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Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a prevalent endocrinological disorder affected by ghrelin. This study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of ghrelin on PCOS manifestations in mice and to assess the therapeutic potential of ghrelin. Female C57BL/6 mice were subcutaneously injected with 6 mg/100 g dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) for 20 days to induce PCOS. Alterations in reproductive cycles, ovarian morphology, serum sex hormone levels, and related signaling markers were examined. Furthermore, ghrelin-induced effects on granulosa cells and the role of ghrelin/Gq/11/ Yes-associated protein (YAP) signaling were studied by silencing Gαq/11 or YAP using si-RNAs. Finally, we evaluated the therapeutic potential of anti-ghrelin antibodies in DHEA-induced PCOS mice. DHEA administration led to significant PCOS-associated changes including weight gain, disrupted estrous cycles, ovarian morphological alterations, and hormonal imbalances in mice, with elevated Gαq/11 and acylated ghrelin expression, which was also noted in PCOS patients. However, treatment with anti-ghrelin antibodies effectively managed DHEA-induced damage in PCOS mice. In vitro, ghrelin exposure resulted in granulosa cell injury and modulated estrogen receptors alpha (ERα) and YAP protein levels, whereas silencing YAP and Gαq/11 reversed ghrelin-induced detrimental effects and up-regulated ERα expression. This study revealed that DHEA-induced PCOS traits in mice could be improved by anti-ghrelin antibodies, with the ghrelin/Gq/11/YAP signaling pathway identified as a crucial mediator in granulosa cells, affecting ERα transcription to regulate PCOS. These findings suggest a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of PCOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Lung cancer (LC) is the malignant tumor with the highest mortality rate worldwide, and precise early diagnosis can improve patient prognosis. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether alterations in the glycopatterns recognized by the Hippeastrum hybrid lectin (HHL) in salivary proteins are associated with the development of LC. Materials and methods: First, we collected saliva samples from LC (15 lung adenocarcinoma (ADC); 15 squamous cell carcinoma (SCC); 15 small cell lung cancer (SCLC)) and 15 benign pulmonary disease (BPD) for high-throughput detection of abundance levels of HHL-recognized glycopatterns using protein microarrays, and then validated the pooled samples from each group with lectin blotting analysis. Finally, the N-glycan profiles of salivary glycoproteins isolated from the pooled samples using HHL-magnetic particle conjugates were characterized separately using MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS. Results: The results showed that the abundance level of glycopatterns recognized by HHL in salivary proteins was elevated in LC compared to BPD. The proportion of mannosylated N-glycans was notably higher in ADC (31.7%), SCC (39.0%), and SCLC (46.6%) compared to BPD (23.3%). Conclusions: The altered salivary glycopatterns such as oligomannose, Manα1-3Man, or Manα1-6Man N-glycans recognized by HHL might serve as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of LC patients. Clinical relevance: This study provides crucial information for studying changes in salivary to differentiate between BPD and LC and facilitate the discovery of biomarkers for LC diagnosis based on precise alterations of mannosylated N-glycans in saliva. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the effect of the application of the FOCUS-PDCA quality improvement model in terms of reducing the distribution defect rate of the sterile packages processed by the CSSD. The FOCUS-PDCA quality improvement model was applied to analyze the causes of the distribution defects of sterile packages, develop improvement measures, and compare the distribution defect rates before and after the application of the FOCUS-PDCA model. Following implementation of the FOCUS-PDCA quality improvement model, the distribution defect rate of sterile packages decreased from 1.74 to 0.37% (P < 0.05). The FOCUS-PDCA quality improvement model can produce a substantial reduction in the distribution defect rate of sterile packages, ensuring the quality of sterile supplies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastrodia elata Blume is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine that is mainly used to treat diseases related to the nervous system, such as stroke, epilepsy, and headache. Gastrodin is the main bioactive component of Gastrodia elata Blume, and studies have shown that it has extensive pharmacological activity. This narrative review aims to systematically review relevant studies on the pharmacological effects of gastrodin to provide researchers with the latest and most useful information. Studies have shown that gastrodin has prominent neuroprotective effects and can treat or improve epilepsy, Tourette syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, emotional disorders, cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury, cognitive impairment, and neuropathic pain. Gastrodin can also improve myocardial hypertrophy, hypertension, and myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury. In addition, gastrodin can mitigate liver, kidney, and bone tissue damage caused by oxidative stress and inflammation. In short, gastrodin is expected to treat many diseases, and it is worth investing more effort in research on this compound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is imperative to develop novel therapeutics to overcome chemoresistance, a significant obstacle in the clinical management of prostate cancer (PCa) and other cancers. Methods: A phenotypic screen was performed to identify novel inhibitors of chemoresistant PCa cells. The mechanism of action of potential candidate(s) was investigated using in silico docking, and molecular and cellular assays in chemoresistant PCa cells. The in vivo efficacy was evaluated in mouse xenograft models of chemoresistant PCa. Results: Nicardipine exhibited high selectivity and potency against chemoresistant PCa cells via inducing apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Computational, molecular, and cellular studies identified nicardipine as a putative inhibitor of embryonic ectoderm development (EED) protein, and the results are consistent with a proposed mechanism of action that nicardipine destabilised enhancer of zeste homologue 2 (EZH2) and inhibited key components of noncanonical EZH2 signalling, including transducer and activator of transcription 3, S-phase kinase-associated protein 2, ATP binding cassette B1, and survivin. As a monotherapy, nicardipine effectively inhibited the skeletal growth of chemoresistant C4-2B-TaxR tumours. As a combination regimen, nicardipine synergistically enhanced the in vivo efficacy of docetaxel against C4-2 xenografts. Conclusion: Our findings provided the first preclinical evidence supporting nicardipine as a novel EED inhibitor that has the potential to be promptly tested in PCa patients to overcome chemoresistance and improve clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose: Little is known about the host–tumor interaction in the lymph-node basin at a single cell level. This study examines single cell sequences in breast cancer nodal metastases of a patient with triple-negative breast cancer. Methods: The primary breast tumor, sentinel lymph node, an adjacent lymph node with metastatic involvement and a clinically normal-appearing lymph node were collected during surgery. Single-cell sequencing was performed on all four specimens. Results: 14,016 cells were clustered into 6 cell subpopulations. Cancer cells demonstrated the molecular characteristics of TNBC basal B subtype and highly expressed genes in the MAPK signaling cascade. Tumor-associated macrophages regulated antigen processing and presentation and other immune-related pathways to promote tumor invasion. CD8 + and CD4 + T lymphocytes concentrated more in sentinel lymph node and mainly stratified into two transcriptional states. The immune-cell amount variation among primary tumor, sentinel and normal lymph nodes showed a similar tendency between the sc-RNA-seq profile of TNBC samples and a previous reported bulk RNA-seq profile of a breast cancer cohort, including all four breast cancer subtype samples. Discussion: Single-cell sequencing analysis suggested that the sentinel lymph node was the initial meeting site of tumor infiltration and immune response, where partial T lymphocytes perform anti-tumor activity, while other T cells exhibit an exhausted state. We proposed a molecular explanation to the well-established clinical principle that the 5-year and 10-year survival outcomes were noninferior between SLND and ALND. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: National data on the satisfaction of radiology residents enrolled in standardized residency training (SRT) are rather scarce in China. This study identified a set of potential factors concerning SRT satisfaction among radiology residents as well as the association between SRT satisfaction and post-competency and well-being. Methods: A total of 3666 radiology residents who were receiving SRT during 2020 in China were recruited across all 31 provinces. The cumulative odds logistic regression was used to examine the potential factors associated with SRT satisfaction as well as associations between satisfaction and well-being, burnout, professional identity and competency. Results: The prevalence of satisfaction with SRT was 68.6%. Participants who were male, worked in central China, aged more than 28 years old, had long working hours and claimed increased workload during the COVID-19 pandemic were more likely to be unsatisfied with the SRT program. Participants who were more satisfied with the radiation protection were more likely to report higher degree of SRT satisfaction (OR = 3.00, 95% CI 2.58–3.50). In addition, SRT satisfaction was positively associated with well-being, professional identity, competency and lower burnout. Conclusions: Perceived satisfaction can be introduced into hospital management, as it may reflect the overall situation of the residents during residency training and influence radiologists' well-being, professional identification and competency. Appropriate measures should be taken to reduce the risk of radiation exposure, ensure employee safety (such as risk assessment system and paid time off), provide radiology residents with fair treatment and guarantee the time out of working for optimizing their professional ability. Key points: The radiology residents at all levels in China were systematically landscaped. 68.6% of the 3666 residents reported satisfaction with the residency training. Radiation protection was significantly associated with residency satisfaction. Satisfaction significantly impacts radiology residents' well-being, professional identity and self-reported competency. The findings provide new insights into sustaining and improving the radiology residency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surgical instrument packaging defects may affect the safety of medical care and patients and waste the hospital workforce, material resources, and financial resources. This study explored the application of healthcare failure mode and effect analysis in controlling surgical instrument packaging defects. We retrospectively evaluated the packaging process of 183,642 surgical instruments packaged in our hospital during January–June 2020 using the healthcare failure mode and effect analysis. Besides, we used a decision tree model to determine the steps requiring improvement and formulate the improvement measures. We applied the improvement measures to 190,231 surgical instrument packs packaged in our hospital during July–December 2020. Based on the healthcare failure mode and effect analysis, we compared the packaging defect rates before and after adopting the improvement measures. Of the 183,642 packs selected before adopting the improvement measures, 98 defects occurred, with a defect rate of 0.053%. However, of the 190,231 packs selected after adopting the improvement measures, 22 defects occurred, with a defect rate of 0.012%. The defect rate of surgical instrument packaging handled by the central sterile supply department staff was significantly reduced (χ2 = 50.822, P = 0.001) after adopting the improvement measures. Using the medical failure mode and effect analysis method to control the defects in surgical instrument packaging can effectively reduce the packaging defect rate, ensuring patient safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Trophoblasts are the most important parts of the placenta in early pregnancy. Trophoblast cell dysfunction can induce embryo implantation insufficiency, thereby resulting in multiple diseases, including recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA). A previous study indicates higher nerve injury-induced protein 1 (NINJ1) RNA levels in the villi tissues of RSA patients. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of NINJ1 on trophoblast behaviors and pregnancy loss. Methods: Fresh villi tissues were obtained from with RSA patients and patients with artificial selective abortion for personal reasons, and NINJ1 expression in these tissues was detected. Extravillous trophoblast cell line HTR-8/SVneo was transfected with small-interfering RNA targeting NINJ1 or NINJ1 overexpression vector to perform loss-/gain-of-function experiments. Spontaneous abortion (SA) was induced by mating CBA/J females with DBA/2 males and the pregnant females were intraperitoneally injected with adenovirus vector carrying NINJ1 short hairpin RNA. Results: NINJ1 mRNA and protein levels were higher in the villi tissues of RSA patients than those of artificial selective abortion patients. NINJ1 knockdown promoted trophoblast cell proliferation, migration and invasion but inhibited cell apoptosis. Moreover, conditioned medium from NINJ1-depleted trophoblasts promoted the angiogenesis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells. NINJ1 knockdown also promoted activation of the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway in trophoblasts, and STAT3 inhibitor reversed NINJ1 knockdown-induced effects on trophoblast behaviors. Furthermore, pregnancy loss was attenuated by NINJ1 inhibition. Conclusion: NINJ1 contributes to the development of SA and triggers trophoblast cell dysfunction through inhibiting the STAT3 pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice bean (Vigna umbellata) is an underexploited domesticated legume crop consumed for dietary protein in Asia, yet little is known about the genetic diversity of this species. Here, we present a high-quality reference genome for a rice bean landrace (FF25) built using PacBio long-read data and a Hi-C chromatin interaction map, and assess the phylogenetic position and speciation time of rice bean within the Vigna genus. We sequence 440 landraces (two core collections), and GWAS based on data for growth sites at three widely divergent latitudes reveal loci associated with flowering and yield. Loci harboring orthologs of FUL (FRUITFULL), FT (FLOWERING LOCUS T), and PRR3 (PSEUDO-RESPONSE REGULATOR 3) contribute to the adaptation of rice bean from its low latitude center of origin towards higher latitudes, and the landraces which pyramid early-flowering alleles for these loci display maximally short flowering times. We also demonstrate that copy-number-variation for VumCYP78A6 can regulate seed-yield traits. Intriguingly, 32 landraces collected from a mountainous region in South-Central China harbor a recently acquired InDel in TFL1 (TERMINAL FLOWER1) affecting stem determinacy; these materials also have exceptionally high values for multiple human-desired traits and could therefore substantially advance breeding efforts to improve rice bean. Rice bean is an underexploited legume crop that has many desirable properties against bio and abiotic stresses. Here, the authors report the genome assembly of this species, conduct population genetics studies and reveal the genetic variations associated with adaptation and yield traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind energy is an important green energy. The use of wind energy can alleviate the pressure caused by the shortage of traditional energy. The wind speed is affected by many factors, which makes it difficult to forecast accurately. Most wind speed forecasting methods only consider the wind speed data. The other influence factors are usually ignored. In this paper, we use traditional wind speed data and weather factors as the input of our proposed model. In the proposed model, wavelet threshold is employed to reduce the noise of raw wind speed data. We apply grey relational analysis to select the weather factors that have great influence on wind speed. The wind speed data are the input vectors of Elman neural network (Elman) and back propagation optimized by cuckoo search. Weather factors are the input vectors of WNN-GRNN which combines the wavelet neural network (WNN) and general regression neural network (GRNN). Finally, the forecasting results of the weather factors and wind speed data are combined by variance reciprocal method. The data sets at Kalaeloa Oahu, Hawaii are chosen to test the validity of the proposed model. The results show that the proposed model has obvious advantages compared to other benchmark forecasting models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Surface urban heat island intensity (SUHII) is a classical measure depicting urban heat island phenomenon via remotely sensed thermal infrared data. The most common approach is to compare urban and rural land surface temperatures (LST), which is not only sensitive to the selection of pixels/measurements representative of urban and rural areas, but also overlook the pixel-level intra-city SUHII variation and thermodynamics associated with heterogeneous urban landscape. Objectives: This study develops a new SUHIIen ^ , via pixel-based sharpening enhancement method to integrate a pixel's LST magnitude that reflects a city's overall thermal context with its local SUHII that takes the landscape variations and cognate thermal interactions with neighboring pixels into account. Methods: Using Guangzhou (south China) as a case study, SUHIIen ^ is constructed applying Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer LST product for the summer season of 2015 through cloud-based Google Earth Engine platform. The effectiveness of SUHIIen ^ is tested by comparing SUHIIen ^ results (based on 3 × 3, 5 × 5 and 7 × 7 kernels) with the original LST, a two-dimensional Gaussian surface, and Gaussian density curve with stepwise increments of the thermal influence from neighboring pixels on the center pixels. Results: We found that (1) local SUHII variations are sensitive to the spatial composition of a center pixel's land use type and that of its eight neighbors; (2) SUHIIen ^ makes more pronounced those spots that are not only heat per se (with higher original LST), but also receive additional heat load emitted from directly adjacent pixels due to land use homogeneity; (3) the effectiveness of SUHIIen ^ could be successfully verified. Conclusions: This new SUHI indicator accounts for inter-pixel spatial variation of UHI and highlights how neighboring pixels' homogeneous/heterogeneous land use and associated thermal properties could affect center pixels' thermal characteristics via either reinforcement or mitigation of heat load. It contributes to rigorous assessment of potential heat risks at micro-pixel scale and tailored design of mitigation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Memristive neural networks (MNNs) attract the attention of many researchers because memristor can mimic the learning mechanism of biologic neuron, spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP). While STDP brings huge potentials on many applications for memristive neural networks, it also gives complex calculation process for hardware implement. In this work, a non-STDP learning mechanism is proposed, which is implemented in two common frameworks including feedforward neural network and crossbar. The non-STDP learning mechanism relies on the linear relationship between the value of memristor and area of input spikes, which gives the proposed method a simple calculation process and better hardware compatibility. Experimental results show that the non-STDP learning mechanism can help to achieve good hardware performance in both feedforward neural network and crossbar frameworks. Compared with STDP based memristive neural networks, the proposed method can save 2.19%-24.4% hardware resource (ALMs) and improve 1.56-12.25 MHz processing speed under a set of different network scales. In future, some other complex memristor models with non-STDP learning mechanism should be taken into consideration, which will give more room for practical applications of memristive neural networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serum liver enzyme concentrations are the most frequently-used laboratory markers of liver disease, a major cause of mortality. We conduct a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of liver enzymes from UK BioBank and BioBank Japan. We identified 160 previously-unreported independent alanine aminotransferase, 190 aspartate aminotransferase, and 199 alkaline phosphatase genome-wide significant associations, with some affecting multiple different enzymes. Associated variants implicate genes that demonstrate diverse liver cell type expression and promote a range of metabolic and liver diseases. These findings provide insight into the pathophysiology of liver and other metabolic diseases that are associated with serum liver enzyme concentrations. Serum liver enzymes are used as markers of liver disease, their concentration influenced in part by genetic factors. Here the authors meta-analyse genome-wide association studies on the UK Biobank and BioBank Japan to evaluate the association of three liver enzymes with liver and other metabolic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industry sector is not only an important driving force for economic growth but also the largest sector of resource consumption and pollution emission. In this study, we first constructed a super-slack-based measure (Super-SBM) model including the resource consumption and undesirable outputs, and estimated the industrial environmental efficiency (IEE) in China from 2007 to 2016. Afterwards, based on the spatial autocorrelation test and the spatial Durbin model, the spatio-temporal evolution and the influencing factors of IEE were analyzed. The empirical results are obtained as follows: the average IEE from 2007 to 2016 was 0.5176. IEE in the east of China was the highest, whereas it was the lowest in the west. The spatial autocorrelation test showed that the regions with similar levels of IEE in China had significant spatial agglomeration, whereas the local spatial distribution of IEE was unbalanced. The high-high IEE agglomeration areas were located in Liaoning, Jilin, and Inner Mongolia. The low-low IEE agglomeration areas were concentrated in Gansu, Ningxia, and Sichuan. Finally, according to the spatial Durbin panel model and spillover effect decomposition, GDP, FDI, human capital, environmental governance investment, research and development investment, and urbanization have a positive impact on IEE. The industrial and energy consumption structures have a negative impact on IEE. Therefore, the central government should focus on balancing IEE of different provinces and regions, increasing investment in industrial pollution treatment, and encouraging FDI to improve IEE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stable electric load forecasting plays a significant role in power system operation and grid management. Improving the accuracy of electric load forecasting is not only a hot topic for energy managers and researchers of the power system, but also a fair challenging and difficult task due to its complex nonlinearity characteristics. This paper proposes a new combination model, which uses the least squares support vector machine, extreme learning machine, and generalized regression neural network to predict the electric load in New South Wales, Australia. In addition, the model employs a heuristic algorithm–whale optimization algorithm to optimize the weight coefficient. To verify the usability and generalization ability of the model, this paper also applies the proposed combined model to electricity price forecasting and compares it with the benchmark method. The experimental results demonstrate that the combined model not only can get accurate results for short-term electric load forecasting, but also achieves fine accuracy for the same period of electricity price forecasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pipe umbrella is one of the most commonly used prereinforcement techniques in tunnel construction. Current theoretical analyses of the pipe umbrella support mechanism are primarily based on the elastic foundation beam principle, whereby only a single pipe is concerned, and the interactions among pipes are ignored. In this study, a double-parameter elastic foundation beam theory-based model was established with consideration of the arching effect between two pipes. The model can simulate the support mechanism of the pipe umbrella system in shallow-buried tunnels. The support mechanisms of a pipe umbrella system installed in a rectangular tunnel and an arched tunnel were investigated. In the two cases, the arching effect and a single pipe were considered. The results indicate that the arching effect leads to larger pipe deflection and internal forces than considering a single pipe. The influences of the diameter of a single pipe, the distance between two pipes and the shear parameters of the surrounding rock on the pipe deflection and the arching effect are discussed. In addition, the proposed model was validated by the in situ monitoring results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supplementary information Graph: Updated Supplementary Data 20 Graph: Updated Supplementary Data 21 Graph: Updated Supplementary Data 22 Graph: Updated Supplementary Information Graph: Incorrect Supplementary Data 20 Graph: Incorrect Supplementary Data 21 Graph: Incorrect Supplementary Data 22 Graph: Incorrect Supplementary Information Supplementary information The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38659-3. The original incorrect version of Supplementary Table 17 and Supplementary Data 20-22 can be found as Supplementary information associated with this Correction. [Extracted from the article]

Polymer dots (PDs) were synthesized at 200 °C for 90 min via a microwave-assisted method. The PDs were characterized by fluorescence spectroscopy, UV-vis absorbance spectra, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The PDs display blue fluorescence under 320 nm excitation with a fluorescent quantum yield of 13.48%. The PDs show stable fluorescence against ion strength and light bleaching, especially extreme pH. Significant pH-independent behavior may relate to –OH of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) retained on the surface of PDs. The bright fluorescence of PD solution can be distinctly quenched by cobalt ion (Co2+) and manganese ion (Mn2+) in PD solution. For Co2+, the linear was from 3.4 to 50.0 μmol L−1 and 46.7 to 600.0 μmol L−1 with the limit of detection (LOD) of 1.0 μmol L−1. The LOD of Mn2+ was 0.4 μmol L−1 in the range from 1.5 to 100.0 μmol L−1. Self-film-forming PDs (FPDs) were obtained via dropping PD solution on quartz glass. The bright blue fluorescence of FPDs can be obviously quenched by Co2+ and Mn2+. This paper may provide an efficient and flexible approach to the application of on-site detection. Graphical abstract Graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to validate the Health Care Provider HIV/AIDS Stigma Scale among medical staff in China. The validation was conducted in four steps from March to December 2017: translation and back-translation; content validity test with six experts; test–retest reliability testing with 63 medical staff with 2 weeks interval; and structural validation with 349 medical staff from 52 hospitals with a convenience sample,using exploratory factor analysis,including principal component analysis and varimax rotation. The scale content validity index average was 0.88, while for test–retest reliability, the ICC was 0.87. Three factors of "discrimination", "prejudice" and "stereotype" with 16 items were extracted and explained 59.61% variance. The Cronbach's alpha value for the total scale was of 0.88, and for the three factors, the values were 0.89, 0.86 and 0.74, respectively. The discrimination factor showed identical means between Canadian medical students and Chinese medical staff, while the prejudice and stereotype factors had higher mean scores in the Chinese sample. The three-factor structure of Health Care Provider HIV/AIDS Stigma Scale was confirmed in Chinese medical staff with a simpler solution. This could provide a basis for trans-cultural application and comparison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrospinnability as well as dissolvability of the celluloses derived from different biomass resources are systematically studied in this work. By analyzing the essentially physical and molecular structure of cellulose in detail, dissolving efficiency and molecular chain entanglement in solution of cellulose are carefully realized. Accordingly, the original factors on electrospinnability of cellulose is revealed. Crystallinity mainly affects the dissolution of cellulose, which is the foundation to achieve electrospinning. Degree of polymerization is the decisive index of cellulose to form molecular entanglement in solution or not. Proper molecular entanglement of cellulose, just as corn cellulose II, could initiate the formation of ultrafine fiber with good morphology in electrospinning. Our research is no doubt helpful to establish a solid scientific and technical foundation for selection of cellulose to achieve high efficiency fabrication of ultrafine fiber in electrospinning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuroactive steroids such as progesterone, testosterone, and their derivatives have been widely studied for their neuroprotective roles in the nervous system. Autologous nerve transplantation is considered as the gold standard repair technique when primary suture is impossible; nevertheless, this method is far from ideal. In this study, we aimed to explore the impact of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a 5α-reduced derivative of testosterone, on the recovery of peripheral nerve injury treated with autologous nerve transplantation. Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to a 10-mm right side sciatic nerve reversed autologous nerve transplantation and randomly divided into groups that received DHT or DHT + flutamide (an androgen receptor blocker) daily for 8 weeks after operation. Our results demonstrated that DHT could speed up the rate of axonal regeneration and increase the expression of myelin protein zero (P0) in autograft reversal sciatic nerves. Thus, our study provided new insights into improving the prognosis of patients with long gap peripheral nerve defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A superhydrophilic and antibacterial surface with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was fabricated on the blend membranes of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and poly(styrene- co-maleic anhydride) (SMA). The PVDF/SMA blend membranes were surface-modified firstly by coating polydopamine (PDA) in aqueous solution for 24 h. Subsequently, AgNPs were immobilized in situ. Lastly, the AgNP-loaded membranes were second coating PDA. Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) was carried out to characterize both the micro- and nanoscale hierarchical structures. The results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicated that metallic silver was formed and more Ag loaded might be apt to deposit more PDA during the second coating PDA procedure. The membrane surface hydrophilicity was characterized by water contact angle measurement; AgNPs and PDA had provided an excellent hydrophilicity. Meanwhile, AgNPs imparted outstanding antibacterial activity to the modified membranes which was confirmed by halo zone test. All of the results demonstrated that the modified surface possessed superhydrophilic and excellent antibacterial properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the study, a simple and selective method based on magnetic separation technology is presented for the extraction of sulfonamides (SAs) from environmental water, followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. In this method, magnetic surface molecularly imprinted polymers (FeO@SiO@MIPs) with super-paramagnetic property and high selectivity toward SAs were developed as magnetic adsorbents. The FeO@SiO@MIPs were then applied to the selective extraction of SAs from environmental water. The extraction and enrichment were accomplished simultaneously in a single step by simply stirring the mixture of adsorbents and water samples. The FeO@SiO@MIPs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry, and vibrating sample magnetometry. The adsorption thermodynamics and kinetics were employed to study the adsorption mechanism of the FeO@SiO@MIPs. And the matrix effect of the method was evaluated. Calibration curves obtained by analyzing matrix-matched standards show excellent linear relationship ( R = 0.9994-0.9999) in the concentration range of 10-1000 ng L, and the limits of detection are in the range of 1.4-2.8 ng L. The relative standard deviations of intra- and inter-day obtained are in the range of 2.8 to 7.8 and 3.1 to 7.9%, respectively . The proposed method was successfully applied to determine SAs in six environmental water samples, and SAs were detectable in four of them with the concentration from 10.5 to 120.2 ng L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors have developed a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic (SERS) method for the determination of pyrophosphate ion (PPi). It is based on the competitive coordination of Cu(II) between cysteine (Cys) and PPi using silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) modified with Cys and Rhodamine 6G (R6G). Cys was attached to the surface of the AgNPs via Ag−S bond, and the amino acid unit in Cys bind to Cu(II) to form a chelate complex. This results in the aggregation of AgNPs and a strong SERS signal for the probe R6G. However, in the presence of PPi, the aggregated AgNPs are solubilized because of the stronger affinity between PPi and Cu(II). This leads to a decrease of the SERS signal and forms the basis for the quantitation of PPi. The amount of AgNPs, the concentration of Cu(II), and the mixing time were optimized. The method displays a linear response in the 0.1 to 80 μM PPi concentration range, and the limit of detection is as low as 20 nM. The method was applied to the determination of PPi in spiked serum samples and urine samples, with recoveries between 95.2 to 100.5% and relative standard deviations of <4.4%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schistosomiasis is one of the most important zoonoses, threatening approximately 800 million people in 78 countries with a loss of 70 million disability-adjusted life years. Over the past six decades, China has made remarkable achievements in morbidity control, but disability and mortality control remains much to desire; thus, advanced schistosomiasis is a growing problem when on the road to schistosomiasis elimination. Since 2005, China has initiated a national treatment and assistance program to advanced patients, aiming to improve patients' symptoms and quality of life. Here, we conducted a two-phase study to evaluate the program's implementation and effect on advanced patients from 2009 to 2014 in Jiangxi Province, China. A total of 6425 advanced schistosomiasis cases were included in this study. For those having been treated and assisted (90.7 %), the cure or improvement rate was over 99.9 %, with 668 (11.5 %) cases having reached clinical cure and 5152 (88.4 %) cases' condition having improved, which can be partially reflected in the significant decline of the proportion of hepatomegaly (splenomegaly), the degree of liver fibrosis, ascites-related indicators (abdominal girth and frequency of shifting dullness), and portal hypertension-related indices (inner diameter of portal vein and frequency of subcutaneous varicose vein of abdominal wall). Besides, it was estimated to have saved 2004 years of life lost at total. Therefore, the government should continue support and increase input of treatment and assistance program so that this project can reach more patients, leading to consolidation of achievements of schistosomiasis control and contribution to schistosomiasis elimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to test the impact of variants rs900400 (located near LEKR1 and CCNL1) and rs9883204 (located in ADCY5) on birth weight in a Chinese population. We conducted a case-control study including 156 low-birth- weight infants as the case group and 100 normal-birth-weight infants as the control group. The rs900400 and rs9883204 variants were analyzed by gene sequencing in all the participants. Our results revealed a significant difference in the genotype distribution (χ = 10.449, p = 0.005) and allele distribution (χ = 9.277, p = 0.002) of rs900400 between the case group and the control group. The C allele of rs900400 was associated with lower birth weight (OR 1.771 [95 % CI 1.237-2.535]) in the Chinese population. However, the rs9883204 polymorphism was not informative in the Chinese population. Our study shows that the 'birth weight-lowering' variant rs900400 located near LEKR1 and CCNL1, which is strongly associated with birth weight in European cohorts, appears to have a similar association in Chinese cohorts. However, the rs9883204 variant located in ADCY5 does not appear to be correlated with low birth weight in the same population. Moreover, we found that the variant rs900400 may also be associated with premature birth, thereby supporting the need for further research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hollow fiber-protected magnetized solvent-bar liquid-phase microextraction of sulfonylurea herbicides, including nicosulfuron, bensulfuron-methyl, pyrazosulfuron and chlorimuron-ethyl, in pears was developed. The analytes were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. This present method has the advantages of stir bar sorptive extraction and hollow fiber-protected solvent-bar microextraction, that permits active magnetic stirring, extraction and preenrichment in a single device simultaneously. The magnetized solvent-bar was easily retrieved after extraction with a magnet, so the extract is conveniently collected. Experimental parameters, including type of extraction solvent, the number of magnetized solvent-bars, extraction temperature and time, stirring speed, pH of the sample solution, and the salting-out effect, were investigated and optimized. Under optimal experimental conditions, the calibration curve showed good linearity ( r ≥ 0.9998). The limits of detection and quantification were in the range of 7.15-8.26 ng/g and 24.99-27.52 ng/g, respectively. The recoveries were in the range of 80.08-105.56 %, and the relative standard deviations were lower than 6.82 %. The results showed that the present method was a satisfactory method for the determination of sulfonylurea herbicides in pears. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies found that serum microRNAs (miRNAs) could serve as stable and noninvasive biomarkers for disease diagnosis. We used genome-wide serum miRNA expression analysis to investigate the role of serum miRNAs in distinguishing malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) patients with and without neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) from NF1 patients. A total of 100 patients with NF1, 93 sporadic MPNST patients, and 71 NF1 MPNST patients were enrolled in this two-stage, case-control study. Solexa sequencing was used to screen for miRNAs that expressed differentially in three pooled serum samples from 10 NF1 patients, 10 sporadic MPNST patients, and 10 NF1 MPNST patients. The detected serum miRNAs then were validated in 90 patients with NF1, 83 patients with sporadic MPNST, and 61 NF1 MPNST patients by individual quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction assays. Eight serum miRNAs altered more than fivefold by Solexa sequencing between MPNST patients (with and without NF1) and NF1 patients. MiR-801 and miR-214 increased both in sporadic MPNST patients and NF1 MPNST patients when compared with NF1 patients. The sensitivity and the specificity of sporadic MPNST detection by the two-miRNA signature were 0.747 and 0.856, respectively. MiR-24 was only significantly up-regulated in NF1 MPNST patients. The combination of the three miRNAs (MiR-801, miR-214, and miR-24) could distinguish NF1 MPNST patients from NF1 patients with a sensitivity of 0.820 and a specificity of 0.844. The serum-based miRNA expression profiles could serve as novel noninvasive biomarkers in sporadic MPNST and NF1 MPNST detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interspecific root/rhizosphere interactions affect phosphorus (P) uptake and the productivity of maize/faba bean and maize/wheat intercropping systems. The aim of these experiments was to determine whether manipulation of maize root growth could improve the productivity of the two intercropping systems. Two near isogenic maize hybrids (the larger-rooted T149 and smaller-rooted T222) were intercropped with faba bean and wheat, under conditions of high- and low-P availability. The larger-rooted T149 showed greater competitive ability than the smaller-rooted T222 in both maize/faba bean and maize/wheat intercropping systems. The higher competitive ability of T149 improved the productivity of the maize/faba bean intercropping system in P-sufficient conditions. In maize/wheat intercropping systems, root growth, shoot biomass, and P uptake of maize were inhibited by wheat, regardless of the P-supply. Compared with T222, the larger-rooted T149 suffered less in the intercropping systems. The total biomass of the maize/wheat intercropping system was higher for wheat/T149 than for wheat/T222 under low-P conditions. These data suggested that genetic improvement of maize root size could enhance maize growth and its ability to compete for P resources in maize/faba bean and maize/wheat intercropping systems. In addition, depending on the P availability, larger maize roots could increase the productivity of intercropping systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on a novel biosensor for determining sequence-specific DNA. It is based on resonance light scattering (RLS) caused by the aggregation of gold bipyramids. These display localized surface plasmon resonance and can be used as a bioprobe. The absorption spectra and the transmission electron micrographs provide visual evidence of the aggregation of the gold bipyramids in the presence of DNA. The RLS intensity of the gold bipyramids increases with the concentration of the target DNA. The method was successfully applied to the determination of a 30-mer single-stranded oligonucleotide and works over the 0.1-10 nM concentration range. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) modified with sodium 2-mercaptoethanesulfonate (mesna) exhibit strong surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Their specific and strong interaction with heavy metal ions led to a label-free assay for Hg(II). The covalent bond formed between mercury and sulfur is stronger than the one between silver and sulfur and thus prevents the adsorption of mesna on the surface of Ag NPs. This results in a decrease of the intensity of SERS in the presence of Hg(II) ions. The Raman peak at 795 cm can be used for quantification. The effect of the concentration of mesna, the concentration of sodium chloride, incubation time and pH value on SERS were optimized. Under the optimal conditions, the intensity of SERS decreases with increasing concentration of Hg(II). The decrease is linear in the 0.01 and 2 μmol L concentration range, with a correlation coefficient (R) of 0.996 and detection limit (S/N = 3) is 0.0024 μmol L. The method was successfully applied to the determination of the Hg(II) in spiked water samples. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional clustering algorithms are inapplicable to many real-world problems where limited knowledge from domain experts is available. Incorporating the domain knowledge can guide a clustering algorithm, consequently improving the quality of clustering. In this paper, we propose SS-NMF: a semi-supervised non-negative matrix factorization framework for data clustering. In SS-NMF, users are able to provide supervision for clustering in terms of pairwise constraints on a few data objects specifying whether they “must” or “cannot” be clustered together. Through an iterative algorithm, we perform symmetric tri-factorization of the data similarity matrix to infer the clusters. Theoretically, we show the correctness and convergence of SS-NMF. Moveover, we show that SS-NMF provides a general framework for semi-supervised clustering. Existing approaches can be considered as special cases of it. Through extensive experiments conducted on publicly available datasets, we demonstrate the superior performance of SS-NMF for clustering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Based on the shear-lag model and the modified degradation formula for coefficient of friction, the interfacial fatigue and debonding for fiber reinforced composites under cyclic loading are studied. The loading condition is chosen as the kind that is the most frequently used in fiber-pull-out experiments. The stress components in the debonded and bonded regions are obtained according to the maximum and minimum applied loading. By the aid of theory of fracture mechanics and Paris formula, the governing equation is solved numerically and the interfacial debonding is simulated. The relationships between the parameters (such as the debond rate, debond length, debond force) and the number of cycles are obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) is an autosomal recessive retinal dystrophy that manifests with genetic heterogeneity. We sequenced the exome of an individual with LCA and identified nonsense (c.507G>A, p.Trp169*) and missense (c.769G>A, p.Glu257Lys) mutations in NMNAT1, which encodes an enzyme in the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) biosynthesis pathway implicated in protection against axonal degeneration. We also found NMNAT1 mutations in ten other individuals with LCA, all of whom carry the p.Glu257Lys variant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fluorescent probe is presented for sensitive determination of Hg(II). It is based on aggregation induced enhancement effect (AIEE) of carbon dots co-doped with nitrogen and sulfur (N,S-CDs). The N,S-CDs were prepared by a one-pot microwave-assisted method using glycerol as the reaction solvent, and cystine as the source for C, N and S. The resulting CDs are well soluble in water and have a turn-on fluorescence response to Hg(II). The incubation time and ratio of raw materials were optimized. Fluorescence, best measured at excitation/emission wavelengths of 325/385 nm, increases linearly in the 1-75 μM Hg(II) concentration range, and the detection limit is 0.5 μM. The method performed successfully when detecting Hg(II) in spiked tap and lake waters, with recoveries between 92 and 106%.Schematic presentation of the aggregation induced enhancement of the fluorescence of carbon dots co-doped with nitrogen and sulfur after addition of Hg(II). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congenital cataract is both clinically diverse and genetically heterogeneous. To investigate the underlying genetic defect in three-generations of a Chinese family with autosomal dominant congenital cataracts, we recruited family members who underwent comprehensive ophthalmic examinations. A heterozygous missense mutation c.634G > C (p.G212R) substitution was identified in the MIP gene through target region capture sequencing. The prediction results of PolyPhen-2 and SIFT indicated that this mutation was likely to damage the structure and function of MIP. Confocal microscopy images showed that the intensity of the green fluorescent signal revealed much weaker signal from the mutant compared to the wild-type MIP. The expressed G212R-MIP was diminished and almost exclusively cytoplasmic in the HeLa cells; whereas the WT-MIP was stable dispersed throughout the cytoplasm, and it appeared to be in the membrane structure. Western blot analysis indicated that the protein expression level of the mutant form of MIP was remarkably reduced compared with that of the wild type, however, the mRNA levels of the wild-type and mutant cells were comparable. In conclusion, our study presented genetic and functional evidence for a novel MIP mutation of G212R, which leads to congenital progressive cortical punctate with or without Y suture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction to the article "Common genetic variants in microRNA processing machinery genes are associated with risk and survival in patients with osteosarcoma" that was published online on February 13, 2015 is presented.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a heterogeneous group of inherited ocular diseases, is a genetic condition that causes retinal degeneration and eventual vision loss. Though some genes have been identified to be associated with RP, still a large part of the clinical cases could not be explained. Here we reported a four-generation Chinese family with RP, during which 6 from 9 members of the second generation affected the disease. To identify the genetic defect in this family, whole-exome sequencing together with validation analysis by Sanger sequencing were performed to find possible pathogenic mutations. After a pipeline of database filtering, including public databases and in-house databases, a novel missense mutation, c. 424 C > T transition (p.R142W) in OR2W3 gene, was identified as a potentially causative mutation for autosomal dominant RP. The mutation co-segregated with the disease phenotype over four generations. This mutation was validated in another independent three-generation family. RT-PCR analysis also identified that OR2W3 gene was expressed in HESC-RPE cell line. The results will not only enhance our current understanding of the genetic basis of RP, but also provide helpful clues for designing future studies to further investigate genetic factors for familial RP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]