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Compared with traditional dressings, sprayable hydrogels can be easily applied to uneven mass wounds, limiting direct contact with the wound or hand and preventing wound damage during treatment. Many biocompatible materials have been synthesized and modified through multiple steps to obtain the necessary easy-spraying and rapid-gelling performance; however, these new materials increase the complications of clinical transformation. Therefore, designing a simple and universal primary dressing is of particular significance. Here, we prepared a dressing based on the clinically-permitted sodium alginate (SA) because of its pros, such as cost-effectiveness, facile gelation, and drug loading. We further designed a more convenient and simpler process to facilitate on-site or daily care applications. Furthermore, because reactive oxygen species are a significant cause of inflammation during wound healing, antioxidation should be considered a fundamental property in the design; this was achieved using alpha-lipoic acid (LA). The basic LA/SA hydrogel exhibited facile and rapid gelation, suitable cooling performance, water retention, and good antioxidant properties. In addition, we simulated two states of cellular senescence, revealing that the cells treated with the LA/SA dressings recovered close to normal cells, showing excellent anti-aging property of the hydrogel. Thus, easily fabricated LA/SA dressing has great potential for practical applications in laser treatment, burn therapy, cooling fabrics, heat-protective clothing, and other emergency scenarios. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic wound unhealing is a common complication in diabetic patients, which is mainly caused by tissue hypoxia, slow vascular recovery, and a long period of inflammation. Here we present a sprayable alginate hydrogel (SA) dressing consisting of oxygen-productive (CP) microspheres and exosomes (EXO) to promote local oxygen generation, accelerate macrophage towards M2 polarization, and improve cell proliferation in diabetic wounds. Results show that the release of oxygen continues for up to 7 days, reducing the expression of hypoxic factors in fibroblasts. In vivo, the diabetic wounds experiment showed that the CP/EXO/SA dressing apparently accelerated full-thickness wound healing characteristics such as the promotion of wound healing efficiency, rapid re-epithelization, favorable collagen deposition, abundant angiogenesis at the wound beds, and shortened inflammation period. EXO synergistic oxygen (CP/EXO/SA) dressing suggests a promising treatment measure for diabetic wounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the OTI (overall textile industry) energy efficiency gap between China and the US and measures the longitudinal changes in OTI energy efficiency over time. A breadthwise comparison of the energy efficiency among OTI subsectors indicates that the CFI (chemical fiber industry) is the key subsector for improving energy efficiency. This study conducts a quantitative analysis of the influencing factors of energy efficiency of the CFI in China. The energy efficiency of the CFI in Fujian and its influencing factors are compared with that of the national level. Results indicate that the main factors influencing the energy efficiency of CFI in China include economic structure, energy structure, industry scale, and technology, whereas industry concentration has no significant effect. Economic indicators show that the energy efficiency of Fujian's CFI has continued to improve yearly, and is currently above the national average. The low proportion of state-owned and state holding enterprises value, low proportion of coal consumption in the energy structure, industrial scale with a majority of medium- and large-sized enterprises, and advanced technology level are the main reasons for the success of Fujian's CFI. Finally, this study proposes several feasible policies that could be adopted by the authorities concerned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An improved method of Fission Track technique combined with Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (FT-TIMS) was established in order to determine isotope ratio of uranium-bearing particle. Working standard of uranium oxide particles with a defined diameter and isotopic composition were prepared and used to review the method. Results showed an excellent agreement with certified values. The developed method was used to analyze isotope ratio of single uranium-bearing particle in swipe samples successfully. The analysis results of uranium-bearing particles in swipe samples accorded with the operation history of the origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Titanium dioxide mesoporous microspheres with high surface area was successfully prepared by a facile one-step hydrothermal approach using polyethylene glycol (PEG, MW 200) as the soft template. Study shows that ∼15 nm TiO2 nanoparticles was assembled into ∼1.1 μm mesoporous microspheres. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area of TiO2 microsphere is up to 137 m2/g. TiO2 mesoporous microspheres were fabricated onto the surface of fluorine-doped tin oxide glass and used as the photoanode of dye-sensitized solar cells, which exhibits an open circuit photovoltage of 0.80 V and an overall conversion efficiency of 6.6%. Owing to the enhanced dye loading and light-harvesting efficiency, a 26% improvement in the overall conversion efficiency was achieved when compared with the commercial Degussa P25 nanoparticles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Rhythm, as a prominent characteristic of auditory experiences such as speech and music, is known to facilitate attention, yet its contribution to working memory (WM) remains unclear. Here, human participants temporarily retained a 12-tone sequence presented rhythmically or arrhythmically in WM and performed a pitch change-detection task. Behaviorally, while having comparable accuracy, rhythmic tone sequences showed a faster response time and lower response boundaries in decision-making. Electroencephalographic recordings revealed that rhythmic sequences elicited enhanced non-phase-locked beta-band (16 Hz-33 Hz) and theta-band (3 Hz-5 Hz) neural oscillations during sensory encoding and WM retention periods, respectively. Importantly, the two-stage neural signatures were correlated with each other and contributed to behavior. As beta-band and theta-band oscillations denote the engagement of motor systems and WM maintenance, respectively, our findings imply that rhythm facilitates auditory WM through intricate oscillation-based interactions between the motor and auditory systems that facilitate predictive attention to auditory sequences., (© 2024. Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.)

Despite the rapid growth of private tutoring, previous studies have not systematically addressed its implications for socioeconomic status (SES) disparities in education, as they have only separately examined differential access to and the effects of private tutoring. This study directly estimates the causal contribution of private tutoring to SES disparities in educational achievement and cognitive ability among Chinese middle school students. Using nationally representative longitudinal data and a novel gap-closing approach, we find that unequal access to private tutoring does not uniformally result in significant learning gaps between high- and low-SES students. When comparing disadvantaged students with their most socioeconomically advantaged peers, we find that the proportions of SES disparities attributed to differences in participation in and intensity of private tutoring increase with these differences. These findings have important policy implications for reducing SES disparities in learning outcomes., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To observe the inhibitory effect of dobutamine on proliferation of FLT3-ITD mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells and explore the feasibility of dobutamine as a monotherapy or in combination with quizartinib for the treatment of this type of AML., Methods: FLT3-ITD mutant cell lines MOLM13 and MV4-11 were cultured in vitro and divided into control group, dobutamine treatment group, quizartinib treatment group, and dobutamine combined with quizartinib treatment group. Cell viability, ROS levels, and apoptosis rate were detected by CCK-8, Flow cytometry, respectively, as well as the expression of YAP1 protein by Western blot., Results: Both dobutamine and quizartinib inhibited the proliferation of FLT3-ITD mutant AML cell lines. Compared with the control group, the dobutamine group exhibited a significant increase in ROS levels ( P < 0.01), an increase in apoptosis rates ( P < 0.05), and a decrease in YAP1 protein expression ( P < 0.01), and decreased YAP1 expression ( P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Dobutamine as a monotherapy can inhibit theproliferation of FLT3-ITD mutated AML cells, inducing apoptosis. Additionally, the combination of quizartinib enhances the targeted inhibitory effect on FLT3-ITD mutated AML. The mechanism may involve the inhibition of YAP1 protein expression in AML cells of this type, leading to an increase in ROS levels and exerting its anti-tumor effects.

Psocodean species are emerging as significant sanitary and stored-product pests, posing threats to human health and global food security. Out of an estimated 10 000 species, the whole genome sequences of only 4 species have been published. Genomic resources are crucial for establishing effective pest control and enhancing our understanding of the evolution of psocodean species. In this study, we employed Illumina and PacBio sequencing along with Hi-C scaffolding techniques to generate a chromosome-level genome assembly for the parthenogenetic booklouse Liposcelis bostrychophila. The assembled genome of this booklouse measures 291.67 Mb in length and comprises 9 chromosomes. Notably, the genome of L. bostrychophila exhibits a high level of heterozygosity and features a distinctive nonhomologous chromosome. This heterozygous characteristic of the parthenogenetic booklouse genome may arise from high mutation rates, based on genomic variations analysis across multiple generations. Our analysis revealed significantly expanded gene families, primarily associated with the detoxification and feeding habits of L. bostrychophila. These include integument esterases (ESTs), ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter genes and gustatory receptors (GRs). The high-quality genome sequence of L. bostrychophila provides valuable resources for further study on the molecular mechanisms of stress resistance. It enables researchers to identify crucial functional genes and facilitates research on the population genetics, evolution and phylogeny of booklice., (© 2024 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.)

Objective: To construct a simple term small-for-gestational-age (SGA) neonate prediction model that is clinically practical., Methods: This analysis was based on the Born in Guangzhou Cohort Study (BIGCS). Mothers who had a singleton pregnancy, delivered a term neonate, and had an ultrasonography within 30 + 0 to 32 + 6 weeks of gestation were included. Term SGA was defined with customized population percentiles. Prediction models were constructed with backward selection logistic regression in a four-step approach, where model 1 contained fetal biometrics only, models 2 and 3 included maternal features and a time factor (weeks between ultrasonography and delivery), respectively; and model 4 contained all features mentioned. The prediction performance of individual models was evaluated based on area under the curve (AUC) and a calibration test was performed., Results: The prevalence of SGA in the study population of 21 346 women was 11.5%. With a complete-case analysis approach, data of 19 954 women were used for model construction and validation. The AUC of the four models were 0.781, 0.793, 0.823, and 0.834, respectively, and all were well-calibrated. Model 3 consisted of fetal biometrics and corrected for time to delivery was chosen as the final model to build risk prediction graphs for clinical use., Conclusion: A prediction model derived from fetal biometrics in early third trimester is satisfactory to predict SGA., (© 2023 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.)

A fundamental challenge in quantum thermodynamics is the exploration of inherent dimensional constraints in thermodynamic machines. In the context of two-level systems, the most compact refrigerator necessitates the involvement of three entities, operating under self-contained conditions that preclude the use of external work sources. Here, we build such a smallest refrigerator using a nuclear spin system, where three distinct two-level carbon-13 nuclei in the same molecule are involved to facilitate the refrigeration process. The self-contained feature enables it to operate without relying on net external work, and the unique mechanism sets this refrigerator apart from its classical counterparts. We evaluate its performance under varying conditions and systematically scrutinize the cooling constraints across a spectrum of scenarios, which sheds light on the interplay between quantum information and thermodynamics.

Integral imaging is a kind of true three-dimensional (3D) display technology that uses a lens array to reconstruct vivid 3D images with full parallax and true color. In order to present a high-quality 3D image, it's vital to correct the axial position error caused by the misalignment and deformation of the lens array which makes the reconstructed lights deviate from the correct directions, resulting in severe voxel drifting and image blurring. We proposed a sub-pixel marking method to measure the axial position error of the lenses with great accuracy by addressing the sub-pixels under each lens and forming a homologous sub-pixel pair. The proposed measurement method relies on the geometric center alignment of image points, which is specifically expressed as the overlap between the test 3D voxel and the reference 3D voxel. Hence, measurement accuracy could be higher. Additionally, a depth-based sub-pixel correction method was proposed to eliminate the voxel drifting. The proposed correction method takes the voxel depth into consideration in the correction coefficient, and achieves accurate error correction for 3D images with different depths. The experimental results well confirmed that the proposed measuring and correction methods can greatly suppress the voxel drifting caused by the axial position error of the lenses, and greatly improve the 3D image quality.

LEO satellite constellations can provide a viable alternative to expand connectivity to remote, isolated geographical areas and complement existing IoT terrestrial communication infrastructures. This paper aims to improve LEO satellite communications by implementing a new phased antenna array system that can significantly improve the radio communication link's performance. By adjusting the progressive phase shift to each element of the antenna array system, the direction of the main radiation lobe of the phased antenna array system can be controlled with accuracy. As far as we know, it is the first time that a four-element, three-quarter wavelength phased antenna array system has been successfully realized with the intention of being optimized for implementation in LEO IoT satellite reception systems. The proposed system's high level of performance is confirmed by the measurements, which indicate effective control of the main radiation lobe orientation. The numerical analysis shows a maximum gain close to 12 dBi for about 42° elevation, a Half Power Beamwidth (HPBW) of 32° in the vertical plane, and 80° in the azimuth plane. The experimental measurement results at various main lobe orientation angles revealed an HPBW ranging from 76° to 87° in the azimuth plane and a maximum Front-to-Back ratio (F/B) of 14.5 dB.

This study aims to investigate the mechanism of muscone in inhibiting the opening of mitochondrial permeability transition pore(mPTP) to alleviate the oxygen and glucose deprivation/reoxygenation(OGD/R)-induced injury of mouse hippocampal neurons(HT22). An in vitro model of HT22 cells injured by OGD/R was established. CCK-8 assay was employed to examine the viability of HT22 cells, fluorescence microscopy to measure the mitochondrial membrane potential, the content of reactive oxygen species(ROS), and the opening of mPTP in HT22 cells. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was employed to determine the level of ATP and the content of cytochrome C(Cyt C) in mitochondria of HT22 cells. Flow cytometry was employed to determine the Ca~(2+) content and apoptosis of HT22 cells. The expression of Bcl-2(B-cell lymphoma-2) and Bcl-2-associated X protein(Bax) was measured by Western blot. Molecular docking and Western blot were employed to examine the binding between muscone and methyl ethyl ketone(MEK) after pronase hydrolysis of HT22 cell proteins. After the HT22 cells were treated with U0126, an inhibitor of MEK, the expression levels of MEK, p-ERK, and CypD were measured by Western blot. The results showed that compared with the OGD/R model group, muscone significantly increased the viability, mitochondrial ATP activity, and mitochondrial membrane potential, lowered the levels of ROS, Cyt C, and Ca~(2+), and reduced mPTP opening to inhibit the apoptosis of HT22 cells. In addition, muscone up-regulated the expression of MEK, p-ERK, and down-regulated that of CypD. Molecular docking showed strong binding activity between muscone and MEK. In conclusion, muscone inhibits the opening of mPTP to inhibit apoptosis, thus exerting a protective effect on OGD/R-injured HT22 cells, which is associated with the activation of MEK/ERK/CypD signaling pathway.

A high configurational entropy, achieved through a proper design of compositions, can minimize the Gibbs free energy and stabilize the quasi-equilibrium phases in a solid-solution form. This leads to the development of high-entropy materials with unique structural characteristics and excellent performance, which otherwise could not be achieved through conventional pathways. This work develops a high-entropy nonlinear dielectric system, based on the expansion of lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate. A dense and uniform distribution of nano-polar regions is observed in the samples owing to the addition of Ba, Hf, and Zr ions, which lead to enhanced performance of nonlinear dielectrics. The fact that no structural phase transformation is detected up to 250 °C, and no noticeable change or a steep drop in structural and electrical characteristics is observed at high temperatures suggests a robust thermal stability of the dielectric systems developed. With these advantages, these materials hold vast potential for applications such as dielectric energy storage, dielectric tunability, and electrocaloric effect. Thus, this work offers a new high-entropy configuration with elemental modulation, with enhanced dielectric material features., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Objective: Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus experience the sixth highest rate of 30-day readmissions among chronic diseases. Timely postdischarge follow-up is a marker of ambulatory care quality that can reduce readmissions in other chronic conditions. Our objective was to test the hypotheses that 1) beneficiaries from populations experiencing health disparities, including patients from disadvantaged neighborhoods, will have lower odds of completed follow-up, and that 2) follow-up will predict longer time without acute care use (readmission, observation stay, or emergency department visit) or mortality., Methods: This observational cohort study included hospitalizations in January-November 2014 from a 20% random sample of Medicare adults. Included hospitalizations had a lupus code, discharge to home without hospice, and continuous Medicare A/B coverage for 1 year before and 1 month after hospitalization. Timely follow-up included visits with primary care or rheumatology within 30 days. Thirty-day survival outcomes were acute care use and mortality adjusted for sociodemographic information and comorbidities., Results: Over one-third (35%) of lupus hospitalizations lacked 30-day follow-up. Younger age, living in disadvantaged neighborhoods, and rurality were associated with lower odds of follow-up. Follow-up was not associated with subsequent acute care or mortality in beneficiaries age <65 years. In contrast, follow-up was associated with a 27% higher hazard for acute care use (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.27 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.09-1.47]) and 65% lower mortality (adjusted HR 0.35 [95% CI 0.19-0.67]) among beneficiaries age ≥65 years., Conclusion: One-third of lupus hospitalizations lacked follow-up, with significant disparities in rural and disadvantaged neighborhoods. Follow-up was associated with increased acute care, but 65% lower mortality in older systemic lupus erythematosus patients. Further development of lupus-specific postdischarge strategies is needed., (© 2023 American College of Rheumatology.)

Background: High-grade bladder cancer (HGBC) has a higher malignant potential, recurrence and progression rate compared to low-grade phenotype. Its early symptoms are often vague, making non-invasive diagnosis using urinary biomarkers a promising approach., Methods: The gene expression data from urine samples of patients with HGBC was extracted from the GSE68020 dataset. The clinical information and gene expression data in tumor tissues of HGBC patients were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Multivariate Cox analysis was used to predict the optimal risk model. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis was performed via the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) database and visualized using Cytoscape. Overall survival (OS) was evaluated in the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) online platform. Competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network was also visualized using Cytoscape. The expression levels of specific genes were assessed through quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Moreover, co-expressed genes and potential biological functions related to specific genes were explored based on the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE) database., Results: A total of 560 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified when comparing the urine sediment samples from HGBC patients with the benign ones. Using these urinary DEGs and the clinical information of HGBC patients, we developed an optimal risk model consisting of eight genes to predict the patient outcome. By integrating the node degree values in the PPI network with the expression changes in both urine and tissue samples, eighteen hub genes were selected out. Among them, DKC1 and SNRPG had the most prominent comprehensive values, and EFTUD2, LOR and EBNA1BP2 were relevant to a worse OS in bladder cancer patients. The ceRNA network of hub genes indicated that DKC1 may be directly regulated by miR-150 in HGBC. The upregulation of both SNRPG and DKC1 were detected in HGBC cells, which were also observed in various tumor tissues and malignant cell lines, displaying high correlations with other hub genes., Conclusions: Our study may provide theoretical basis for the development of effective non-invasive detection and treatment strategies, and further research is necessary to explore the clinical applications of these findings., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://tcr.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/tcr-23-98/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2023 Translational Cancer Research. All rights reserved.)

Lead halide perovskites have made remarkable progress in the field of radiation detection owing to the excellent and unique optoelectronic properties. However, the instability and the toxicity of lead-based perovskites have greatly hindered its practical applications. Alternatively, lead-free perovskites with high stability and environmental friendliness thus have fascinated significant research attention for direct X-ray detection. In this review, the current research progress of X-ray detectors based on lead-free halide perovskites is focused. First, the synthesis methods of lead-free perovskites including single crystals and films are discussed. In addition, the properties of these materials and the detectors, which can provide a better understanding and designing satisfactory devices are also presented. Finally, the challenge and outlook for developing high-performance lead-free perovskite X-ray detectors are also provided., (© 2023 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Topological quantum computation (TQC) is one of the most striking architectures that can realize fault-tolerant quantum computers. In TQC, the logical space and the quantum gates are topologically protected, i.e., robust against local disturbances. The topological protection, however, requires complicated lattice models and hard-to-manipulate dynamics; even the simplest system that can realize universal TQC-the Fibonacci anyon system-lacks a physical realization, let alone braiding the non-Abelian anyons. Here, we propose a disk model that can simulate the Fibonacci anyon system and construct the topologically protected logical spaces with the Fibonacci anyons. Via braiding the Fibonacci anyons, we can implement universal quantum gates on the logical space. Our disk model merely requires two physical qubits to realize three Fibonacci anyons at the boundary. By 15 sequential braiding operations, we construct a topologically protected Hadamard gate, which is to date the least-resource requirement for TQC. To showcase, we implement a topological Hadamard gate with two nuclear spin qubits, which reaches 97.18 % fidelity by randomized benchmarking. We further prove by experiment that the logical space and Hadamard gate are topologically protected: local disturbances due to thermal fluctuations result in a global phase only. As a platform-independent proposal, our work is a proof of principle of TQC and paves the way toward fault-tolerant quantum computation., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Unsatisfactory solid-tumor penetration or rapid metabolism of nanomaterials limits their therapeutic efficacy. Here, we designed an injectable thiolated hyaluronate (HA-SH) hydrogel as a stable drug-releasing platform for in situ tumor treatment. Biodegradable star-shaped polylactide (S-PLLA) was first synthesized and fabricated to porous microspheres to encapsulate hydrophobic curcumin (Cur@S-PLLA), which was then blended with hydrophilic doxorubicin (Dox) and the HA-SH precursor to form composite in situ formable hydrogels [Cur@S-PLLA/(Dox)HA-SH]. The results showed that adding the microspheres improved the performance of the hydrogel, such as decreasing the gelation time from 1080 s to 960 s and also the swelling ratio. The mechanical strength increased from 27 to 45 kPa. In addition, the double drug system guaranteed a sustained release of drugs, releasing Dox at the early stage, with the continuous later release of Cur after gel swelling or S-PLLA degradation to achieve long-lasting tumor suppression, which inhibits the survival of cancer cells. The inhibitory effects of the hydrogels on MCF-7 were studied. The cell activity in the double-loaded hydrogel was significantly lower than that of the control groups, and apparent dead cells appeared in 2 days and fewer living cells with time. Flow cytometry revealed that the Cur@S-PLLA/(Dox)HA-SH group had the highest apoptosis ratio of 86.60% at 12 h, and the drugs caused the cell cycle to be blocked in phase M to reduce cell division. In summary, the innovative release platform is expected to be used in long-lasting tumor suppression and provides more ideas for the design of drug carriers., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

This study focused on CO 2 emissions embodied in trade (CEET) to better promote carbon emission reduction given that foreign trade occupied an increasing proportion of the global economy. Based on technical adjustment, CEET balance worldwide during 2006-2016 was calculated and compared to avoid false transfer. This study also explored the influencing factors of CEET balance and identified the transfer pathway of China. Results indicate that developing countries are the major exporters of CEET, and developed countries are CEET importers in general. China is the largest net exporter of CEET and bears a large amount of it for developed countries. Trade balance and trade specialization are important factors of the imbalance of CEET in China. The transfer of CEET between China and the USA, Japan, India, Germany, South Korea, and other countries is relatively active. Agriculture, mining, manufacturing, electricity, heat, gas, water production and supply, and transportation, storage, and postal services are the major sectors, where the transfer occurs in China. Reducing CO 2 emissions requires global cooperation in the context of globalization. Strategies are proposed to deal with imbalances and transfer of CEET issues in China., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Four dinuclear osmium complexes have been constructed for antitumor phototherapy. The most potent Os4 has extremely high photothermal conversion capability under irradiation of an 808 nm low-power laser, targets mitochondria in human melanoma cells without nucleus affinity, and acts as an antitumor photothermal therapy agent in vitro and in vivo .

Stem cell-based transplantation is a promising therapeutic approach for intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). Current limitations of stem cells include with their insufficient cell source, poor proliferation capacity, low nucleus pulposus (NP)-specific differentiation potential, and inability to avoid pyroptosis caused by the acidic IDD microenvironment after transplantation. To address these challenges, embryo-derived long-term expandable nucleus pulposus progenitor cells (NPPCs) and esterase-responsive ibuprofen nano-micelles (PEG-PIB) were prepared for synergistic transplantation. In this study, we propose a biomaterial pre-modification cell strategy; the PEG-PIB were endocytosed to pre-modify the NPPCs with adaptability in harsh IDD microenvironment through inhibiting pyroptosis. The results indicated that the PEG-PIB pre-modified NPPCs exhibited inhibition of pyroptosis in vitro ; their further synergistic transplantation yielded effective functional recovery, histological regeneration, and inhibition of pyroptosis during IDD regeneration. Herein, we offer a novel biomaterial pre-modification cell strategy for synergistic transplantation with promising therapeutic effects in IDD regeneration., (© 2022 The Authors.)

Carbohydrate digestibility is a key determinant for elevated postprandial hyperglycemia (PPHG). Apart from dietary restrictions, one of the strategies to reduce PPHG is to limit the activity of carbohydrate digestive enzymes within the gastrointestinal tract in order to reduce monosaccharide absorption rates. The present work aimed to assess the inhibitory capabilities of digestive enzymes (e.g., α-glucosidase and α-amylase) by anthoxanthins when used independently, in combination with acarbose, or with a different anthoxanthin. Our results showed that quercetin, myricetin, and luteolin presented lower IC 50 values than acarbose and inhibited α-glucosidase through mixed-type inhibition. On the other hand, acarbose when compared with these anthoxanthins, remained the most potent inhibitor of α-amylase. Combinatorial treatment (i) acarbose-quercetin and (ii) myricetin-luteolin showed synergistic activity (CI value less than 0.9) in α-glucosidase inhibition. An additive effect (CI value between 0.9 and 1.1) in α-glucosidase inhibition was observed when acarbose-myricetin, acarbose-luteolin or when a combination of two different anthoxanthins (quercetin-myricetin and quercetin-luteolin) was used. This study suggests the potential use of anthoxanthins as functional food ingredients to mitigate PPHG towards the management of T2DM., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2022 The Author(s).)

This article focuses on the partial-nodes-based state estimation (PNBSE) issue for a complex network with the encoding-decoding mechanism (EDM) over the unreliable communication channel, where the signals are transmitted in an intermittent manner. A so-called EDM is exploited to convert the transmitted signals into a set of codewords with finite bits so as to facilitate the transmission efficiency between the complex networks and the estimator. To guarantee the state estimation (SE) performance subject to the intermittent communication nature of the channel, a buffer with limited capacity, which stores the recent measurement signals and sends them to the estimator simultaneously, is adopted to improve the utilization rate of the measurement signals in the estimation process. The main objective of the investigated problem is to construct a partial-nodes-based (PNB) estimator to generate the desired state estimates for the underlying complex networks. Considering the intermittent feature of signal transmission, the ultimate boundedness of the SE error under the constructed PNB estimator is discussed, and then, sufficient conditions are derived which ensure that the desired PNB estimator exists. An simulation example is given to confirm the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed estimator design strategy in the end., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) pollution in Taihu Lake Basin has caused widespread concern. However, the spatial temporal distribution of PAHs in the upstream rivers of Taihu Lake Basin remains largely unknown. Thus, this study aims to investigate the level, spatial distribution, sources, and environment risk caused by PAHs in upstream rivers of Taihu Lake Basin. The concentrations of total 16 PAHs (∑16PAHs) ranged from 188.64 to 1060.39 ng/g, with an average of 472.62 ng/g. High-molecular-weight (HMW) PAHs were the predominant compounds in most sample sites. The results of source analysis demonstrated that the PAH pollution was mainly sourced from mixture of combustion and direct petroleum spillage. The ecological risk assessment showed that moderate ecological risk caused by the PAH contaminants might occur in most sample sites. The incremental lifetime cancer risks (ILCRs) ranged from 2.07 ×10 -4 - 2.66 × 10 -3 for children and 9.66 ×10 -5 - 1.24 × 10 -3 for adult, indicating moderate cancer risk of PAH-contaminated sediments., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Apoptosis plays an important role in both carcinogenesis and cancer treatment. Understanding the mechanisms through which resistance to apoptosis occurs in cancer cells has huge implications for cancer treatment. Although pieces of evidence have shown that elevated levels of global O-GlcNAcylation play an anti-apoptotic role in myriad cancers, the underlying mechanism is still ambiguous. In this study, we demonstrated that FOXA2, an essential transcription factor for liver homeostasis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development, inhibits doxorubicin (DOX)-induced apoptosis through elevating cellular O-GlcNAcylation in HCC cells. In response to DOX treatment, elevated FOXA2 and global O-GlcNAcylation level was observed in HCC cells, and higher FOXA2 levels indicated lower levels of DOX-induced apoptosis. Subsequently, we demonstrated that FOXA2 is a direct transcriptional activator of the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway (HBP) rate-limiting enzyme GFPT1. The upregulation of FOXA2 expression induced the synthesis of intracellular UDP-GlcNAc, which is the sugar substrate of O-GlcNAcylation produced by the HBP. The flux through the HBP elevated the global O-GlcNAcylation level and led to the activation of survival signaling pathways in HCC cells. Furthermore, GFPT1 was proved to be an important downstream regulator of FOXA2-mediated apoptotic suppression. These results provide insights into the molecular mechanism by which FOXA2 inhibits DOX-induced HCC cell apoptosis and suggest that targeting FOXA2 might offer a new strategy for HCC treatment., (© 2021. University of Navarra.)

Cinnamomum verum is used to make the spice cinnamon and has been used as a traditional Chinese herbal medicine. We evaluated the effects and the molecular mechanisms of cuminaldehyde (CuA), a constituent of the bark of Cinnamomum verum, on human lung squamous cell carcinoma NCI-H520 cells. Specifically, cell viability was evaluated by colorimetric assay; cytotoxicity by LDH release; apoptosis was determined by Western blotting, and morphological analysis with, acridine orange and neutral red stainings and comet assay; topoisomerase I activity was assessed using assay based upon DNA relaxation and topoisomerase II by DNA relaxation plus decatentation of kinetoplast DNA; lysosomal vacuolation and volume of acidic compartments (VAC) were evaluated with neutral red staining. The results show that CuA suppressed proliferation and induced apoptosis as indicated by an up-regulation of pro-apoptotic bax and bak genes and a down-regulation of anti-apoptotic bcl-2 and bcl-XL genes, mitochondrial membrane potential loss, cytochrome c release, activation of caspase 3 and 9, and morphological characteristics of apoptosis, including blebbing of the plasma membrane, nuclear condensation, fragmentation, apoptotic body formation, and comet with elevated tail intensity and moment. In addition, CuA also induced lysosomal vacuolation with increased VAC, cytotoxicity, as well as suppressions of both topoisomerase I and II activities in a dose-dependent manner. Further study revealed the growth-inhibitory effect of CuA was also evident in a nude mice model. Taken together, the data suggest that the growth-inhibitory effect of CuA against NCI-H520 cells is accompanied by downregulations of proliferative control involving apoptosis and both topoisomerase I and II activities, and upregulation of lysosomal with increased VAC and cytotoxicity. Similar effects were found in other cell lines, including human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells and colorectal adenocarcinoma COLO 205 (results not shown). Our data suggest that CuA could be a potential agent for anticancer therapy.

Unlabelled: Recent studies have suggested that beta-catenin is involved in the regulation of hepatocyte proliferation in multiple contexts, including organ development and tumorigenesis. We explored the role of beta-catenin during liver regeneration using T cell factor/lymphoid enhancer factor (TCF/LEF)-reporter mice (TOPGal mice) and liver-specific beta-catenin knockout mice. Liver-specific beta-catenin knockout mice showed a delayed onset of DNA synthesis after hepatectomy, whereas recovery of liver mass was not affected. Among putative beta-catenin target genes examined, the induction of Ccnd1 expression was reduced, whereas the expression of Myc and Egfr was unaffected. Furthermore, cyclin D1 protein levels were not induced, and the expression of cyclins A, E, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen was delayed. Intriguingly, the analysis of TOPGal mice showed that hepatocytes with active TCF/LEF transcription are confined to the pericentral zone and are not increased in number during regeneration, indicating an uncoupling between beta-catenin/TCF signaling activity and hepatocyte proliferation., Conclusion: Our results indicate that beta-catenin is critical for the proper regulation of hepatocyte proliferation during liver regeneration; however, the activity of beta-catenin/TCF signaling does not correlate with hepatocyte proliferation, suggesting that this regulation might be indirect/secondary.

There is accumulating evidence that Wnt/beta-catenin signaling is involved in the regulation of liver development and physiology. The presence of genetic alterations resulting in constitutive beta-catenin stabilization in human and murine liver tumors also implicates this pathway in hepatocyte proliferation. In the present study, we generated hepatocyte-specific beta-catenin knockout mice to explore the role of beta-catenin in liver function. Conditional knockout mice were born at the expected Mendelian ratio and developed normally to adulthood, indicating beta-catenin is dispensable for essential liver function under normal breeding conditions. However, the liver mass of knockout mice was 20% less than those of mice in the control groups. Expression analysis revealed loss of genes required for glutamine synthesis in knockout mice. Loss of the liver glutamine synthesis pathway did not affect the blood ammonia level in mice fed a standard diet, yet, knockout mice showed significantly elevated blood ammonia levels with high-protein dietary feeding. Furthermore, the expression of two cytochrome P450 enzymes, CYP1A2 and CYP2E1, was almost completely abolished in livers from hepatocyte-specific beta-catenin knockout mice. Consequently, these mice were resistant to acetaminophen challenge, confirming the requirement of these cytochrome P450 enzymes for metabolism of xenobiotic substances. In conclusion, in addition to regulating hepatocyte proliferation, beta-catenin may also control multiple aspects of normal liver function.

Objective: To define the determinants of perioperative death and complications after cardiac valve replacement in 702 patients., Methods: Clinical data of the patients after cardiac valve replacement were analyzed retrospectively., Results: Perioperative mortality and morbidity correlated significantly with some of the perioperative variables, such as higher NYHA functional class (III or IV), large left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (>/= 70 mm), C/T >/= 0.70, prolonged aortic cross-clamping time and cardiopulmonary bypass time, unsatisfactory myocardial protection., Conclusions: Perioperative mortality and morbidity correlate significantly with some of perioperative variables, such as higher NYHA functional class, unsatisfactory myocardial protection, inappropriate surgical procedure, improper therapy of some complications after cardiac valve replacement. To avoid the occurrence of these independent predictors or to correct them timely might effectively decrease the perioperative mortality and morbidity after cardiac valve replacement.