic ions and electrons. The gas discharge caused the radiolysis of aqueous bases and the involved reactions were analyzed by means of spectroscopic tools including UV–vis absorption, fluorescence and Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, also assisted by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). It was found that the discharge resulted in the adenine-derived lesions such as 4,6-diamino-5-formamidopyrimidine, 8-OH-Ade and 2-OH-Ade in the radiolysis of aqueous adenine, as well as the thymine-derived lesions such as thymine glycol, 5-hydroxy-6-hydrothymine and/or 6-hydroxy-5-hydrothymine, 5-hydroxymethyluracil and 5-formyluracil in the radiolysis of aqueous thymine. The study of radio-sensitivity showed that adenine was more resistant to the discharge. The mechanisms of the involved reactions were studied in detail, confirming that the hydroxyl radical played a dominant role.

Background Rubidium is a putative anticancer agent, but no studies have been performed on the association of rubidium levels in biospecimen with breast cancer risk and the potential as a biomarker of the risk assessment. Methods Survey data and urine specimens were collected from 240 women with incident invasive breast cancer before their treatments and 246 age-matched female controls between October 2009 and July 2010. Urinary concentrations of rubidium were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Results Creatinine-adjusted levels [median (25th, 75th) ug/g] of rubidium in cases [2253.01(1606.81, 3110.46)] were significantly lower than that in the controls [2921.85 (2367.94, 4142.04)]. After adjustment for potential risk factors of breast cancer, women in the second and highest tertile decreased risk of breast cancer in a dose-dependent manner as compared with those in the lowest tertile [ORs and 95% CIs were 0.45 (0.27–0.73) and 0.22 (0.13–0.38), respectively]. The area under the receive-operating-characteristic curve for urinary rubidium level was 0.697 (95% CI: 0.650–0.743). Conclusions The urinary levels of rubidium were significantly and inversely associated with risk of breast cancer and had potential to be a biomarker for breast cancer risk assessment.