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Due to the excessive exploitation of traditional energy sources, the attention paid to water energy has increased in recent years. As an important means to effectively utilize water energy, reservoirs play an important role in drinking water, irrigation, flood control, and drought resistance. However, utilizing reservoirs often led to water quality issues resulting from the interaction of nutrients and hydrological conditions, especially due to the special structure of karst areas. Because of the change of hydrological conditions by the effect of dam construction, the dynamic of water quality will be more obvious in karst areas with a fast exchange of water and contaminants between underground and surface streams. In the present study, the change in water quality of a karst reservoir, the Muzhu Reservoir in the Houzhai Catchment, was studied. Long-term monitored datasets (1981-2002) and water quality datasets of more recent years were used to assess the effect on the water quality of reservoir expansion from the underground reservoir to the surface reservoir in a karst area. Long-term series datasets had shown that the hydro-chemistry type had been changed from HCO

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) colorimetric assays based on distance-dependent optical characteristics have been widely employed for bioanalysis. However, this assay is not effective for visually detecting low-concentration targets due to the faint color change. Here, we developed a handheld nano-centrifugal device which could separate the crosslinked and non-crosslinked AuNPs. Results showed that the handheld nano-centrifugal device could easily reach more than 6000 r/min within 10 s simply by stretching and tightening the coiled rope in an appropriate rhythm. Further, combined with the CRISPR/Cas12a nucleic acids recognition system, a field-deployable colorimetric platform termed handheld nano-centrifugal device assisted CRISPR/Cas12a (Hand-CRISPR) has been validated. Moreover, clinical diagnostics applications for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) detection with high sensitivity and accuracy (100% consistency with reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) test results) have been demonstrated. Overall, the Hand-CRISPR platform showed great promise in point-of-care-test (POCT) application, expected to become a powerful supplement to the standard nucleic acid testing method in remote or poverty-stricken areas.The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41664-022-00232-0.

Adiponectin, an adipokine secreted by adipocytes, has anti-atherosclerotic and antithrombotic activities. AdipoRon is synthetic small molecule adiponectin receptor agonist. In this study, we investigated the effect of AdipoRon on platelet activation and thrombus formation. Washed human platelets were prepared from the peripheral blood of healthy donors. In a series of in vitro platelet functional assays, pre-treatment with AdipoRon (10, 20, 40 µg/mL) dose-dependently inhibited the aggregation, granule secretion and spreading of washed human platelets. We showed that AdipoRon (20, 40 µg/mL) significantly inhibited AMPK, Syk, PLCγ2, PI3K, Akt, p38-MAPK and ERK1/2 signalling pathways in washed human platelets. In addition, we demonstrated that the phosphorylation of CKII at Tyr255 was an important mechanism of the integrin αIIbβ3-mediated platelet activation. Meanwhile, AdipoR1 deficiency impaired the inhibitory effect of AdipoRon on mouse platelets. In ferric chloride-induced carotid injury model, injection of AdipoRon (5 or 12.5 mg/kg, iv) significantly attenuated arterial thrombosis. In conclusion, AdipoRon attenuates platelet function via the AdipoR1/AMPK/CKII/PI3K/AKT signalling pathways, while exerting a protective effect against arterial thrombosis. This study offers new insights into the fields of cardiovascular disease and antiplatelet drug discovery.Schematic model of AdipoRon regulating platelet activation. (BioRender.com).

Triploids are rare in nature because of difficulties in meiotic and gametogenic processes, especially in vertebrates. The Carassius complex of cyprinid teleosts contains sexual tetraploid crucian carp/goldfish (C. auratus) and unisexual hexaploid gibel carp/Prussian carp (C. gibelio) lineages, providing a valuable model for studying the evolution and maintenance mechanism of unisexual polyploids in vertebrates. Here we sequence the genomes of the two species and assemble their haplotypes, which contain two subgenomes (A and B), to the chromosome level. Sequencing coverage analysis reveals that C. gibelio is an amphitriploid (AAABBB) with two triploid sets of chromosomes; each set is derived from a different ancestor. Resequencing data from different strains of C. gibelio show that unisexual reproduction has been maintained for over 0.82 million years. Comparative genomics show intensive expansion and alterations of meiotic cell cycle-related genes and an oocyte-specific histone variant. Cytological assays indicate that C. gibelio produces unreduced oocytes by an alternative ameiotic pathway; however, sporadic homologous recombination and a high rate of gene conversion also exist in C. gibelio. These genomic changes might have facilitated purging deleterious mutations and maintaining genome stability in this unisexual amphitriploid fish. Overall, the current results provide novel insights into the evolutionary mechanisms of the reproductive success in unisexual polyploid vertebrates.

Charged lepton flavor violation (CLFV) represents a transition between charged leptons of different generations that violates lepton flavor conservation, which is a clear signature of possible new physics beyond the standard model. By exploiting a typical example model of extra Z$^{\prime}$ gauge boson, we perform a detailed comparative study on CLFV searches at several future lepton colliders, including a 240 GeV electron-positron collider and a TeV scale muon collider. Based on detailed signal and background Monte-Carlo studies with fast detector simulations, we derive the potentials in searching for Z$^{\prime}$ mediated CLFV couplings with $e\mu$, $e\tau$ and $\mu\tau$ of different future colliders. The results are compared with the current limits set by either low-energy experiments or the high-energy LHC experiments. We find that the sensitivity of the $\tau$ related CLFV coupling strength at future lepton colliders will be significantly improved comparing with the current best constraints., Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures

The ability to quantify structural changes of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is crucial for understanding the structure and function of this organelle. However, the rapid movement and complex topology of ER networks make this challenging. Here, we construct a state-of-the-art semantic segmentation method that we call ERnet for the automatic classification of sheet and tubular ER domains inside individual cells. Data are skeletonized and represented by connectivity graphs, enabling precise and efficient quantification of network connectivity. ERnet generates metrics on topology and integrity of ER structures and quantifies structural change in response to genetic or metabolic manipulation. We validate ERnet using data obtained by various ER-imaging methods from different cell types as well as ground truth images of synthetic ER structures. ERnet can be deployed in an automatic high-throughput and unbiased fashion and identifies subtle changes in ER phenotypes that may inform on disease progression and response to therapy.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are an emerging type of crystalline and porous photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution, however, the overall water splitting activity of COFs is rarely known. In this work, we firstly realized overall water splitting activity of β-ketoamine COFs by systematically engineering N-sites, architecture, and morphology. By in situ incorporating sub-nanometer platinum (Pt) nanoparticles co-catalyst into the pores of COFs nanosheets, both Pt@TpBpy-NS and Pt@TpBpy-2-NS show visible-light-driven overall water splitting activity, with the optimal H2 and O2 evolution activities of 9.9 and 4.8 μmol in 5 h for Pt@TpBpy-NS, respectively, and a maximum solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 0.23%. The crucial factors affecting the activity including N-sites position, nano morphology, and co-catalyst distribution were systematically explored. Further mechanism investigation reveals the tiny diversity of N sites in COFs that induces great differences in electron transfer as well as reaction potential barriers.

The annual failure probability of a slope is an important input for the risk assessment of rainfall-induced landslides. Currently, the annual probability of slope failure under rainfall conditions is usually estimated through statistical analyses of historical landslide events in a region, which cannot consider the local conditions such as soil properties and the slope geometry. In this study, a mechanics-based method is suggested to evaluate the annual failure probability of a slope under rainfall, through which the local conditions of a slope can be explicitly considered. In the suggested method, the uncertainty of soil properties is analyzed based on reliability methods, the uncertainty of annual rainfall events is modeled through a bivariate distribution of intensity and duration, and the most critical annual rainfall is simulated through sampling from the above bivariate distribution. The suggested method is used to study the annual failure probability of a slope assuming it is in Singapore. Through the suggested method, the contributions from different types of rainfalls to the annual failure probability of the slope can also be identified. The suggested method can provide a useful tool to evaluate the annual failure probability of slopes under rainfall conditions, which may increase the capability of the profession to assess the rainfall-induced landslide risk.

Landslides along highways not only induce direct losses related to cost of replacement, repair or maintenance due to physical damage, but also induce indirect losses due to reduction in production in different sectors in an economic system. In this study, a method is suggested to assess the indirect losses of landslides along highways, where the impact of landslides on the transportation network is evaluated through the gravity model, and the output losses of different sectors are computed based on the dynamic input–output model. The suggested method is used to assess the indirect losses of landslides that occur along highways related to Yingxiu Town, Sichuan Province, China, which is the epicenter of the 2008 great Wenchuan earthquake. It is found that the impact of a landslide hazard on different sectors is not the same depending on their dependence relationship with the transportation sector. The indirect losses of a landslide increase as the repair time increases and decrease as the transportation network becomes more robust. Also, the location of a landslide will affect the caused indirect losses, and the indirect losses will increase as the transportation network is attacked by more landslides. The suggested method provides a useful instrument for estimating the indirect losses of landslides along highways, which were seldom addressed in previous studies.

Soil health is a key factor for the global food security. One of the main bottlenecks for the efficient utilization of farmland soil is the accumulation of allelochemicals excreted by plant roots, leached and volatilized from plants, and released during the decomposition of plant residues. The negative impacts derived from allelochemicals include: decreasing soil fertility, breaking the balance of soil microbial community, reducing seed germination rate and crop yield, and interfering with the growth of neighboring or successive plants. Recently, biochar, a soil amendment with low cost and high performance, is extensively studied on its functions and effects on farmland systems. In this review, we focused on the potential role of biochar in controlling the environmental fate and risk of allelochemicals in soils. The source and potential toxicity of allelochemicals in farmland and the deficiencies in current methods for alleviating the allelopathy were summarized first, followed by the discussion on their sorption and degradation by biochar as well as the impact of biochar properties on the performance and mechanism. At the same time, the generation of allelochemicals regulated by biochar through improving plant growth conditions was analyzed. The modification of biochar for alleviating the allelopathy and then overcoming the obstacles of agricultural production was also addressed. Future research directions, such as targeted biochar production, the interactions between different allelochemicals and biochar investigated by simulations and modeling, negative effects and stability of biochar or modified biochar, were then proposed. This review will provide useful theoretical and technical supports for targeted biochar applications in soils with allelopathy. Graphical abstract

Stroke is the leading cause of death and adult disability worldwide. Mitochondrial dysfunction is one of the hallmarks of stroke-induced neuronal death, and maintaining mitochondrial function is essential in cell survival and neurological progress following ischemic stroke. Stem cell-mediated mitochondrial transfer represents an emerging therapeutic approach for ischemic stroke. Accumulating evidence suggests that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can directly transfer healthy mitochondria to damaged cells, and rescue mitochondrial damage-provoked tissue degeneration. This review summarizes the research on MSCs-mediated mitochondrial transfer as a therapeutic strategy against ischemic stroke.

Ischemic stroke is one of the leading causes of death and long-term disability worldwide. As an important class of pervasive genes involved in many pathophysiological processes of ischemic stroke, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have received attention in the past decades. ncRNAs are a class of functional RNAs that regulate gene expression in a post-transcriptional manner, and including microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and circular RNAs. Several studies have deciphered that ncRNAs have a key role in the ischemic stroke-induced neuroinflammation and cell death via different molecules and pathways. Thus, ncRNAs show great promise as novel molecular targets in ischemic stroke. In this article, we provide an updated review of the current state of our knowledge about the roles of different types of ncRNAs in neuroinflammation and cell death following ischemic stroke, which may facilitate the translation of ncRNAs research into clinical practice to improve the clinical outcome of stroke therapy.

As a common type of joint used in spatial grid structures, the tensile performance of bolt-sphere joints directly affects the safety of the spatial grid structure under fire. To study the tensile properties of the bolts in sphere joints under fire, the four sets of 36 bolt-sphere joints consist of M20, M24, M30, and M36 high-strength bolts were conducted in elevated temperature by steady-state test. Therefore, the tensile bearing capacity of the bolt-sphere joint was obtained under different elevated temperatures. Experimental results show the destroyed section of the bolt-sphere joint that occurs in the thread of the high-strength bolt at the intersection of the sphere because of the maximum concentration of stresses that occurred in areas of destruction. The brittle fracture of bolt-sphere joints happened when the temperature is below 400 ℃. As the temperature increased, the neck shrinkage of the damaged section of the bolt becomes more apparent, and the ductile failure of the bolt-sphere joint occurred. The stiffness and the bearing capacity of bolt-sphere joints decreased gradually as the temperature rose. Conversely, the ductility was gradually increasing. When the temperature was greater than 300 ℃, the stiffness and the bearing capacity of the bolts in sphere joint decreased rapidly. The bearing capacity reduction coefficient of the high-strength bolts with different diameters were next to the same at elevated temperatures. According to the experimental data, the formulas of the tensile bearing capacity reduction coefficient of bolt-sphere joints were obtained.

Background Synapses can adapt to changes in the intracerebral microenvironment by regulation of presynaptic neurotransmitter release and postsynaptic neurotransmitter receptor expression following hypoxic ischemia (HI) injury. The peptide neurotransmitter N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG) exerts a protective effect on neurons after HI and may be involved in maintaining the function of synaptic networks. In this study, we investigated the changes in the expression of NAAG, glutamic acid (Glu) and metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs), as well as the dynamic regulation of neurotransmitters in the brain after HI, and assessed their effects on synaptic plasticity of the cerebral cortex. Methods Thirty-six Yorkshire newborn pigs (3-day-old, males, 1.0–1.5 kg) were selected and randomly divided into normal saline (NS) group (n = 18) and glutamate carboxypeptidase II inhibition group (n = 18), both groups were divided into control group, 0–6 h, 6–12 h, 12–24 h, 24–48 h and 48–72 h groups (all n = 3) according to different post-HI time. The content of Glu and NAAG after HI injury were detected by 1H-MRS scanning, immunofluorescence staining of mGluRs, synaptophysin (syph) along with postsynaptic density protein-95 (PSD95) and transmission electron microscopy were performed. ANOVA, Tukey and LSD test were used to compare the differences in metabolite and protein expression levels among subgroups. Correlation analysis was performed using Pearson analysis with a significance level of α = 0.05. Results We observed that the NAAG and mGluR3 expression levels in the brain increased and then decreased after HI and was significantly higher in the 12–24 h (P P = 0.027) and r = 0.477 (P = 0.045), respectively. NAAG content was significantly and positively correlated with the level of mGluR3 expression (r = 0.472, P = 0.048). When hydrolysis of NAAG was inhibited, the expression of synaptic protein PSD95 and syph decreased significantly. Conclusions After 12–24 h of HI injury, there was a one-time elevation in NAAG levels, which was consistent with the corresponding mGluR3 receptor expression trend; the NAAG maintains cortical synaptic plasticity and neurotransmitter homeostasis by inhibiting presynaptic glutamate vesicle release, regulating postsynaptic density proteins and postsynaptic receptor expression after pathway activation.