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The complex mechanism of neuropathic pain involves various aspects of both central and peripheral pain conduction pathways. An effective cure for neuropathic pain therefore remains elusive. We found that deficiency of the gene Gdpd3, encoding a lysophospholipase D enzyme, alleviates the inflammatory responses in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) of mice under neuropathic pain and reduces PE (20:4) and PGE2 in DRG. Gdpd3 deficiency had a stronger analgesic effect on neuropathic pain than Celecoxib, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. Gdpd3 deficiency also interferes with the polarization of macrophages, switching from M1 towards M2 phenotype. The PPARγ/ FABP4 pathway was screened by RNA sequencing as functional related with Gdpd3 deficient BMDMs stimulated with LPS. Both protein and mRNA levels of PPARγ in GDPD3 deficient BMDMs were higher than those of the litter control mice. However, GW9962 (inhibitor of PPARγ) could reverse the reprogramming polarization of macrophages caused by GDPD3 deficiency. Therefore, our study suggests that GDPD3 deficiency exerts a relieving effect on neuropathic pain and alleviates neuroinflammation in DRG by switching the phenotype of macrophages from M1 to M2, which was mediated through PGE2 and PPARγ/ FABP4 pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vacuum preloading coupling flocculation treatment is a widely employed method for reinforcing soils with high water content in practical construction. However, uneven distribution and accumulation of flocculants pose significant damage to the soil environment and result in uneven soil consolidation, leading to severe issues in subsequent soil development and exploitation. To address these concerns, an evolved leaching with vacuum method is developed for facilitating soil consolidation while preventing the accumulation of flocculant in the soil. In this study, five model tests are conducted in which FeCl3 is chosen as the typical flocculant to promote soil consolidation, and deionized water is used for leaching. The final discharged water, settlement, water content and penetration resistance of soil are obtained to evaluate the soil reinforcement effect, while the flocculant removal effect is evaluated by the Fe3+ content in the filtrate and soil. The comprehensive reinforcement and flocculant removal effect show that this method is extremely effective compared to traditional vacuum preloading. The two leaching is clarified as the best choice, resulting in a 22% decrease in the soil water content and a 25% in soil penetration resistance, meanwhile a 12.8% removal rate of the flocculant. The test results demonstrate that leaching with vacuum preloading can contribute to promoting soil consolidation and reducing the accumulation of flocculant in the soil, ensuring the safe and eco-friendly use of the soil for future applications. The conclusions obtained are of significant theoretical value and technical support for practical construction and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The symptoms in patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) after COVID-19 onset remain largely unclear. The aim of this study was to describe the platelet count fluctuations in ITP patients following the diagnosis of COVID-19. A prospective multicentre observational study was conducted from December 15th, 2022, to January 31st, 2023 in 39 general hospitals across China. Patients with preexisting primary ITP who were newly diagnosed with COVID-19 were enrolled. A total of 1216 ITP patients with newly-diagnosed COVID-19 were enrolled. 375 (30.8%) patients experienced ITP exacerbation within eight weeks after the diagnosis of COVID-19, and most exacerbation (266/375, 70.9%) developed in the first two weeks. Immunosuppressive therapy for ITP and severe/critical COVID-19 infection were independent variables associated with ITP exacerbation. Overall the platelet count had a transient increasing trend, and the platelet peak value occurred at two weeks after COVID-19 infection. Then, the platelet count decreased to the baseline level in the following weeks. The platelet count had a transient increasing trend in ITP patients following the diagnosis of COVID-19. ITP exacerbation only occurred in less than one-third of ITP patients. Nonimmunosuppressive therapy may have an advantage to prevent ITP exacerbation during COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cisplatin-based chemotherapy is the main treatment option for advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, most ESCC patients develop drug resistance within 2 years after receiving cisplatin chemotherapy. Ubiquitin-specific protease 10 (USP10) is abnormally expressed in a variety of cancers, but the mechanistic roles of USP10 in ESCC are still obscure. Here, the effects of USP10 on the migration and cisplatin resistance of ESCC in vivo and in vitro and the underlying mechanisms have been investigated by bioinformatics analysis, RT-PCR, western blotting, immunoprecipitation, immunohistochemistry, cell migration and MTS cell proliferation assays, deubiquitination assay, and mouse tail vein injection model. USP10 was significantly up-regulated in ESCC tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues in both public databases and clinical samples and was closely associated with overall survival. Subsequent results revealed that USP10 contributed to the migration and cisplatin resistance of ESCC cells, while knocking down USP10 in cisplatin-resistant cells exhibited opposite effects in vitro and in vivo. Further Co-IP experiments showed that integrin β1 and YAP might be targets for USP10 deubiquitination. Moreover, deficiency of USP10 significantly inhibited the migrative and chemo-resistant abilities of ESCC cells, which could be majorly reversed by integrin β1 or YAP reconstitution. Altogether, USP10 was required for migration and cisplatin resistance in ESCC through deubiquinating and stabilizing integrin β1/YAP, highlighting that inhibition of USP10 may be a potential therapeutic strategy for ESCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first exothermic peak of cement-based material occurs a few minutes after mixing, and the properties of three dimensional (3D) printed concrete, such as setting time, are very sensitive to this. Against this background, based on the classical Park cement exothermic model of hydration, we propose and construct a numerical model of the first exothermic peak, taking into account the proportions of C3S, C3A and quicklime in particular. The calculated parameters are calibrated by means of relevant published exothermic test data. It is found that this developed model offers a good simulation of the first exothermic peak of hydration for C3S and C3A proportions from 0 to 100% of cement clinker and reflects the effect of quicklime content at 8%–10%. The unique value of this research is provision of an important computational tool for applications that are sensitive to the first exothermic peak of hydration, such as 3D printing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain metastases are the most common central nervous system malignancies in adults. The popular view is that due to the existence of the blood–brain barrier, whether there are immune cells in the central nervous system has always been controversial. Current research shows that immune cells do exist in the central nervous system and play a vital role in the occurrence and development of brain metastasis. The central nervous system has a unique immune microenvironment, and the study of its mechanism is of great significance for the prediction and treatment of brain metastases. This article aims to discuss the components of the brain tumor microenvironment (TME) and immune mechanism of tumor brain metastasis, in the hopes of making better treatment through combination therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rational design of catalysts that fine-tune/mimics the enzyme microenvironment remains the subject of supreme interest. Several strategies moving from traditional to technologically advanced methods have been proposed and deployed to develop high efficacy enzymes. There is a plethora of literature on simple enzyme immobilization through different materials as support carriers, even at the micro- and nanoscale. Regardless of extensive strategic efforts, the existing literature lacks deep insight into tailoring the microenvironment surrounding the target enzyme molecules and can sophisticatedly integrate the bio-catalysis for multipurpose applications. The ongoing advancement in the industrial sector also demands catalysts with unique features. For instance, catalytic turnover, substrate affinity, stability, specificity, selectivity, resistivity against reaction impurities or inhibitors, prevention of subunit dissociation, ease in recovery, and reusability are highly requisite features. This review spotlight state-of-the-art protein engineering approaches that facilitate the redesigning of robust catalysts or fine-tuning the catalytic microenvironment of enzymes. The entire work critically focuses on protein engineering approaches, i.e., regulating pH microenvironment, creating a water-like microenvironment, activating enzyme catalysis in organic solvents and gas phase, tuning reaction kinetics (KM and kcat), engineering substrate specificity, reaction promiscuity, computational design, and structure-guided biocatalyst engineering. This study unveils the advanced insights of enzyme microenvironment engineering, which can also be considered catalytic yield enhancement strategies to green the future bio-catalysis research for industrial bioprocesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemotherapy, all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), and arsenic are effective options for acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). We conducted a 20-year retrospective analysis of newly diagnosed (ND) APL patients treated with arsenic, ATRA and mitoxantrone. After achieving complete remission (CR), patients received 3–5 cycles of chemotherapy followed by AS4S4 maintenance for 3 years. Eighty-eight ND APL patients were treated with either oral AS4S4 (n = 42) or arsenic trioxide (ATO) (n = 46). The 8-year overall survival (OS) rate was 100% in the AS4S4 group and 90% in the ATO group. The disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 100% and 87.1% (p = 0.027), respectively. Patients in the ATO group had more side effects. A subsequent cohort of 33 ND APL patients received triple therapy with oral AS4S4, ATRA, and chemotherapy. The 13-year OS and DFS rates were 100% and 90.9%. Our long-term analyses show that APL patients with oral AS4S4 had better outcomes compared to ATO, with no need for hospitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experiment was a network pharmacology research based on the theoretical system of traditional Chinese medicine. TCMSP database, PubChem database, RCSB database, and SwissTargetPrediction database were used to study the effective chemical constituents of Ligustri lucidi Fructus and Ecliptae Herba in Erzhiwan, a traditional prescription for nourishing the liver and kidney. Then Genecards database, OMIM database, OMIM Gene Map, and Metascape database were used to study the therapeutic targets of osteoporosis. At last, Cytoscape 3.6.0 software, its built-in Bisogenet and CytoNCA, AutoDockTools-1.5.6 software, PYMOL-2.2.0 software, and Gromacs software, by drawing the relationship diagram between chemical components and disease targets, PPI network of disease, semi-flexible molecular docking technology, evaluation and analysis of enrichment pathway, and molecular dynamics simulation, were used to study the therapeutic mechanism of Erzhiwan on osteoporosis. It is found that the intervention and regulation of Erzhiwan on osteoporosis were mainly realized through multiple targets of active ingredients and multiple pathways, which provided support for the continued development of Erzhiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant height is a key morphological trait in rapeseed, which not only plays an important role in determining plant architecture, but is also an important characteristic related to yield. Presently, the improvement of plant architecture is a major challenge in rapeseed breeding. This work was carried out to identify genetic loci related to plant height in rapeseed. In this study, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of plant height was performed using a Brassica 60 K Illumina Infinium SNP array and 203 Brassica napus accessions. Eleven haplotypes containing important candidate genes were detected and significantly associated with plant height on chromosomes A02, A03, A05, A07, A08, C03, C06, and C09. Moreover, regional association analysis of 50 resequenced rapeseed inbred lines was used to further analyze these eleven haplotypes and revealed nucleotide variation in the BnFBR12-A08 and BnCCR1-C03 gene regions related to the phenotypic variation in plant height. Furthermore, coexpression network analysis showed that BnFBR12-A08 and BnCCR1-C03 were directly connected with hormone genes and transcription factors and formed a potential network regulating the plant height of rapeseed. Our results will aid in the development of haplotype functional markers to further improve plant height in rapeseed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has demonstrated striking responses among B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), but analyses of potential factors associated with poor response and relapse are lacking. Here, we summarize the long-term follow-up of 254 B-ALL treated with CD19 CAR-T cells from 5 clinical trials (NCT03173417, NCT02546739, and NCT03671460 retrospectively registered on May 23, 2017, March 1, 2018, and September 7, 2018, respectively, at www.clinicaltrials.gov; ChiCTR-ONC-17012829, and ChiCTR1800016541 retrospectively registered on September 28, 2017, and June 7, 2018, at www.chictr.org.cn). Our data showed that TP53 mutation, bone marrow blasts > 20%, prior CAR-T/blinatumomab treatment, and severe cytokine release syndrome (CRS) were associated with a lower complete remission (CR) rate while age, extramedullary disease, complex cytogenetics, history of prior transplant, prior courses of chemotherapy, CAR-T cell dose, and manufacturing source of the cellular product did not affect patients' CR rate. Risk factors related to leukemia-free survival (LFS) and overall survival (OS) were history of prior transplant, complex cytogenetics, TP53 mutation, severe CRS, neurotoxicity, and CAR-T therapy without consolidative allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Age and CAR-T cell dose did not influence LFS and OS. Patients with consolidative allo-HSCT after CAR-T therapy had a superior OS and LFS compared to those who did not. This benefit was also observed in both pediatric and adult patients as well as in patients either in high- or low-risk groups. This large study to identify risk factors of CR, LFS, and OS may help to maximize clinical outcomes of CAR-T therapy. PrécisTP53 mutation and BM blasts > 20% are two independent factors associated with the CR rate. Patients with high tumor burden as well as those with bone marrow blasts < 5% can benefit from consolidative allo-HSCT post-CAR-T therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many innate immune receptors function collaboratively to detect and elicit immune responses to pathogens, but the physical mechanisms that govern the interaction and signaling crosstalk between the receptors are unclear. In this study, we report that the signaling crosstalk between Fc gamma receptor (FcγR) and Toll-like receptor (TLR)2/1 can be overall synergistic or inhibitory depending on the spatial proximity between the receptor pair on phagosome membranes. Using a geometric manipulation strategy, we physically altered the spatial distribution of FcγR and TLR2 on single phagosomes. We demonstrate that the signaling synergy between FcγR and TLR2/1 depends on the proximity of the receptors and decreases as spatial separation between them increases. However, the inhibitory effect from FcγRIIb on TLR2-dependent signaling is always present and independent of receptor proximity. The overall cell responses are an integration from these two mechanisms. This study presents quantitative evidence that the nanoscale proximity between FcγR and TLR2 functions as a key regulatory mechanism in their signaling crosstalk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CD147 is involved in various physiological processes and plays important roles for tumor metastasis. Glycosylation of the protein determines numerous functions of CD147. Up to now, hardly any sensor has been developed for detecting glycosylation of CD147 in live cells. There is a pressing requirement of development of a selective and continuous biosensor for cell imaging. The emergence of gene-encoded fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) sensor provides a new way to develop the sensors to analysts. We designed and constructed novel gene-encoded FRET proteins sensing glycosylation of CD147 by measuring FRET ratio of two intermolecular motifs. With the decrease of CD147 glycosylation level in cells, the FRET ratio increased significantly. The specificity of the sensor targeting to CD147 was also determined by siRNA interference experiment. Finally, continuous living cell image of deglycosylation process of CD147 using the newly developed sensor has been performed successfully. The work not only provides useful tools for analyzing glycosylation of CD147 in living cells, but also implicates alternative strategy for detecting other glycosylated proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellulose sulfates (CS) with low degree of substitution (DS) and high degree of polymerization (DP) were prepared via a controlled sulfation modification. The obtained CS with DS 0.42 and DP 293 showed an enhanced solubility of 14.7 g/100 g in the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (EMIMAc) compared to unmodified cellulose. The rheological study revealed that the CS/EMIMAc solution behaved as polymers in a θ solvent with the unique three-region flow curves under shear stress. It also showed a property of typical polyelectrolyte solution with the overlap concentration (c*) of 0.2 wt% and the entanglement concentration (ce) of 3.0 wt%, respectively. The CS/EMIMAc solution with a concentration of 5 wt% was selected to develop polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) with chitosan using extrusion-spherization and emulsification-solvent evaporation. The produced PEC beads and magnetic microspheres had an average size of 1.0 mm and 22.1 µm, respectively. The PEC microspheres showed greater absorption capability for bovine serum albumin than the beads with the maximum adsorption value of 780 mg/g. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although live attenuated vaccines (LAVs) have been effective in the control of flavivirus infections, to date they have been excluded from Zika virus (ZIKV) vaccine trials due to safety concerns. We have previously reported two ZIKV mutants, each of which has a single substitution in either envelope (E) glycosylation or nonstructural (NS) 4B P36 and displays a modest reduction in mouse neurovirulence and neuroinvasiveness, respectively. Here, we generated a ZIKV mutant, ZE4B-36, which combines mutations in both E glycosylation and NS4B P36. The ZE4B-36 mutant is stable and attenuated in viral replication. Next-generation sequence analysis showed that the attenuating mutations in the E and NS4B proteins are retained during serial cell culture passages. The mutant exhibits a significant reduction in neuroinvasiveness and neurovirulence and low infectivity in mosquitoes. It induces robust ZIKV-specific memory B cell, antibody, and T cell-mediated immune responses in type I interferon receptor (IFNR) deficient mice. ZIKV-specific T cell immunity remains strong months post-vaccination in wild-type C57BL/6 (B6) mice. Vaccination with ZE4B-36 protects mice from ZIKV-induced diseases and vertical transmission. Our results suggest that combination mutations in E glycosylation and NS4B P36 contribute to a candidate LAV with significantly increased safety but retain strong immunogenicity for prevention and control of ZIKV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a lithium battery, a second-order equivalent circuit model is adopted by studying the battery characteristic, and a state space equation with state of charge (SOC) being one state is constructed. To promote the SOC estimation precision of the extended Kalman filter (EKF) method for a lithium battery, this paper explores a multi-innovation extended Kalman filter (MI-EKF) algorithm to estimate the battery SOC by expanding a single innovation at current instant to multi-innovations containing information from current and previous instants. The aim is to increase the amount of information, and to get the more accurate estimated SOC. In addition, based on the battery difference equation, a stochastic gradient algorithm with a forgetting factor (FFSG) is used to identify the battery parameters. Finally, a lithium battery test bench is set up to sample charge-discharge data and to implement MATLAB simulation experiment; the experiment results confirm that the MI-EKF algorithm can accurately and effectively estimate the battery SOC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking 1,4-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid (1,4-ND), 2,3-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid (2,3-ND) and tetrabutyl ammonium hydroxide (N4444OH), tetrabutyl phosphonium hydroxide (P4444OH) as raw materials, water-based lubricant additives tetrabutyl ammonium 1,4-naphthalene dicarboxylate (1,4-NDN4444), tetrabutyl phosphonium 1,4-naphthalene dicarboxylate (1,4-NDP4444), tetrabutyl ammonium 2,3-naphthalene dicarboxylate (2,3-NDN4444), and tetrabutyl phosphonium 2,3-naphthalene dicarboxylate (2,3-NDP4444) were prepared in aqueous solution. The additives are not only simple to prepare, but also have good solubility in water. More importantly, they can significantly improve the friction reducing and anti-wear performances of water. On account of the mechanism analysis, it is estimated that the introduction of aromatic ring and more carboxyl groups to the additives play an important role for them to form stable lubrication protective films during the friction process and then to achieve excellent lubrication performance on steel/steel, copper/steel, and aluminum/steel friction pairs. Remarkably, the performances of 2,3-NDN4444 and 2,3-NDP4444 are superior to those of 1,4-NDN4444 and 1,4-NDP4444, which is ascribed to their stronger adsorption on the metal surfaces contributed by the two adsorption targets (two –COO− groups). For 1,4-NDN4444 and 1,4-NDP4444, there is only one –COO− group that can be simultaneously adsorbed on the metal surfaces from the perspective of space configuration. It weakens the adsorption and decreases the effectiveness of the lubrication protective films resulting in the reduced friction reducing and anti-wear properties of 1,4-NDN4444 and 1,4-NDP4444. Water-based lubricant additives tetrabutyl ammonium 1,4-naphthalene dicarboxylate (1,4-NDN4444), tetrabutyl phosphonium 1,4-naphthalene dicarboxylate (1,4-NDP4444), tetrabutyl ammonium 2,3-naphthalene dicarboxylate (2,3-NDN4444) and tetrabutyl phosphonium 2,3-naphthalene dicarboxylate (2,3-NDP4444) were prepared in aqueous solution. The additives are not only simple to prepare, but also have good solubility in water. More importantly, they can significantly improve the friction reducing and anti-wear performances of water. Evolution of the friction coefficients (a) and wear volume losses (b) for different samples on steel/steel friction pairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the strategic management and organizational ambidexterity literature, this study develops an ambidexterity perspective on firms' hybrid strategies that emphasizes both low-cost and CSR-based differentiations (i.e., hybrids of low cost and CSR strategies), and distinguishes between the balance and combined dimensions of hybrid strategies to investigate their differential influence on firm performance. By taking a contingency perspective, this study further identifies competitive intensity and government pressure as two important moderators in firms' market and political environments. Based on an empirical examination of 171 listed firms in China using both first-hand survey data and secondary data, both dimensions of hybrid strategies are found to be positively related to firm performance. And the effects of these two dimensions are differentially moderated by competitive intensity and government pressure. These findings provide important implications for both research and the practice of strategic management and organizational ambidexterity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge. var. mongholicus (Bge.) Hsiao is a traditional medicinal herb of Leguminosae since it contains bioactive compounds such as flavonoids, which have significant pharmacological effects on immunity and antioxidant. However, the scanty genomic and transcriptome resources of Astragalus membranaceus have hindered further exploration of its biosynthesis and accumulation mechanism. Objective: This project aim to further improve our understanding of the relationship between transcriptional behavior and flavonoids content of A. mongholicus. Methods: The accumulation of flavonoids and related gene expression in five different developmental stages (A: vegetative, B: florescence, C: fruiting, D: fruit ripening and E: defoliating stages) of A. mongholicus root were studied by combining UV spectrophotometry and transcriptomic techniques. The de novo assembly, annotation and functional evaluation of the contigs were performed with bioinformatics tools. Results: After screening and assembling the raw data, there were a total of 158,123 unigenes with an average length of 644.89 bp were finally obtained, which has 8362 unigenes could be jointly annotated by NR, SwissProt, eggNOG, GO, KEGG and Pfam databases. KEGG enrichment analysis was performed on differentially expressed genes(DEGs)in the four groups (A vs. B, B vs. C, C vs. D, D vs. E). The results showed that many DEGs in each group were significantly enriched to flavonoids biosynthesis related pathways. Among them, a number of 86 were involved in the biosynthesis of isoflavonoid (12), flavonoid (5) and phenylpropanoid (69). Further analysis of these DEGs revealed that the expression levels of key genes such as PAL, 4CL, CCR, COMT, DFR, etc. were all down-regulated at the fruiting stage, and then raised at the fruit ripening stage. This expression pattern was similar to the accumulation trend of total flavonoids content. Conclusions: In summary, this comprehensive transcriptome dataset allowed the identification of genes associated with flavonoids metabolic pathways. The results laid a foundation for the biosynthesis and regulation of flavonoids. It also provided a scientific basis for the most suitable harvest time and resource utilization of A. mongholicus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hermyingyi W-Sn deposit, situated in southern Myanmar, SE Asia, is a typical quartz-vein type W-Sn deposit. The ore-bearing quartz veins are mainly hosted by the Hermyingyi monzogranite which intruded into the Carboniferous metasedimentary rocks of Mergui Series. According to mineral assemblages and crosscutting relationships, four ore-forming stages are recognized: (1) silicate-oxide stage; (2) quartz-sulfide stage; (3) barren quartz vein stage; (4) supergene stage. Five molybdenite samples from the deposit yield Re-Os model ages ranging from 67.8±1.6 to 69.2±1.6 Ma (weighted mean age of 68.7±1.2 Ma), and a well-defined isochron age of 68.4±2.5 Ma (MSWD=0.18, 2σ). This Re-Os age is consistent with the previously published zircon U-Pb age of the Hermyingyi monzogranite (70.0±0.4 Ma) (MSWD=0.9, 2σ) within errors, which indicates a genetic link between the monzogranitic magmatism and W-Sn mineralization. The new high-precision geochronological data reveal that the granitic magmatism and associated W-Sn mineralization in southern Myanmar took place during the Late Cretaceous (70-68 Ma). The extremely low Re contents (22.9 ppb to 299 ppb) in molybdenite, coupled with sulfide δ34S values in the range of +1.9‰ to +5.6‰ suggest that ore-forming metals were predominately sourced from the crustal-derived granitic magma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stormwater treatment requires effective control measures and development of low-cost and high-efficiency technologies. An integrated system is developed by combining a baffled vertical-flow constructed wetland (BVFCW) and a scenic water body for stormwater quality control purpose. The objectives of the study are to compare the pollutant removal performance of the full-scale integrated system with four groups of wetland-to-scenic water body area ratios (WSARs) including 1/11, 2/11, 3/11, 4/11 and investigate its treatment efficiency. Results show that the system performs better in the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N), nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N), and total phosphorus (TP) at the WSAR of 4/11 than that at 3/11 in sixteen-day operation, while it reaches the highest total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency of 74.0% at the WSAR of 2/11 due to relatively rich carbon source and high influent TN concentration. The integrated system may prove the most effective COD removal at the WSAR of 4/11 for four-time aerobic/anaerobic alternating conditions, a longer flow path and more time to contact with substrates, although the influent COD is lower than that at 2/11 and 1/11. After sixteen-day operation, BVFCW achieved COD removal rate of 90.3%, NH4+-N removal rate of 85.7%, NO3-N removal rate of 68.6%, and TP removal rate of 52.5% at the WSAR of 4/11. At the WSAR of 1/11, effluent met the Class IV requirements in Chinese standards after one-week operation, while effluent met the Class III requirements under the rest conditions. Since effluent in all WSARs met the standards, WSARs of 1/11 and 2/11 were recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using four Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) pairs as the pre-shared quantum channel, an economic and feasible scheme for deterministic joint remote preparation of the four-particle cluster-type state is presented. In the scheme, one of the senders performs a four-qubit projective measurement based on a set of ingeniously constructed vectors with real coefficients, while the other performs the bipartite projective measurements in terms of the imaginary coefficients. Followed with some appropriate unitary operations and controlled-NOT operations, the receiver can reconstruct the desired state. Compared with other analogous JRSP schemes, our scheme can not only reconstruct the original state (to be prepared remotely) with unit successful probability, but also ensure greater efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been investigated to conduct the surface displaying of lipase from Rhizopus oryzae onto the cells of Pichia pastoris yeast using Sed1p as an anchor protein. A yeast cell surface display plasmid pPICZαA- rol- histag- sed1p was constructed by fusing rol and sed1p gene fragments into the plasmid pPICZαA, followed by introducing recombinant plasmid into P. pastoris cells. Surface display levels were monitored by Western Blot and immunofluorescence microscopy. The activity of displaying lipase obtained from recombinant mutS reached at 60 U/g-dry cell. In addition, the displaying lipase was stable in broad ranges of temperatures and pH, with the optimum temperature at 40 °C and pH 7.5. These results indicate that the P. pastoris displaying lipase may have potential in whole-cell biocatalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Male infertility, which amounts to half of all infertility cases, is a serious problem worldwide. The percentage of fertility-related patients in sub-Saharan African countries is higher than that for the developed countries. In low-resource countries, examination of sperm characteristics for male infertility cannot be undertaken because of poor clinical access. To evaluate male fertility in assisted reproductive medicine laboratories, the numbers of motile human sperm, the degree of sperm motility, and sperm morphology have been commonly analyzed using a microscope. It is challenging to monitor the health status of human sperm in resource-limited or remote settings for two primary reasons: (1) high capital cost (equipment for currently accepted procedural standard), and (2) complexity of the currently accepted procedural standard used to simultaneously measure human sperm concentration and motility by skillful embryologists. Determining the health status of human sperm in order to evaluate fertilization capacity using various types of low-cost, easy-to-use, and rapid devices (or systems) is a longstanding but interesting biotechnologically relevant issue in various scientific communities such as male reproduction. Furthering such efforts will inherently influence birth rate in both developed and developing nations. We have demonstrated an inexpensive but robust and easy-to-handle device for monitoring the health status of human sperm made by patterning a piece of paper and measuring the activity of a specific enzyme-a simple and elegant solution. After applying semen to the hydrophilic center circle of our patterned paper, a thiazine assay can be used to suggest sperm concentration in semen, and a tetrazolium-based colorimetric assay (MTT assay) data can be used to help estimate the percentage of motile human sperm (sperm motility) in semen based on the character that motile human sperm moved in and on the paper. Using this paper-based device, we can evaluate fertility levels without consulting doctors and use our assay to compare results with World Health Organization (WHO) reference values for sperm concentration (>2×10) and motility (>50 %). The duration and cost of one entire test are 30 min and 0.1 USD, respectively. We believe that this paper-based assay system would be useful for fertility checks based on WHO references, without need of a microscope, at home. Using this assay method, males in developed or developing countries who are reluctant or unable to consult assisted reproductive technologies clinics can self-analyze their sperm characteristics. We further note that our approach adheres to WHO regulations, especially in regard to in vitro diagnostic device performance with an associated diagnostic algorithm to enhance diagnostic accuracy (compared with just one diagnostic output), and we wish to emphasize that our research could significantly advance a broad range of diagnostic developments including paper-based diagnostic devices, in vitro diagnostic devices, and diagnosis of other diseases in various divisions of translational medicine. These results, we believe, will be of interest to a wide scientific audience working in materials science (biomaterials), chemistry (analytical and clinical), lab-on-a-chip technologies (the development of diagnostic tools), reproductive medicine, bioengineering, and translational medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Any tidal defense engineering involves the collection and analysis of massive information about engineering structures and their surrounding environment. Traditional method, which is carried out mainly by means of two-dimensional drawings and textures, is not efficient and intuitive enough to analyze the whole project and reflect its spatial relationship. Three-dimensional visual simulation provides an advanced technical means of solving this problem. In this paper, triangular irregular network (TIN) model simplified by non-uniform rational B-splines (NURBS) technique was used to establish the digital terrain model (DTM) of a super large region. Simulation of dynamic water surface was realized by combining noise function with sine wave superposition method. Models of different objects were established with different modeling techniques according to their characteristics. Application of texture mapping technology remarkably improved the authenticity of the models. Taking the tidal defense engineering in the new coastal region of Tianjin as a case study, three-dimensional visual simulation and dynamic roaming of the study area were realized, providing visual analysis and visible demonstration method for the management and emergency decision-making associated with construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is difficult to analyze the inter-relationship for the construction layout of a reservoir project scientifically and intuitively. According to the characteristics of broad field and huge information, the modeling methods of digital terrain and solid model as well as the techniques of texture mapping and scene navigation are adopted. The simulation system is developed by C program language, which includes the functions of the interactive navigation of 3D scene, the visual inquiry of project digital model information, the storage and management of project information. A certain reservoir is taken as a case. The 3D visual analysis for the construction layout and engineering information are obtained. The proposed system is of great advantages in dealing with large amount of information and the method provides a theoretical basis and technical support for the construction layout of a reservoir project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on various findings relating to ophiolite. It states that ophiolites are fragments of oceanic lithosphere formed by obduction and its formation age, and is significant for reconstructing the formation and evolution of ancient oceanic basin and the configuration of ancient plate tectonics. The section offers several reports with regards to ophiolite, under the following headings: samples and analytical methods, results, and discussion.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LRIG1 has been reported to be a tumor suppressor in gastrointestinal tract and epidermis. However, little is known about the expression, regulation and biological functions of LRIG1 in prostate cancer (PCa). We find that LRIG1 is overexpressed in PCa, but its expression correlates with better patient survival. Functional studies reveal strong tumor-suppressive functions of LRIG1 in both AR+ and AR− xenograft models, and transgenic expression of LRIG1 inhibits tumor development in Hi-Myc and TRAMP models. LRIG1 also inhibits castration-resistant PCa and exhibits therapeutic efficacy in pre-established tumors. We further show that 1) AR directly transactivates LRIG1 through binding to several AR-binding sites in LRIG1 locus, and 2) LRIG1 dampens ERBB expression in a cell type-dependent manner and inhibits ERBB2-driven tumor growth. Collectively, our study indicates that LRIG1 represents a pleiotropic AR-regulated feedback tumor suppressor that functions to restrict oncogenic signaling from AR, Myc, ERBBs, and, likely, other oncogenic drivers. LRIG1 is a tumour suppressor in several cancers. Here, the authors show that androgen receptor directly transactivates LRIG1 which then antagonises ERBB signalling and c-Myc expression to inhibit prostate tumorigenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing plant density is one of the most efficient ways of increasing wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grain production. However, overly dense plant populations have an increased risk of lodging. We examined lignin deposition during wheat stem development and the regulatory effects of plant density using the wheat cultivars shannong23 and weimai8. Plants were cultivated at densities of 75, 225 and 375 plants per m2 during two growing seasons. Our results showed that decreasing plant density enhanced culm quality, as revealed by increased culm diameter, wall thickness and dry weight per unit length, and improved the structure of sclerenchyma and vascular bundles by increasing lignification. In addition, more lignins were deposited in the secondary cell walls, resulting in strong lodging resistance. The guaiacyl unit was the major component of lignin and there was a higher content of the syringyl unit than that of the hydroxybenzyl unit. Furthermore, we hypothesised that the syringyl unit may correlate with stem stiffness. We describe here, to the best of our knowledge, the systematic study of the mechanism involved in the regulation of stem breaking strength by plant density, particularly the effect of plant density on lignin biosynthesis and its relationship with lodging resistance in wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our previous study, the three-dimensional graphene-modified PbO 2 (3DG-PbO 2 ) anode was prepared for the effective degradation of perfluorooctanesulfonat (PFOS) by the electrochemical oxidation process. However, the mineralization efficiency of PFOS at the 3DG-PbO 2 anode still needs to be further improved due to the recalcitrance of PFOS. Thus, in this study, the yttrium (Y) was doped into the 3DG-PbO 2 film to further improve the electrochemical activity of the PbO 2 anode. To optimize the doping amount of Y, three Y and 3DG codoped PbO 2 anodes were fabricated with different Y 3+ concentrations of 5, 15, and 30 mM in the electroplating solution, which were named Y/3DG-PbO 2 -5, Y/3DG-PbO 2 -15 and Y/3DG-PbO 2 -30, respectively. The results of morphological, structural, and electrochemical characterization revealed that doping Y into the 3DG-PbO 2 anode further refined the β-PbO 2 crystals, increased the oxygen evolution overpotential and active sites, and reduced the electron transfer resistance, resulting in a superior electrocatalytic activity. Among all the prepared anodes, the Y/3DG-PbO 2 -15 anode exhibited the best activity for electrochemical oxidation of PFOS. After 120 min of electrolysis, the TOC removal efficiency was 80.89% with Y/3DG-PbO 2 -15 anode, greatly higher than 69.13% with 3DG-PbO 2 anode. In addition, the effect of operating parameters on PFOS removal was analyzed by response surface, and the obtained optimum values of current density, initial PFOS concentration, pH, and Na 2 SO 4 concentration were 50 mA/cm 2 , 12.21 mg/L, 5.39, and 0.01 M, respectively. Under the optimal conditions, the PFOS removal efficiency reached up to 97.16% after 40 min of electrolysis. The results of the present study confirmed that the Y/3DG-PbO 2 was a promising anode for electrocatalytic oxidation of persistent organic pollutants., (© 2023. The Author(s).)