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Chronic wounds and their treatment present a significant burden to patients and healthcare systems alike, with their management further complicated by bacterial infection. Historically, antibiotics have been deployed to prevent and treat infections, but the emergence of bacterial antimicrobial resistance and the frequent development of biofilms within the wound area necessitates the identification of novel treatment strategies for use within infected chronic wounds. Here, several non-antibiotic compounds, polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB), curcumin, retinol, polysorbate 40, ethanol, and D-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate 1000 (TPGS) were screened for their antibacterial and antibiofilm capabilities. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and crystal violet (CV) biofilm clearance against two bacteria frequently associated with infected chronic wounds, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, were determined. PHMB was observed to have highly effective antibacterial activity against both bacteria, but its ability to disperse biofilms at MIC levels was variable. Meanwhile, TPGS had limited inhibitory activity but demonstrated potent antibiofilm properties. The subsequent combination of these two compounds in a formulation resulted in a synergistic enhancement of their capability to kill both S. aureus and P. aeruginosa and disperse their biofilms. Collectively, this work highlights the utility of combinatory approaches to the treatment of infected chronic wounds where bacterial colonization and biofilm formation remains significant issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid rise in the health burden associated with chronic wounds is of great concern to policymakers, academia, and industry. This could be attributed to the devastating implications of this condition, and specifically, chronic wounds which have been linked to invasive microbial infections affecting patients' quality of life. Unfortunately, antibiotics are not always helpful due to their poor penetration of bacterial biofilms and the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. Hence, there is an urgent need to explore antibiotics-free compounds/formulations with proven or potential antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and wound healing efficacy. The mechanism of antibiotics-free compounds is thought to include the disruption of the bacteria cell structure, preventing cell division, membrane porins, motility, and the formation of a biofilm. Furthermore, some of these compounds foster tissue regeneration by modulating growth factor expression. In this review article, the focus is placed on a number of non-antibiotic compounds possessing some of the aforementioned pharmacological and physiological activities. Specific interest is given to Aloevera, curcumin, cinnamaldehyde, polyhexanide, retinoids, ascorbate, tocochromanols, and chitosan. These compounds (when alone or in formulation with other biologically active molecules) could be a dependable alternative in the management or prevention of chronic wounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant stomata play a crucial role in photosynthesis by regulating transpiration and gas exchange. Meanwhile, environmental cues can also affect the formation of stomata. Stomatal formation, therefore, is optimized for the survival and growth of the plant despite variable environmental conditions. To adapt to environmental conditions, plants open and close stomatal pores and even regulate the number of stomata that develop on the epidermis. There are great differences in the leaf structure and developmental origin of the cell in the leaf between Arabidopsis and grass plants. These differences affect the fine regulation of stomatal formation due to different plant species. In this paper, a comprehensive overview of stomatal formation and the molecular networks and genetic mechanisms regulating the polar division and cell fate of stomatal progenitor cells in dicotyledonous plants such as Arabidopsis and Poaceae plants such as Oryza sativa and Zea mays is provided. The processes of stomatal formation mediated by plant hormones and environmental factors are summarized, and a model of stomatal formation in plants based on the regulation of multiple signaling pathways is outlined. These results contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms of stomatal formation and epidermal morphogenesis in plants and provide a valuable theoretical basis and gene resources for improving crop resilience and yield traits.

As a salt-type compound, mosapride citrate's metabolism and side effects are correlated with its salt-forming ratio. Several techniques were developed in this work to compare various quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR) methodologies and to quantitatively examine the content of raw materials. Among the qNMR techniques, methods for 1 H NMR and 19 F NMR were developed. Appropriate solvents were chosen, and temperature, number of scans, acquisition time, and relaxation delay parameter settings were optimized. Maleic acid was chosen as the internal standard in 1 H NMR, and the respective characteristic signals of mosapride and citrate were selected as quantitative peaks. The internal standard in 19 F NMR analysis was 4,4'-difluoro diphenylmethanone, and the distinctive signal peak at -116.15 ppm was utilized to quantify mosapride citrate. The precision, repeatability, linearity, stability, accuracy, and robustness of the qNMR methods were all validated according to the ICH guidelines. By contrasting the outcomes with those from high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), the accuracy of qNMR was assessed. As a result, we created a quicker and easier qNMR approach to measure the amount of mosapride citrate and evaluated several qNMR techniques to establish a foundation for choosing quantitative peaks for the qNMR method. Concurrently, it is anticipated that various selections of distinct quantitative objects will yield the mosapride citrate salt-forming ratio.

The removal of nitrogen trifluoride (NF 3 ) is of significant importance in atmospheric chemistry, as NF 3 is an important anthropogenic greenhouse gas. However, the radical species OH and O( 1 D) in atmospheric conditions are nonreactive towards NF 3 . It is necessary to explore possible ways to remove NF 3 in atmosphere. Therefore, the participation of water molecules in the reaction of NF 3 with OH was discussed, as water is abundant in the atmosphere and can form very stable complexes due to its ability to act as both a hydrogen bond donor and acceptor. Systemic DFT calculations carried out at the CBS-QB3 and ωB97XD/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory suggest that water molecules could affect the NF 3 + OH reaction as well. The energy barrier of the S N 2 mechanism was decreased by 8.52 kcal/mol and 10.58 kcal/mol with the assistance of H 2 O and (H 2 O) 2 , respectively. Moreover, the presence of (H 2 O) 2 not only reduced the energy barrier of the reaction, but also changed the product channels, i.e., formation of NF 2 O + (H 2 O) 2 -HF instead of NF 2 OH + (H 2 O) 2 -F. Therefore, the removal of NF 3 by reaction with OH is possible in the presence of water molecules. The results presented in this study should provide useful information on the atmospheric chemistry of NF 3 .

The synergistic effects of boron (B) and rare earth (RE) elements on the microstructure and stress rupture properties were investigated in a Ni-based superalloy. The stress rupture lifetime at 650 °C/873 MPa significantly increased with the addition of B as a single element. Furthermore, the stress rupture lifetime reached its peak (303 h), with a certain amount of B and RE added together in test alloys. Although the grain size and morphology of the γ' phase varied a little with the change in B and RE addition, they were not considered to be the main reasons for stress rupture performance. The enhancement in stress rupture lifetime was mostly attributed to the segregation of the B and RE elements, which increased the binding force of the grain boundary and improved its strength and plasticity. In addition, the enrichment of B and RE inhabited the precipitation of carbides along grain boundaries. Furthermore, nano-scale RE precipitates containing sulfur (S) and phosphorus (P) were observed to be distributed along the grain boundaries. The purification of grain boundaries by B and RE elements was favorable to further improve the stress rupture properties.

AHP-3a, a triple-helix acidic polysaccharide isolated from Alpinia officinarum Hance, was evaluated for its anticancer and antioxidant activities. The physicochemical properties and structure of AHP-3a were investigated through gel permeation chromatography, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The weight-average molecular weight of AHP-3a was 484 kDa, with the molar percentages of GalA, Gal, Ara, Xyl, Rha, Glc, GlcA, and Fuc being 35.4%, 21.4%, 16.9%, 11.8%, 8.9%, 3.1%, 2.0%, and 0.5%, respectively. Based on the results of the monosaccharide composition analysis, methylation analysis, and NMR spectroscopy, the main chain of AHP-3a was presumed to consist of (1→4)-α-D-GalpA and (1→2)-α-L-Rhap residues, which is a pectic polysaccharide with homogalacturonan (HG) and rhamnogalacturonan-I (RG-I) structural domains containing side chains. In addition, the results of the antioxidant activity assay revealed that the ability of AHP-3a to scavenge DPPH, ABTS, and OH free radicals increased with an increase in its concentration. Moreover, according to the results from the EdU, wound healing, and Transwell assays, AHP-3a can control the proliferation, migration, and invasion of HepG2 and Huh7 hepatocellular carcinoma cells without causing any damage to healthy cells. Thus, AHP-3a may be a natural antioxidant and anticancer component.

This study evaluated the effects of four highland barley proteins (HBPs), namely, albumin, globulin, gliadin and glutenin, on the short-term retrogradation of highland barley starch (HBS). The findings reveal that HBPs could reduce the viscosity, storage modulus and hardness of HBS, with albumin and globulin showing more prominent effects. Furthermore, with the addition of HBPs, the loss tangent (tan δ) of HBS loss increased from 0.07 to 0.10, and the enthalpy of gelatinization decreased from 8.33 to 7.23. The degree of retrogradation (DR%) of HBS was 5.57%, and the DR% decreased by 26.65%, 38.78%, 11.67% and 20.29% with the addition of albumin, globulin, gliadin and glutenin, respectively. Moreover, the relative crystallinity (RC) and the double helix structures were inhibited with the HBPs' incorporation. Meanwhile, the HBPs also could inhibit water migration and improve the structure of HBS gels. In summary, HBPs could inhibit the retrogradation behavior of HBS, which provides new theoretical insights for the production studies of highland barley foods.

Increasing evidence confirms that histone modification plays a critical role in preserving long-term immunological memory. Immune priming is a novel form of immunological memory recently verified in invertebrates. Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling and cytokines have been reported to be involved in the immune priming of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas . In the present study, the expression of Toll-like receptor 3 ( Cg TLR3), myeloid differentiation factor 88-2 ( Cg Myd88-2) and interleukin 17-1 ( Cg IL17-1) was found to be elevated in the hemocytes of C. gigas at 6 h after the secondary stimulation with Vibrio splendidus , which was significantly higher than that at 6 h after the primary stimulation ( p < 0.05). A significant increase in histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) enrichment was detected in the promoter region of the Cg TLR3 gene at 7 d after the primary stimulation with inactivated V. splendidus ( p < 0.05). After the treatment with a histone methyltransferase inhibitor (5'-methylthioadenosine, MTA), the level of H3K4me3 at the promoter of the Cg TLR3 gene decreased significantly at 7 d after the primary stimulation with inactivated V. splendidus ( p < 0.05), and the expression of Cg TLR3, Cg MyD88-2 and Cg IL17-1 was significantly repressed at 6 h after the secondary stimulation with V. splendidus ( p < 0.05). Conversely, the treatment with monomethyl fumarate (MEF, an inhibitor of histone demethylases) resulted in a significant increase in H3K4me3 enrichment levels at the Cg TLR3 promoter at 7 d after the primary stimulation ( p < 0.05), and the expression of Cg TLR3, Cg MyD88-2 and Cg IL17-1 was observed to increase significantly at 6 h after the secondary stimulation ( p < 0.05). These results suggested that H3K4me3 regulated MyD88-dependent TLR signaling in the hemocytes of C. gigas , which defined the role of histone modifications in invertebrate immune priming.

Unreactive C-H bond activation is a new horizon for frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) chemistry. This study provides a systematic assessment of the catalytic reactivity of recently reported intra-molecular FLPs on the activation of typical inert C-H bonds, including 1-methylpyrrole, methane, benzyl, propylene, and benzene, in terms of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The reactivity of FLPs is evaluated according to the calculated reaction thermodynamic and energy barriers of C-H bond activation processes in the framework of concerted C-H activation mechanisms. As for 1-methylpyrrole, 14 types of N-B-based and 15 types of P-B-based FLPs are proposed to be active. Although none of the evaluated FLPs are able to catalyze the C-H activation of methane, benzyl, or propylene, four types of N-B-based FLPs are suggested to be capable of catalyzing the activation of benzene. Moreover, the influence of the strength of Lewis acid (LA) and Lewis base (LB), and the differences between the influences of LA and LB on the catalytic reactivity of FLPs, are also discussed briefly. This systematic assessment of the catalytic activity of FLPs should provide valuable guidelines to aid the development of efficient FLP-based metal-free catalysts for C-H bond activation.

Purpose: To eliminate the contaminants of Replication-Competent Adenovirus (RCA) during high titer recombinant oncolytic adenovirus production., Methods: At first, we detected E1A copy numbers of different sources of 293 cells using Q-PCR, and we screened a subclone JH293-C21 of the JH293 cell line (purchased from ATCC) with lower early region 1A (E1A) copy numbers and higher adenovirus production ability. Then, we deleted the conserved region (CR)2 of the E1A gene in this subclone using the CRISPR-Cas9 system and obtained a stable cell clone JH293-C21-C14 with lower E1A expression, but the RCA formation had no significant reduction. Then, we further deleted the CR2 of JH293-C21-C14 cells with the CRISPR-Cas9 system and obtained a strain of cells named JH293-C21-C14-C28. Finally, we detected the capacity for cell proliferation, adenovirus production, and RCA formation in the production of recombinant adenovirus., Results: The JH293-C21-C14-C28 cells had a similar cell proliferation ability and human adenovirus production as JH293-C21 cells. Most importantly, RCA production in JH293-C21-C14-C28 cells was lower than in JH293-C21 cells., Conclusion: Human adenovirus producer cell clone JH293-C21-C14-C28 with CR2 deletion can effectively prevent the RCA production of replication-competent oncolytic adenovirus; this will provide significant advantages in utility and safety in gene therapy.

Phosphoric acid-activated biochar has been proven to be a promising adsorbent for pollutant removal in an aqueous solution. It is urgent to understand how surface adsorption and intra-particle diffusion synergistically contribute to the adsorption kinetic process of dyes. In this work, we prepared a series of PPC adsorbents (PPCs) from red-pulp pomelo peel under different pyrolysis temperatures (150-350 °C), which have a broad specific surface area range from 3.065 m 2 /g to 1274.577 m 2 /g. The active sites on the surface of PPCs have shown specific change laws of decreasing hydroxyl groups and increasing phosphate ester groups occurring as the pyrolysis temperature rises. Both reaction models (PFO and PSO models) and diffusion models (intra-particle diffusion models) have been applied to simulate the adsorption experimental data to verify the hypothesis deduced from the Elovich model. PPC-300 exhibits the highest adsorption capacity of MB (423 mg/g) under given conditions. Due to its large quantities of active sites on the external and internal surfaces (1274.577 m 2 /g), a fast adsorption equilibrium can be achieved within 60 min (with an initial MB concentration of 100 ppm). PPC-300 and PPC-350 also exhibit an intra-particle-diffusion-controlled adsorption kinetic process with a low initial MB concentration (100 ppm) or at the very beginning and final stage of adsorption with a high initial MB concentration (300 ppm) at 40 °C, considering that the diffusion is likely hindered by adsorbate molecules through internal pore channels at the middle stage of adsorption in these cases.

High temperatures severely affect plant growth and pose a threat to global crop production. Heat causes the accumulation of misfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum(ER), as well as triggering the heat-shock response (HSR) in the cytosol and the unfolded protein response (UPR) in the ER. Excessive misfolded proteins undergo further degradation through ER-associated degradation (ERAD). Although much research on the plant heat stress response has been conducted, the regulation of ER-localized proteins has not been well-studied thus far. We isolated the microsome fraction from heat-treated and untreated maize seedlings and performed proteome and ubiquitylome analyses. Of the 8306 total proteins detected in the proteomics analysis, 1675 proteins were significantly up-regulated and 708 proteins were significantly down-regulated. Global ubiquitination analysis revealed 1780 proteins with at least one ubiquitination site. Motif analysis revealed that alanine and glycine are the preferred amino acids upstream and downstream of ubiquitinated lysine sites. ERAD components were found to be hyper-ubiquitinated after heat treatment, implying the feedback regulation of ERAD activity through protein degradation.

This study proposes a three-spacecraft formation reconfiguration strategy of minimum fuel for space gravitational wave detection missions in the high Earth orbit (10 5 km). For solving the limitations of measurement and communication in long baseline formations, a control strategy of a virtual formation is applied. The virtual reference spacecraft provides a desired relative state between the satellites, which is then used to control the motion of the physical spacecraft to maintain the desired formation. A linear dynamics model based on relative orbit elements' parameterization is used to describe the relative motion in the virtual formation, which facilitates the inclusion of J 2 , SRP, and lunisolar third-body gravity effects and provides a direct insight into the relative motion geometry. Considering the actual flight scenarios of gravitational wave formations, a formation reconfiguration strategy based on continuous low thrust is investigated to achieve the desired state at a given time while minimizing interference to the satellite platform. The reconfiguration problem is considered a constrained nonlinear programming problem, and an improved particle swarm algorithm is developed to solve this problem. Finally, the simulation results demonstrate the performance of the proposed method in improving the maneuver sequence distribution and optimizing maneuver consumption.

Anomaly detection of hyperspectral remote sensing data has recently become more attractive in hyperspectral image processing. The low-rank and sparse matrix decomposition-based anomaly detection algorithm (LRaSMD) exhibits poor detection performance in complex scenes with multiple background edges and noise. Therefore, this study proposes a weighted sparse hyperspectral anomaly detection method. First, using the idea of matrix decomposition in mathematics, the original hyperspectral data matrix is reconstructed into three sub-matrices with low rank, small sparsity and representing noise, respectively. Second, to suppress the noise interference in the complex background, we employed the low-rank, background image as a reference, built a local spectral and spatial dictionary through the sliding window strategy, reconstructed the HSI pixels of the original data, and extracted the sparse coefficient. We proposed the sparse coefficient divergence evaluation index (SCDI) as a weighting factor to weight the sparse anomaly map to obtain a significant anomaly map to suppress the background edge, noise, and other residues caused by decomposition, and enhance the abnormal target. Finally, abnormal pixels are segmented based on the adaptive threshold. The experimental results demonstrate that, on a real-scene hyperspectral dataset with a complicated background, the proposed method outperforms the existing representative algorithms in terms of detection performance.

Structurally unrelated antibiotics MLS B (macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B) compromised with clinically resistant pathogens because of the cross-resistance resulting from the structural modification of rRNA A2058. The structure-activity relationships of a novel 3- O -descladinose azithromycin chemotype conjugating with nucleobases were fully explored with the aid of engineered E. coli SQ110DTC and SQ110LPTD. The conjugates of macrolides with nucleobases, especially adenine, displayed antibacterial superiority over telithromycin, azithromycin and clindamycin against rRNA A2058/2059-mutated engineered E. coli strains at the cost of lowering permeability and increasing vulnerability to efflux proteins against clinical isolates.

One of the most severe soil-borne pathogens in the world is the root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita). Biological control is gaining more importance as environmental awareness increases. Thus, keeping this in mind, a total of 712 bacterial strains were isolated from 117 rhizosphere soil samples and investigated for potential biological control activity against M. incognita. Strain Sneb518 (Clostridium beijerinckii) was identified as having solid biocontrol activity against M. incognita. Sneb518 demonstrated significant inhibition against M. incognita, with J2 mortality reaching 90.73% at 12 h and with eggs hatching at a rate of 6.00% at 24 h, compared to a hatchability level of 29.07% for the control. Additionally, Sneb518 was excellent for enhancing seed germination. The seeds coated with a fermentation broth containing Sneb518 efficiently boosted the germination rate to 88.49%. The effectiveness and stability of C. beijerinckii Sneb518 against M. incognita were then further evaluated in a greenhouse. According to the pot experiment data, Sneb518 considerably (p < 0.05) reduced the number of root galls and egg masses on roots and also significantly (p < 0.05) increased tomato plant growth. C. beijerinckii Sneb518-treated tomato seedlings exhibited 50.26% biocontrol effectiveness compared to the control group. Our results demonstrate that C. beijerinckii Sneb518 can be a potential biological control agent against root-knot nematode disease and a biomass enhancer. This research will give new options for the sustainable control of root-knot nematode disease in tomatoes and other host plants.

Coal gasification coarse slag (CGCS) is a by-product of coal gasification. Despite its abundance, CGCS is mostly used in boiler blending, stacking, and landfill. Large-scale industrial applications of CGCS can be environment-friendly and cost saving. In this study, the application of CGCS as a substitute for river sand (RS) with different replacement ratios in ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) was investigated. The effects of CGCS replacement ratios on the fluidity and mechanical properties of specimens were examined, and the effect mechanisms were explored on the basis of hydration products and the multi-scale (millimetre-scale and micrometre-scale) microstructure analysis obtained through X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy. With an increase in the CGCS replacement ratio, the water-binder ratio (w/b), flexural strength, and compressive strength decreased. Specimens containing CGCS of ≤25% can satisfy the strength requirement of non-structural UHPC, with flexure strength of 29 MPa and compressive strength of 111 MPa at day 28. According to the XRD results and multi-scale microstructure analysis, amorphous glass beads in CGCS positively influenced ettringite generation due to the pozzolanic activity. Porous carbon particles in CGCS showed strong interfacial bonding with cement slurry due to internal hydration; this bonding was conducive to improving the mechanical strength. However, CGCS hindered hydration in the later curing stage, leading to an increase in the unreacted cement and agglomeration of fly ash; in addition, at a CGCS replacement ratio of up to 50%, an apparent interfacial transition zone structure was observed, which was the main contributor to mechanical strength deterioration.

Marine-derived Penicillium fungi are one of the most important sources for the discovery of new bioactive natural products. This study characterized the isolation, structures, and antiglioma activities of twelve compounds, including three novel ones-penipyridinone B ( 1 ), 11 S -(-)-penilloid A ( 2 ), and 11 R ,14 E -(+)-penilloid A ( 3 )-from the marine fungus Penicillium sp. ZZ1750. The structures of the novel compounds were determined via extensive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic analyses, high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (HRESIMS) data, Mosher's method, optical rotation (OR) calculations, and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. Penipyridinone B represents the first example of its structural type and showed potent antiglioma activity, with IC 50 values of 2.45 μM for U87MG cells and 11.40 μM for U251 cells. The known compounds of questiomycin A ( 9 ) and xanthocillin X ( 10 ) also showed antiproliferative activity against both U87MG and U251 cells, with IC 50 values of 13.65 μM to 22.56 μM. The antiglioma activity of questiomycin A and xanthocillin X may be related to the promotion of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, the reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and the enhancement of caspase-3 enzyme activity.

The goal of this study was to see how effective and safe neoadjuvant chemoradiation with image-guided IMRT was in patients with locally advanced resectable gastric cancer. Between January 2013 and June 2019, patients with locally advanced (cT3/cT4 or N+) gastric cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy at PUMCH (Peking Union Medical College Hospital) were retrospectively studied. Using concurrent chemotherapy (Capecitabine alone or XELOX*2 cycles), radiotherapy (IMRT (intensity-modulated radiation therapy) 45 Gy, 25#, 5 weeks) was delivered with IGRT (image-guided radiotherapy) before the start of each weeks therapy to ensure accuracy and repeatability. A total of 95 patients were enrolled in the study, 93 (97.9%) stage cT3/T4 and 85 (89.5%) stage N+. Of these, 85 patients (89.5%) had a tumor located in the upper 1/3 of the stomach, and 93/95 patients (97.9%) completed neoadjuvant chemoradiation, with 80 patients (84.2%) undergoing stomach resection (58 D2 and 22 D1 gastrostomies). Pathology downstaging was found in 68 patients (85.0%), with 66 patients (82.5%) receiving T downstaging and 56 patients (70.0%) receiving N downstaging. There were 11 individuals (13.8%) who had a pathological complete response (PCR). The average period of follow-up was 44.7 months (19-96 months). The 5-year OS (overall survival), LRFS (local recurrence-free survival), and DMFS (distant metastasis free survival) rates of patients were 47.0% (95% CI: 38.6-55.4), 86.55% (95% CI: 79.1-93.99) and 60.71% (95% CI: 51.49-69.93%), respectively. Thirteen (13.7%) patients had grade 3-4 leukopenia, anemia, and thrombocytopenia, while 9 (9.5%) patients had grade 3-4 anemia, and 5 (5.3%) patients had grade 3-4 thrombocytopenia. PCR was found to be a significant predictive factor for OS in multivariate analysis (HR = 11.211, 95% CI: 1.500-83.813, p = 0.024). The method of using IGRT image-guided IMRT (45 Gy, 25 fractions, 5 weeks) combined with concurrent chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced resectable gastric cancer was equally effective when compared to the clinical efficacy of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, with clinical outcomes achieving equal efficacy, with similar PCR rates and high rates of OS, LRFS, and DMFS, as well as good tolerances of concurrent chemoradiotherapy with acceptable side effects.

The establishment of a laser link between satellites, i.e., the acquisition phase, is a key technology for space-based gravitational detection missions, and it becomes extremely complicated when the long distance between satellites, the inherent limits of the sensor accuracy, the narrow laser beam divergence and the complex space environment are considered. In this paper, we investigate the laser acquisition problem of a new type of satellite equipped with two two-degree-of-freedom telescopes. A predefined-time controller law for the acquisition phase is proposed. Finally, a numerical simulation was conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller. The results showed that the new strategy has a higher efficiency and the control performance can meet the requirements of the gravitational detection mission.

The heat shock protein 20 (HSP20) proteins comprise an ancient, diverse, and crucial family of proteins that exists in all organisms. As a family, the HSP20s play an obvious role in thermotolerance, but little is known about their molecular functions in addition to heat acclimation. In this study, 42 PpHSP20 genes were detected in the peach genome and were randomly distributed onto the eight chromosomes. The primary modes of gene duplication of the PpHSP20s were dispersed gene duplication (DSD) and tandem duplication (TD). PpHSP20s in the same class shared similar motifs. Based on phylogenetic analysis of HSP20s in peach, Arabidopsis thaliana , Glycine max, and Oryza sativa , the PpHSP20s were classified into 11 subclasses, except for two unclassified PpHSP20s. cis -elements related to stress and hormone responses were detected in the promoter regions of most PpHSP20s. Gene expression analysis of 42 PpHSP20 genes revealed that the expression pattern of PpHSP20-32 was highly consistent with shoot length changes in the cultivar 'Zhongyoutao 14', which is a temperature-sensitive semi-dwarf. PpHSP20-32 was selected for further functional analysis. The plant heights of three transgenic Arabidopsis lines overexpressing PpHSP20-32 were significantly higher than WT, although there was no significant difference in the number of nodes. In addition, the seeds of three over-expressing lines of PpHSP20-32 treated with high temperature showed enhanced thermotolerance. These results provide a foundation for the functional characterization of PpHSP20 genes and their potential use in the growth and development of peach.

Selective-adsorption separation is an energy-efficient technology for the capture of acetylene (C 2 H 2 ) from carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and ethylene (C 2 H 4 ). However, it remains a critical challenge to effectively recognize C 2 H 2 among CO 2 and C 2 H 4 , owing to their analogous molecule sizes and physical properties. Herein, we report a new microporous metal-organic framework ( NUM-14 ) possessing a carefully tailored pore system containing moderate pore size and nitro-functionalized channel surface for efficient separation of C 2 H 2 from CO 2 and C 2 H 4 . The activated NUM-14 (namely NUM-14a ) exhibits sufficient pore space to acquire excellent C 2 H 2 loading capacity (4.44 mmol g -1 ) under ambient conditions. In addition, it possesses dense nitro groups, acting as hydrogen bond acceptors, to selectively identify C 2 H 2 molecules rather than CO 2 and C 2 H 4 . The breakthrough experiments demonstrate the good actual separation ability of NUM-14a for C 2 H 2 /CO 2 and C 2 H 2 /C 2 H 4 mixtures. Furthermore, Grand Canonical Monte Carlo simulations indicate that the pore surface of the NUM-14a has a stronger affinity to preferentially bind C 2 H 2 over CO 2 and C 2 H 4 via stronger C-H···O hydrogen bond interactions. This article provides some insights into customizing pore systems with desirable pore sizes and modifying groups in terms of MOF materials toward the capture of C 2 H 2 from CO 2 and C 2 H 4 to promote the development of more MOF materials with excellent properties for gas adsorption and separation.

There are abundant sea-sand resources on the earth. Traditional sea-sand concrete faced various problems relating to insufficient anticorrosion ability. In this paper, artificial seawater, sea sand, industrial waste, steel fiber, and polycarboxylate superplasticizer were used to prepare ultra-high-performance polymer cement mortar (SSUHPC). At the same time, freshwater river-sand ultra-high-performance polymer cement mortar (FRUHPC) with the same mixing ratio was prepared for comparative study. The compressive strength of SSUHPC reached 162.1 MPa, while the that of FRUHPC reached 173.3 MPa, which was slightly higher. Meanwhile, SSUHPC showed excellent anticorrosion characteristics in terms of carbonization, frost resistance and chloride resistance, and especially for sulfate resistance. The composition of SSUHPC was separated into three parts: mortar, pore and steel fiber, and the performance difference mechanisms of SSUHPC and FRUHPC were investigated by X-ray computed tomography (X-CT), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The hydration degree of mortar in SSUHPC was higher, with higher content of CSH and CH, and its better optimized gel pore characteristics gave SSUHPC better corrosion resistance. The mechanical properties of SSUHPC were slightly poor due to the uneven dispersion of steel fibers and air pores, with an- air pore porosity of 1.52% (above 200 μm) that was twice that of FRUHPC (0.6%). In this paper, the mechanics and anticorrosion performance of ultra-high-performance polymer cement mortar prepared with seawater sea sand were comprehensively evaluated, and the mechanism of performance difference between SSUHPC and FRUHPC was revealed, conducive to the targeted improvement of sea sand concrete.

Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is a life-threatening fungal disease that causes high morbidity and mortality in immunosuppressed patients. Early and accurate diagnosis and treatment of IA remain challenging. Given the broad range of non-specific clinical symptoms and the shortcomings of current diagnostic techniques, most patients are either diagnosed as "possible" or "probable" cases but not "proven". Moreover, because of the lack of sensitive and specific tests, many high-risk patients receive an empirical therapy or a prolonged treatment of high-priced antifungal agents, leading to unnecessary adverse effects and a high risk of drug resistance. More precise diagnostic techniques alongside a targeted antifungal treatment are fundamental requirements for reducing the morbidity and mortality of IA. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) with high specificity in targeting the corresponding antigen(s) may have the potential to improve diagnostic tests and form the basis for novel IA treatments. This review summarizes the up-to-date application of mAb-based approaches in assisting IA diagnosis and therapy.

Coal gangue (CG) represents a huge amount of industrial solid waste in China, and usually is used as a coarse aggregate to produce low-strength coal-gangue-based concrete. In this paper, in order to prove the possibility to obtain a higher-strength concrete with a higher CG utilization rate, reactive powder concrete (RPC) with coal gangue as a sand replacement at different replacement ratios was studied. RPC samples were prepared by replacing natural river sand (RS) with CG sand at different CG/RS weight ratios from 0-100% at intervals of 25%. Mechanical tests were carried out, and the microstructure features of RPC samples at 28 days were characterized. The test results showed that strong back shrinkage of strength existed. On days 7 and 14, the flexural strengths of samples with CG/RS replacement ratios of 0-75% fluctuated around the mean value. Strengths of samples with a CG/RS replacement ratio of 100% dropped off. However, on day 28, the flexural strengths of samples with CG were all lower than the strengths of samples on days 7 and 14. The flexural strengths and compressive strengths of the RPC with a CG/RS replacement ratio of 100% on day 14 were 14.09 MPa and 37.03 MPa, respectively, which decreased to 6.42 MPa and 28.44 MPa, respectively, on day 28. Compared with natural river sand, CG sand reduced the working performance, compressive strength, and flexural strength of RPC. Microscopic analysis showed that on day 28, increasing the CG replacement ratio could inhibit cement hydration, weaken the interface transition zone, and lead to the degradation of the RPC's performance. Modification of CG sand would be helpful to obtain higher-strength concrete.

Virtual power plant (VPP) composed of a large number of distributed energy resources (DERs) has become a regional multienergy aggregation model to realize the large-scale integration of renewable energy generation into the grid. Due to the characteristics of centralized management, the existing energy operation mode is difficult to simply apply to distributed energy resources transactions. The decentralization, transparency, contract execution automation and traceability of blockchain technology provide a new solution to the aggregation of decentralized resources and the opacity of transactions in VPP. In this paper, the existing problems of virtual power plants are analyzed, and the virtual power plant trading model is designed, which realizes the transparent benefit distribution and message transmission of virtual power plants. The virtual power plant blockchain network based on blockchain technology in this model solves the DERs coordination problem in VPP and the security and efficiency problems in information transmission. Combined with the actual situation of virtual power plant, the blockchain network collaboration mechanism (BNCM), which is convenient to reach agreement, is designed. Compared with the traditional practical Byzantine fault tolerance (PBFT) consensus algorithm, this mechanism can make DERs reach a consensus quickly. Finally, simulation experiments on the consensus algorithm show that the algorithm can reduce the collaboration time between DERs under the premise of ensuring the same fault tolerance rate and is more suitable for VPP scenarios with a large number of DERs.

Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is a life-threatening disease mainly caused by Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus flavus . Early diagnosis of this condition is crucial for patient treatment and survival. As current diagnostic techniques for IA lack sufficient accuracy, we have raised two monoclonal antibodies (1D2 and 4E4) against A. fumigatus cell wall fragments that may provide a platform for a new diagnostic approach. The immunoreactivity of these antibodies was tested by immunofluorescence and ELISA against various Aspergillus and Candida species in vitro and by immunohistochemistry in A. fumigatus infected mouse tissues. Both monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) showed intensive fluorescence with the hyphae wall of A. fumigatus and A. flavus , but there was no staining with other Aspergillus species or Candida species. Both mAbs also showed strong immunoreactivity to the cell wall of A. fumigatus hyphae in the infected liver, spleen and kidney of mice with IA. The antigens identified by 1D2 and 4E4 might be glycoproteins and the epitopes are most likely a protein or peptide rather than a carbohydrate. An antibody-based antigen capture ELISA detected the extracellular antigens released by A. fumigatus , A. flavus , A. niger and A. terreus , but not in Candida species. The antigen could be detected in the plasma of mice after 48 h of infection by double-sandwich ELISA. In conclusion, both 1D2 and 4E4 mAbs are potentially promising diagnostic tools to investigate invasive aspergillosis.

In 2019, streptoglutarimide H (SGH) was characterized as a new glutarimide from the secondary metabolites produced by a marine-derived actinomycete Streptomyces sp. ZZ741 and shown to have in vitro antiglioma activity. However, the antiproliferative activity and potential mechanism of SGH against lung cancer cells have not yet been characterized. This study demonstrated that SGH significantly inhibited the proliferation of different lung cancer cells. In terms of mechanism of action, SGH downregulated cell cycle- and nucleotide synthesis-related proteins to block cell cycle at G0/G1 phase, reduced the expression levels of glycolytic metabolic enzymes to inhibit glycolysis, and downregulated the important cancer transcription factor c-Myc and the therapeutic target deubiquitinase USP28. Potent anticancer activity and multiple mechanisms indicated SGH to be a novel antitumor compound against lung cancer cells.

Owing to the wide spectrum of excitation wavelengths of up-conversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) by precisely regulating the percentage of doping elements, UCNPs have been emerging as bioimaging agents. The key drawback of UCNPs is their poor dispersibility in aqueous solution and it is hard to introduce the chemical versatility of function groups. In our study, we present a robust and feasible UCNP modification approach by introducing hyperbranched polyglycerols (hbPGs) as a coating layer. When grafted by hbPGs, the solubility and biocompatibility of UCNPs are significantly improved. Moreover, we also systematically investigated and optimized the chemical modification approach of amino acids or green fluorescence protein (GFP), respectively, grafting onto hbPGs and hbPGs- g -UCNP by oxidizing the vicinal diol to be an aldehyde group, which reacts more feasibly with amino-containing functional molecules. Then, we investigated the drug-encapsulating properties of hbPGs-Arg with DOX and cell imaging of GFP-grafted hbPGs- g -UCNP, respectively. The excellent cell imaging in tumor cells indicated that hbPG-modification of UCNPs displayed potential for applications in drug delivery and disease diagnosis.

Mo-48.2% Ag films were fabricated by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering and annealed in an argon atmosphere. The effects of annealing on the surface morphology, resistivity and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) performance of Mo-48.2% Ag films were investigated. Results show a mass of polyhedral Ag particles grown on the annealed Mo-48.2% Ag films' surface, which are different from that of as-deposited Mo-Ag film. Moreover, the thickness and the resistivity of Mo-48.2% Ag films gradually decrease as the annealing temperature increases. Furthermore, finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations proved that the re-deposition Ag layer increases the "hot spots" between adjacent Ag nanoparticles, thereby greatly enhancing the local electromagnetic (EM) field. The Ag layer/annealed Mo-48.2% Ag films can identify crystal violet (CV) with concentration lower than 5 × 10 -10 M (1 mol/L = 1 M), which indicated that this novel type of particles/films can be applied as ultrasensitive SERS substrates.

Aiming to provide key materials in order to improve the fracture toughness of ZrB 2 ceramics, ZrB 2 -SiC composite powders with in situ grown SiC whiskers were successfully synthesized via a simple molten-salt-assisted ferrous-catalyzed carbothermal reduction method. Thermodynamic calculations on the ZrO 2 -SiO 2 -B 2 O 3 -C-Fe system were carried out. The effects of heating temperature and ferrous catalyst amount on the growth behavior of SiC whiskers in ZrB 2 -SiC composite powders were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results showed that the aspect ratio of SiC whiskers and the relative content of ZrB 2 particles increased with increasing heating temperature (1523-1723 K) and a molar ratio of Fe to ZrSiO 4 from 0:1 to 0.2:1. Phase-pure ZrB 2 -SiC composite powders were obtained at 1723 K when the molar ratio of raw materials was 0.2:0.5:1:1.5:8.4 (Fe:NaCl:ZrSiO 4 :B 2 O 3 :C). Single crystalline β-SiC whiskers with a mean diameter of 0.15 μm and an aspect ratio of 70-120 were homogeneously distributed in the final composite powders. A molten-salt-assisted iron-catalyzed vapor-solid mechanism was promoted for the growth mechanism of in situ grown SiC whiskers.

The homologous leucine zipper/EF-hand-containing transmembranes (LETMs) are highly conserved across a broad range of eukaryotic organisms. The LETM functional characteristics involved in biological process have been identified primarily in animals, but little is known about the LETM biological function mode in plants. Based on the results of the current investigation, the GhLETM1 gene crucially affects filament elongation and anther dehiscence of the stamen in cotton. Both excessive and lower expression of the GhLETM1 gene lead to defective stamen development, resulting in shortened filaments and indehiscent anthers with pollen abortion. The results also showed that the phenotype of the shortened filaments was negatively correlated with anther defects in the seesaw model under the ectopic expression of GhLETM1 . Moreover, our results notably indicated that the gene requires accurate expression and exhibits a sensitive dose effect for its proper function. This report has important fundamental and practical significance in crop science, and has crucial prospects for genetic engineering of new cytoplasmic male sterility lines and breeding of crop hybrid varieties.

Jasmonic acid (JA) plays a crucial role in various biological processes including development, signal transduction and stress response. Allene oxide synthase (AOS) catalyzing (13S)-hydroperoxyoctadecatrienoic acid (13-HPOT) to an unstable allene oxide is involved in the first step of JA biosynthesis. Here, we isolated the PtAOS1 gene and its promoter from trifoliate orange ( Poncirus trifoliata ). PtAOS1 contains a putative chloroplast targeting sequence in N-terminal and shows relative to pistachio ( Pistacia vera ) AOS. A number of stress-, light- and hormone-related cis-elements were found in the PtAOS1 promoter which may be responsible for the up-regulation of PtAOS1 under drought and JA treatments. Transient expression in tobacco ( Nicotiana benthamiana ) demonstrated that the P -532 (-532 to +1) fragment conferring drive activity was a core region in the PtAOS1 promoter. Using yeast one-hybrid, three novel proteins, PtDUF886, PtDUF1685 and PtRAP2.4, binding to P -532 were identified. The dual luciferase assay in tobacco illustrated that all three transcription factors could enhance PtAOS1 promoter activity. Genes PtDUF1685 and PtRAP2.4 shared an expression pattern which was induced significantly by drought stress. These findings should be available evidence for trifoliate orange responding to drought through JA modulation.

The plant U-box (PUB) protein family plays an important role in plant growth and development. The U-box gene family has been well studied in Arabidopsis thaliana , Brassica rapa, rice, etc., but there have been no systematic studies in Brassica oleracea . In this study, we performed genome-wide identification and evolutionary analysis of the U-box protein family of B. oleracea . Firstly, based on the Brassica database (BRAD) and the Bolbase database, 99 Brassica oleracea PUB genes were identified and divided into seven groups (I-VII). The BoPUB genes are unevenly distributed on the nine chromosomes of B. oleracea , and there are tandem repeat genes, leading to family expansion from the A. thaliana genome to the B. oleracea genome. The protein interaction network, GO annotation, and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis indicated that the biological processes and specific functions of the BoPUB genes may mainly involve abiotic stress. RNA-seq transcriptome data of different pollination times revealed spatiotemporal expression specificity of the BoPUB genes. The differential expression profile was consistent with the results of RT-qPCR analysis. Additionally, a large number of pollen-specific cis-acting elements were found in promoters of differentially expressed genes (DEG), which verified that these significantly differentially expressed genes after self-pollination (SP) were likely to participate in the self-incompatibility (SI) process, including gene encoding ARC1, a well-known downstream protein of SI in B. oleracea. Our study provides valuable information indicating that the BoPUB genes participates not only in the abiotic stress response, but are also involved in pollination., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Copper-zirconium bulk alloy and Cu-Zr alloy films are prepared by vacuum smelting and magnetron sputtering, respectively, and subsequently annealing is conducted. Results show that Cu-Zr bulk alloy and alloy films exhibit significantly different microstructure evolution behaviors after annealing due to different microstructures and residual stress states. Cu x Zr alloy compounds disperse at the grain boundary of Cu grains in as-cast and annealed Cu-Zr bulk alloys. However, unlike bulk alloys, a large number of polyhedral Cu particles are formed on the Cu-Zr thin films' surface upon thermal annealing. Kinetically, the residual compressive stress in the Cu-Zr films promotes the formation of Cu particles. The influencing factors and the path for mass transport in the formation of the particles are discussed. The large-specific surface area particles/film composite structure has potential applications in Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering, catalysis, and other fields.

Silicon oxide-based memristors have been extensively studied due to their compatibility with the dominant silicon complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication technology. However, the variability of resistance switching (RS) parameters is one of the major challenges for commercialization applications. Owing to the filamentary nature of most RS devices, the variability of RS parameters can be reduced by doping in the RS region, where conductive filaments (CFs) can grow along the locations of impurities. In this work, we have successfully obtained RS characteristics in Pt dispersed silicon oxide-based memristors. The RS variabilities and mechanisms have been analyzed by screening the statistical data into different resistance ranges, and the distributions are shown to be compatible with a Weibull distribution. Additionally, a quantum points contact (QPC) model has been validated to account for the conductive mechanism and further sheds light on the evolution of the CFs during RS processes.

The marine-sourced fungus Penicillium sp. ZZ380 was previously reported to have the ability to produce a series of new pyrrospirone alkaloids. Further investigation on this strain resulted in the isolation and identification of novel penicipyrroether A and pyrrospirone J. Each of them represents the first example of its structural type, with a unique 6/5/6/5 polycyclic fusion that is different from the 6/5/6/6 fused ring system for the reported pyrrospirones. Their structures were elucidated by extensive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and high resolution electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (HRESIMS) spectroscopic analyses, electronic circular dichroism (ECD) and 13 C NMR calculations and X-ray single crystal diffraction. Penicipyrroether A showed potent antiproliferative activity against human glioma U87MG and U251 cells with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) values of 1.64-5.50 μM and antibacterial inhibitory activity with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 1.7 μg/mL against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and 3.0 μg/mL against Escherichia coli .

Two new alkaloids indolepyrazines A ( 1 ) and B ( 2 ) were isolated from the marine-derived Acinetobacter sp. ZZ1275. Their structures were elucidated through extensive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic analyses, high resolution electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (HRESIMS) data, and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculation. Indolepyrazine A represents the first example of alkaloids with an indole-pyrazine-oxindole skeleton. Both 1 and 2 showed antimicrobial activities against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus , Escherichia coli , and Candida albicans with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 12 μg/mL, 8⁻10 μg/mL, and 12⁻14 μg/mL, respectively.

In the past two decades, great progress has been made in the aspects of fabrication and application of ordered mesoporous metal oxides. Ordered mesoporous metal oxides have attracted more and more attention due to their large surface areas and pore volumes, unblocked pore structure, and good thermal stabilities. Compared with non-porous metal oxides, the most prominent feature is their ability to interact with molecules not only on their outer surface but also on the large internal surfaces of the material, providing more accessible active sites for the reactants. This review carefully describes the characteristics, classification and synthesis of ordered mesoporous metal oxides in detail. Besides, it also summarizes the catalytic application of ordered mesoporous metal oxides in the field of carbon dioxide conversion and resource utilization, which provides prospective viewpoints to reduce the emission of greenhouse gas and the inhibition of global warming. Although the scope of current review is mainly limited to the ordered mesoporous metal oxides and their application in the field of CO₂ catalytic conversion via heterogeneous catalysis processes, we believe that it will provide new insights and viewpoints to the further development of heterogeneous catalytic materials.

As part of our research to discover novel bioactive natural products from marine microorganisms, five bagremycin analogues, including the previously unreported bagremycins F ( 1 ) and G ( 2 ), were isolated from a marine actinomycete Streptomyces sp. ZZ745. The structures of these compounds were determined by means of NMR spectroscopic analysis, HRESIMS data, and optical rotation. Both bagremycins F ( 1 ) and G ( 2 ) showed antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli , with MIC values of 41.8 and 61.7 μM, respectively.

Using a graphite crucible as the counter-electrode, platinum microprobes with an aspect ratio of 30 and a tip apex radius less than 100 nm were fabricated by an electrochemical discharge etching process. The "neck-in" structure on the platinum wire induced by the electrical discharge at the liquid-air interface plays a key role in the probe shape and the voltage of the following pure electrochemical etching determines the final probe aspect ratio and tip dimensions. Moreover, the shape and diameter of the graphite counter-electrode also exhibit a significant effect on the realization of high-aspect-ratio probes. The method presented here provides a simple and rapid approach to the fabrication of micro-tools for micromachining, micromanipulation, as well as biomedical applications.

Chemical investigation of the cultures of marine Streptomyces sp. 182SMLY led to the discovery of two new polycyclic anthraquinones, which were elucidated as N-acetyl-N-demethylmayamycin (1) and streptoanthraquinone A (2) based on the extensive spectroscopic analysis including 2D NMR, HRESIMS, and an electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculation. Both anthraquinones remarkably suppressed the proliferation of four different glioma cell lines with IC50 values in a range from 0.5 to 7.3 μM and induced apoptosis in the glioma cells. The ratios of IC50 for normal human astrocytes to IC50 for glioma cells were 6.4-53 for 1 and >14-31 for 2. N-acetyl-N-demethylmayamycin (1) also inhibited the growth of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with MIC 20.0 μM.

Objective: To evaluate the outcome of 80 pregnant women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and explore the risk factors for lupus flare, obstetric complications and fetal loss., Methods: 83 pregnancies in 80 women were divided into three groups. Group A: patients in remission for > 6 months before pregnancy, proteinuria < 0.5 g per day, without renal failure and discontinuation of cytotoxic drugs for > one year; Group B: patients with SLE disease activity in the six months before pregnancy; Group C: patients with new onset SLE during pregnancy., Results: In group A, 76.47% pregnancies achieved full-term deliveries and 80.39% achieved live born infants. In group B and C, the outcome was poor. Among 62 patients (64 pregnancies) diagnosed as SLE before pregnancy, SLE flares occurred in 27 (42.19%) pregnancies. SLE disease activity in the six months before pregnancy was significantly associated with lupus flare (OR 5.00, 95% CI 1.14-21.87, p = 0.03) and fetal loss. New onset lupus during pregnancy was independently associated with obstetric complications (OR 7.22, 95% CI 2.14-24.38, p = 0.001)., Conclusions: The current study confirmed the previous report that SLE should be considered a high risk of pregnancy. If pregnancy is planned after remission for > 6 months, the favorable outcome can be achieved.