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NO 3 −-N transformation, the vital biological process, determines nitrogen removal and retention in aquatic environment. Suspended sediment (SPS) ubiquitous in freshwater ecosystems can accelerate the transitions from aerobic to anoxic states, inevitably impacting NO 3 −-N transformation. To elaborate on the microbial mechanism by which SPS content affected NO 3 −-N transformation, we explored nitrogen removal and retention, microbial communities, co-occurrence networks, and electron transfer behavior under different SPS content during the aerobic-anoxic transition. We found that higher SPS concentration obviously increased NO 3 −-N transformation rates but slightly affected TN removal, as the optimal SPS concentration boosting dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) helped retain nitrogen during the transition. Microbial analysis suggested that the up-regulated SPS content slightly affected dominant bacteria abundance while progressively enhancing the essentiality of deterministic selection in microbial assembly and making microbial network more stable. Further investigations indicated that SPS content indirectly affected nitrogen retention via altering microbial network stability and electron transport system activity (ETSA) rather than bacterial abundance. Notably, elevating ETSA caused by SPS content directly promoted the potential for NO 3 −-N being transformed through DNRA, enhancing nitrogen accumulation during the aerobic-anoxic transition. These results would provide supporting theories for the ecological restoration of micro-polluted water with higher SPS content. [Display omitted] • Higher SPS content enhanced the potential for DNRA which caused nitrogen retention. • The up-regulated SPS content made microbial network more stable. • Appropriate SPS content (2.5 g/L) achieved the highest value of ATP, NADH and ETSA. • SPS indirectly affected nitrogen retention via altering microbial stability and ETSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes a machine-learning framework to model the near-wake mean velocity profile, illustrating the similarity in the near wake of a circular cylinder. A dataset comprising the near-wake velocity field and wall pressure of the rough circular cylinder, ranging from the subcritical to supercritical flow regimes, is obtained via the wind tunnel test. Then, singular value decomposition of the mean velocity deficit matrixes is performed to obtain the left- and right-singular vectors. The generalized basis and coordinate are finalized by analyzing the scatter of the singular vectors, the correlation of the singular vectors with inputs, and the energy distribution of different generalized basis and coordinates. Next, the random forests (RF) algorithm is applied with the asymmetry of the wall pressure coefficient, drag force coefficient, Reynolds number, and spatial coordinate as inputs, and outputs the generalized coordinates. Finally, the importance of inputs is investigated through Shapley Additive Explanation (SHAP), which enhances the interpretability of the model. The test results show that the RF model can accurately predict the near-wake mean velocity deficit profiles at various Reynolds numbers. The SHAP evaluation indicates that the asymmetry of the pressure coefficient is crucial for modeling the velocity fields among different regimes. • Singular value decomposition is conducted on the mean velocity deficit for a unified basis set in different flow regimes. • A random forests model is proposed to enable the direct prediction of the mean velocity field at various Reynolds numbers. • Ensemble learning is implemented in the form of random forests algorithm to improve the model generalization ability. • Interpretability of the data-driven model is enhanced through Shapley Additive Explanation value analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • CiteSpace analysis revealed very few studies on the toxicity of APs other than NP. • We propose a QSAR-ICE-SSD model for the HC 5 derived for structurally similarity APs. • HC 5 were derived from acute and chronic exposure on aquatic organisms for 10 APs. • HC 5 s derived from predicted data were within 2-fold of those from measured data. • An ERA was characterized using this method for APs to aquatic organisms in rivers. Alkylphenols (APs) are ubiquitous and generally present in higher residue levels in the environment. The present work focuses on the development of a set of in silico models to predict the aquatic toxicity of APs with incomplete/unknown toxicity data in aquatic environments. To achieve this, a QSAR-ICE-SSD model was constructed for aquatic organisms by combining quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR), interspecies correlation estimation (ICE), and species sensitivity distribution (SSD) models in order to obtain the hazardous concentrations (HCs) of selected APs. The research indicated that the keywords "alkylphenol" and "nonylphenol" were most commonly studied. The selected ICE models were robust (R2: 0.70–0.99; p-value < 0.01). All models had a high reliability cross- validation success rates (>75%), and the HC 5 predicted with the QSAR-ICE-SSD model was 2-fold than that derived with measured experimental data. The HC 5 values demonstrated nearly linear decreasing trend from 2-MP to 4-HTP, while the decreasing trend from 4-HTP to 4-DP became shallower, indicates that the toxicity of APs to aquatic organisms increases with the addition of alkyl carbon chain lengths. The ecological risks assessment (ERA) of APs revealed that aquatic organisms were at risk from exposure to 4-NP at most river stations (the highest risk quotient (RQ) = 1.51), with the highest relative risk associated with 2.9% of 4-NP detected in 82.9% of the sampling sites. The targeted APs posed potential ecological risks in the Yongding and Beiyun River according to the mixture ERA. The potential application of QSAR-ICE-SSD models could satisfy the immediate needs for HC 5 derivations without the need for additional in vivo testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the most serious infectious disease pandemic in the world in a century, and has had a serious impact on the health, safety, and social and economic development of all mankind. Since the earth entered the "Anthropocene", human activities have become the most important driving force of the evolution of the earth system. At the same time, the epidemic frequency of major human infectious diseases worldwide has been increasing, with more than 70% of novel diseases having zoonotic origins. The review of several major epidemics in human history shows that there is a common rule, i.e., changes in the natural environment have an important and profound impact on the occurrence and development of epidemics. Therefore, the impact of the natural environment on the current COVID-19 pandemic and its mechanisms have become scientific issues that need to be resolved urgently. From the perspective of the natural environment, this study systematically investigated several major issues concerning the environmental transmission and risk prevention of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). From a macroscopic temporal and spatial scale, the research focus on understand the impact of the destruction of the natural environment and global changes on the outbreak of infectious diseases; the threat of zoonotic diseases to human health; the regularity for virus diffusion, migration and mutation in environmental media; the mechanisms of virus transmission from animals and environmental media to humans; and environmental safety, secondary risk prevention and control of major epidemics. Suggestions were made for future key research directions and issues that need attention, with a view to providing a reference for the prevention and control of the global coronavirus disease 2019, and to improving the ability of response to major public health emergencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• High susceptibility model of bi-anisotropy soft magnetic composite (BSMC) is derived. • The Bi-anisotropic free energy provides a general expression of susceptibility. • The resonance frequency of BSMC can be increased without decreasing susceptibility. We present a susceptibility model of bi-anisotropy soft magnetic composites (BSMCs) consisted of bi-anisotropy single-domain particle (BSDP) with a unified anisotropy which is a both polar and azimuthal angles related bi-anisotropy. We find that the product of initial susceptibility and resonance frequency in the BSDP is beyond Snoek's law. We derive the susceptibility of BSMCs further based on that of BSDP and find it is related to the orientations of both magnetization in static state and easy magnetization plane. More importantly, the maximum susceptibility of BSMCs is the same as that of a BSDP when the magnetizations in static state of BSDPs are oriented in one direction or plane. Our model provides an approach to improve the susceptibility of BSMCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: High‐throughput pipelines supported by eDNA metabarcoding have been applied in various freshwater ecosystems. Both eDNA in ethanol (EtOH) samples (ES‐eDNA) and in water samples (WS‐eDNA) can provide comprehensive classification lists with good taxonomic resolution and coverage for determining freshwater biodiversity and biomonitoring. But, the advantages of ES‐eDNA metabarcoding over WS‐eDNA metabarcoding remain unclear for routine assessments of diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates in streams. Location: Qiantang River Basin, China. Methods: Here, we compared ES‐eDNA and WS‐eDNA metabarcoding to evaluate the performance of two eDNA workflows in determining biodiversity and recovery of damaged macroinvertebrate communities. All eDNA samples from the environment and bulk specimen of macroinvertebrates were processed into available molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) and identified to the level of genus. Results: WS‐eDNA detected more exact sequence variants (ESVs) (formerly referred to as operational taxonomic units; OTUs), than did ES‐eDNA (2,866 vs. 2,406), but fewer macroinvertebrate ESVs (381 vs. 481). Among sampling sites, the two eDNA workflows exhibited relatively large dissimilarity on inferred community composition (p <.001). Furthermore, ES‐eDNA metabarcoding exhibited more consistent with morphological identification approaches than did WS‐eDNA metabarcoding (24.24% vs. 17.63%, p =.002), especially for species identified by traditional morphology (morphotaxa). Main conclusions: Based on the attributes of ES‐eDNA and WS‐eDNA, it is suggested that ES‐eDNA metabarcoding performs better than does WS‐eDNA metabarcoding in detecting local biodiversity and was consistent with morphological results, while WS‐eDNA was more suitable for exploring biodiversity patterns on a broad scale, as it is the easiest and most convenient way to collect samples. Results of this study suggest ES‐eDNA metabarcoding could be an option in building molecular measurement biomonitoring programme based on EtOH sample used for preserving biological samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In near-natural basins, zooplankton are key hubs for maintaining aquatic food webs and organic matter cycles. However, the spatial patterns and drivers of zooplankton in streams are poorly understood. This study registered 165 species of zooplankton from 147 sampling sites (Protozoa, Rotifers, Cladocera and Copepods), integrating multiple dimensions (i.e., taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic) and components (i.e., total, turnover, and nestedness) of α and β diversity. This study aims to reveal spatial patterns, mechanisms, correlations, and relative contribution of abiotic factors (i.e., local environment, geo-climatic, land use, and spatial factors) through spatial interpolation (ordinary kriging), mantel test, and variance partitioning analysis (VPA). The study found that α diversity is concentrated in the north, while β diversity is more in the west, which may be affected by typical habitat, hydrological dynamics and underlying mechanisms. Taxonomic and phylogenetic β diversity is dominated by turnover, and metacommunity heterogeneity is the result of substitution of species and phylogeny along environmental spatial gradients. Taxonomic and phylogenetic β diversity were strongly correlated (r from 0.91 to 0.95), mainly explained by historical/spatial isolation processes, community composition, generation time, and reproductive characteristics, and this correlation provides surrogate information for freshwater conservation priorities. In addition, spatial factors affect functional and phylogenetic α diversity (26%, 28%), and environmental filtering and spatial processes combine to drive taxonomic α diversity (10%) and phylogenetic β diversity (11%). Studies suggest that spatial factors are key to controlling the community structure of zooplankton assemblages in near-natural streams, and that the relative role of local environments may depend on the dispersal capacity of species. In terms of diversity conservation, sites with high variation in uniqueness should be protected (i) with a focus on the western part of the thousand islands lake catchment and (ii) increasing effective dispersal between communities to facilitate genetic and food chain transmission. [Display omitted] • Unravelling the relative roles of abiotic factors on zooplankton α and β diversity. • Phylogenetic and taxonomic β diversity are highly correlated. • Spatial factors strongly affect phylogenetic and functional α diversity. • Environmental filtering and spatial processes co-drive phylogenetic β diversity. • Zooplankton diversity protection should focus on the western TIL catchment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is of significant importance to reconstruct the high-dimensional global flow field using limited sensor data, considering that sensors are often local and limited in full-scale measurements. In the literature, the reconstruction of laminar flows at low Reynolds number (Re) was mostly investigated. This study focuses on high-Re turbulent flows around a body, and aims to systematically investigate the reconstruction performance of deep learning models, including multilayer perceptron (MLP), convolutional neural network (CNN), and generative adversarial neural network (GAN). The extensive assessment encompasses the prediction accuracy of the instantaneous, phase-averaged, and mean flow fields, and the training efficiency. Results shows that GAN demonstrates a obvious advantage in reconstructing small-scale vortex structures. MLP is slightly better at reconstructing time-averaged flow fields (3%) and has a significant advantage in reconstruction efficiency. We also examine the generalization ability by applying transfer learning at different Re. Additionally, sensitivity of sensor number, training data size, and optimization of sensor layout are studied to further augment the accuracy of flow field reconstruction. • The turbulent flow at high Reynolds number is reconstructed using limit sensors. • The pros and cons of deep learning methods are clarified. • GAN model has advantage in reconstructing small-scale vortex structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • FLCMs reduced cell density of zebrafish retinas approximately 12.6–46.1%. • FLCMs disrupted thyroid hormone levels and perturbed the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis. • TBG is the key protein that effected transport of thyroid hormones by FLCMs rather than TTR. • Disruption of the thyroid system signaling pathway ultimately affects visual motor response. • FLCMs with aliphatic ring structures represented higher T3 antagonistic potential. Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) are the raw material for liquid crystal displays, and their use is steadily increasing in electronic products. Recently, LCMs have been reported to be novel endocrine disrupting chemicals, however, the mechanisms underlying their potential for thyroid hormone disruption and visual toxicity are not well understood. In this study, six widely used fluorinated LCMs (FLCMs) were selected to determine putative mechanisms underlying FLCM-induced toxicity to the zebrafish thyroid and visual systems. Exposure to FLCMs caused damage to retinal structures and reduced cell density of ganglion cell layer, inner nuclear layer, and photoreceptor layer approximately 12.6–46.1%. Exposure to FLCMs also disrupted thyroid hormone levels and perturbed the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis by affecting key enzymes and protein in zebrafish larvae. A thyroid hormone-dependent GH3 cell viability assay supported the hypothesis that FLCMs act as thyroid hormone disrupting chemicals. It was also determined that FLCMs containing aliphatic ring structures may have a higher potential for T3 antagonism compared to FLCMs without an aliphatic ring. Molecular docking in silico suggested that FLCMs may affect biological functions of thyroxine binding globulin, membrane receptor integrin, and thyroid receptor beta. Lastly, the visual motor response of zebrafish in red- and green-light was significantly inhibited following exposure to FLCMs. Taken together, we demonstrate that FLCMs can act as thyroid hormone disruptors to induce visual dysfunction in zebrafish via several molecular mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Spatial patterns of benthic fauna diversity in the Yellow River, China were determined. • Factors affecting benthic fauna biodiversity shifts in different sections of the river were determined. • Spatial scales and environmental factors jointly affected biodiversity in intermediate spatial extents. • Scales of studies affected estimates of Spatial distributions of Benthic Invertebrates. One of the fundamental objectives in ecology is to investigate the ecological processes and associated factors governing the abundance and spatial distribution patterns of biodiversity. However, the reaction of biological communities to environmental degradation remains relatively unknown, even for ecologically crucial communities like macroinvertebrates in aquatic ecosystems. Here, we sampled 117 locations to quantify relative contributions of geographical and environmental factors, including water quality, land use, climate, and hydrological factors, to determine the absolute and relative compositions of macroinvertebrate communities and their spatial distribution in the Yellow River Basin (YRB), the sixth-longest river system on Earth. We assessed relative roles of species sorting and dispersal in determining macroinvertebrate community structure along YRB. Our results demonstrated that alpha and beta diversity indices showed an increase from the up- to low-reaches of YRB. The middle and low-reaches exhibited elevated species diversity and both regions exhibited relatively stable community compositions. The biodiversity of macroinvertebrates was influenced by a combination of geographical factors and environmental variables, with environmental factors predominantly serving as the principal determinants. Results of multiple linear regression and variance decomposition showed that the effect of environmental factors was approximately three times greater than that of spatial factors. These findings provide support for the hypothesis that species sorting, driven by environmental gradients, plays a significant role in shaping the community structure of macroinvertebrates in running water ecosystems at the basin scales. Moreover, the factors contributing to substantial shifts in biodiversity across different segments of YRB indicate that distinct river sections have been influenced by varying stressors, with downstream areas being more susceptible to the impacts of water pollution and urbanization resulting from human activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity loss is caused by intensive human activities and threatens human well-being. However, less is known about how the combined effects of multiple stressors on the diversity of internal (alpha diversity) and multidimensional (beta diversity) communities. Here, we conducted a long-term experiment to quantify the contribution of environmental stressors (including water quality, land use, climate factors, and hydrological regimes) to macroinvertebrate communities alpha and beta diversity in the mainstream of the Songhua River, the third largest river in China, from 2012 to 2019. Our results demonstrated that the alpha and beta diversity indices showed a decline during the study period, with the dissimilarity in community composition between sites decreasing significantly, especially in the impacted river sections (upper and midstream). Despite overall improvement in water quality after management intervention, multiple human-caused stressors still have led to biotic homogenization of macroinvertebrate communities in terms of both taxonomic and functional diversities in the past decade. Our study revealed the increased human land use explained an important portion of the variation of diversities, further indirectly promoting biotic homogenization by changing the physical and chemical factors of water quality, ultimately altering assemblage ecological processes. Furthermore, the facets of diversity have distinct response mechanisms to stressors, providing complementary information from the perspective of taxonomy and function to better reflect the ecological changes of communities. Environmental filtering determined taxonomic beta diversity, and functional beta diversity was driven by the joint efforts of stressors and spatial processes. Finally, we proposed that traditional water quality monitoring alone cannot fully reveal the status of river ecological environment protection, and more importantly, we should explore the continuous changes in biodiversity over the long term. Meanwhile, our results also highlight timely control of nutrient input and unreasonable expansion of land use can better curb the ecological degradation of rivers and promote the healthy and sustainable development of floodplain ecosystems. [Display omitted] • Macroinvertebrate communities homogenized despite improvement in water quality. • Taxonomic and functional diversity decreased under multiple anthropogenic stressors. • Land use had indirect impacts on α and β diversity via regulating water quality. • River discharge contributed to the increased similarity of community assemblies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organophosphate esters (OPEs), as flame retardants and plasticizers, have been numerously explored regarding the occurrence and ecotoxicology. Given their toxicity, persistency and bio-accumulative potential, however, they may pose negative effects on ecosystems, regarding which is a growing global concern. Accordingly, the present review systematically analyses the recent literature to (1) elucidate their worldwide distribution, bioaccumulation, and biomagnification potential, (2) determine their interim water quality criteria (i.e., effect thresholds), and (3) preliminarily assess the ecological risks for 32 OPEs in aquatic ecosystems. The results showed that the spatiotemporal distribution of OPEs was geographically specific and closely related to human activities (i.e., megacities), especially halogenated-OPEs. We also found that precipitation of airborne particulates could affect the concentrations of OPEs in soil, and there was a positive correlation between the bioaccumulation and hydrophobicity of OPEs. Tris(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate may exhibit high bioaccumulation in aquatic organisms. A substantial difference was found among interim water quality criteria for OPEs, partly attributable to the variation of their available toxicity data. Tris(phenyl) phosphate (TPHP) and tris(1,3-dichloroisopropyl) phosphate with the lowest predicted no-effect concentration showed the strongest toxicity of growth and reproduction. Through the application of the risk quotient and joint probability curve, TPHP and tris(chloroethyl) phosphate tended to pose moderate risks, which should receive more attention for risk management. Future research should focus on knowledge gaps in the mechanism of biomagnification, derivation of water quality criteria, and more precise assessment of ecological risks for OPEs. [Display omitted] • Spatiotemporal distribution of OPEs was geographically specific and related to human activity. • There was a positive correlation between bioaccumulation and hydrophobicity of OPEs. • Tris(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate may exhibit high bioaccumulation in aquatic organisms. • TPHP and TDCIPP with the lowest values of three toxicity effects were the strongest toxicity. • TPHP, EHDPP, TCEP, and TDCIPP tended to pose moderate risks to aquatic ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• NBFRs frequently present higher concentrations than the legacy BFRs in sediments. • NBFRs showed high bioaccumulation properties but weak metabolic activities in aquatic animals. • Sorption rather than biotransformation determines their fate in the aquatic environment. • Source emission areas are the compartments most vulnerable to NBFR risks. • The environmental safety in substitution of legacy BFRs by NBFRs need to be further evaluated. [Display omitted] Novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs), which have been developed as replacements for legacy flame retardants such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), are a class of alternative flame retardants with emerging and widespread applications. The ubiquitous occurrence of NBFRs in the aquatic environments and the potential adverse effects on aquatic organisms have initiated intense global concerns. The present article, therefore, identifies and analyzes the current state of knowledge on the occurrence, bioaccumulation, fates, and environmental and health risks of NBFRs in aquatic environments. The key findings from this review are that (1) the distribution of NBFRs are source-dependent in the global aquatic environments, and several NBFRs have been reported at higher concentrations than that of the legacy flame retardants; (2) high bioaccumulative properties have been found for all of the discussed NBFRs due to their strong hydrophobic characteristics and weak metabolic rates; (3) the limited information available suggests that NBFRs are resistant to biotic and abiotic degradation processes and that sorption to sludge and sediments are the main fate of NBFRs in the aquatic environments; (4) the results of ecological risk assessments have indicated the potential risks of NBFRs and have suggested that source areas are the most vulnerable environmental compartments. Knowledge gaps and perspectives for future research regarding the monitoring, toxicokinetics, transformation processes, and development of ecological risk assessments of NBFRs in aquatic environments are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Biotic Index (BI) is a sensitive and useful metric for water quality monitoring. • The biological water quality categories based on BI for Yangtze River Delta was developed. • Most of streams in Yangtze River Delta are in good condition. • The established criteria facilitate the China's environmental management shift. Biotic index (BI) based on macroinvertebrate tolerance value (TV) is widely used for water quality bioassessment and environmental management. Most regional used BI versions were adapted from the original Hilsenhoff BI and Hilsenhoff TVs. Here, we aim to build a BI classification of water quality for streams in the Yangtze River Delta using statistical methods to set quality class boundary. We determined reference sites using a combination of priori objective screening criteria of total nitrogen (TN, ≤1.409 mg/L), total phosphorus (TP, ≤0.035 mg/L), and electrical conductivity (EC, ≤249 μs/cm) and the most-disturbed sites with all TN, TP, and EC values higher than 75th percentile across the 233 sites sampled during 2004 to 2011 in Yangtze River Delta. We applied the 75th percentile of BI values across 19 reference sites as the benchmark of high class and then equally divided the range between the benchmark and the expected highest BI values into four categories. We then proposed five biological classes of water quality: high (BI < 3.91), good (3.91–5.43), moderate (5.44–6.95), poor (6.96–8.47) and bad (BI > 8.47) with a bias of 0.22 for each class. The BI performed well for the discrimination of the most-disturbed sites with accuracies of 88.24% and test sites with accuracies of 81.22%. BIs showed the highest remarkable linear relationship with a surrogate of comprehensive gradient of seven measured environmental variables. In addition, BI was significantly related with community taxa richness, Simpson and Shannon diversity indices. A total of 69.53% investigated sites had a quality above the good class, indicating that most streams were in good condition in Yangtze River Delta. Our study highlighted that the BI is a useful index for water quality biomonitoring and assessment in the Yangtze River Delta. We suggest that local government agencies apply the BI to their regular water quality assessments and even use it in their annual water quality reports to advance the shift in environmental management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Bacterial communities were different in aerosols from indoor and outdoor treatment. • Aerosolization dominated aerosol bacterial community from indoor sludge treatment. • Dispersion governed aerosol bacterial community from outdoor wastewater treatment. • Preferentially aerosolized and persistently surviving bacteria were identified. • Opportunistic pathogenic bacteria were identified in PM2.5 and PM10. Wastewater treatment systems are critical microbial sources for urban air and play important roles in public health. In this study, bacterial communities in particulate matters (PM2.5, PM10) from wastewater/sludge treatment facilities of two full-scale wastewater treatment plants were analyzed by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Compared to the background ambient air, Campylobacteriadeceae , Aeromonadaceae , and Chlostridiaceae were the most enriched bacteria above wastewater treatment facilities. In sludge dewatering facilities, Comamonadaceae , Chitinophagaceae , Caldilineaceae , Mycobacteriaceae , Methylocystaceae , Microbacteriaceae , Cryomorphaceae , and uncultured Class OPB56 were the most enriched. The dynamic bacterial compositions in aerosols were contributed by aerosolization and dispersion. Principal coordinate analysis and clustering analysis showed that the aerosol bacterial community from indoor sludge treatment were closely clustered with that of sludge, indicating that aerosolization dominated the indoor environments. In contrast, aerosols from outdoor wastewater treatment facilities clustered with background ambient aerosols, indicating that outdoor aerosol bacterial communities were mainly governed by dispersion. Aerosolization factor (the ratio of bacteria abundance in aerosols to those in wastewater/sludge) was used to evaluate the aerosolization potential and survival of bacteria. Rhodocyclaceae , Arcobacter , Comamonadaceae , Mycobacterium , and Citrobacter were not only preferentially aerosolized from wastewater/sludge, but also sustainable during dispersion in ambient air. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: miR-122 is upregulated in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) liver tissue, and knockdown of miR-122 protects hepatocytes from lipid metabolism disorders. This study aimed to investigate whether Huazhi Rougan Granule (HRG) alleviates NAFLD liver and intestinal injury by regulating the miR-122-mediated TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway., Methods: Rats with NAFLD were constructed by high-fat feeding. Serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were measured using a fully automated biochemical instrument. Histopathological changes in the liver and small intestine were observed by HE staining. QRT-PCR detected the expression level of miR-122 in the liver tissues. The protein expression of TLR4, MyD88, NF- κB p65, and p-p65 in liver tissues was detected by western blotting., Results: HRG slowed down the weight gain of NAFLD rats, decreased (P<0.05) the levels of TC, TG, ALT, AST, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, LPS, and Hpt, improved the pathological status of liver and small intestine tissues, upregulated (P<0.05) the expression of ZO-1 and Occludin, downregulated (P<0.05) the protein expression of TLR4, MyD88, and p-p65, and inhibited (P<0.05) the expression of miR-122., Conclusion: HRG may alleviate hepatic and intestinal injuries in rats with NAFLD by regulating the miR-122-mediated TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major cause of cancer-related death worldwide and an effective screening strategy for diagnosis of early-stage CRC is highly desired. Although extracellular vesicles (EVs) are expected to become some of the most promising tools for liquid biopsy of early disease diagnosis, the existing EV-based proteomics methods for practical application in clinical samples are limited by technical challenges in high-throughput isolation and detection of EVs. In the current study, we have developed a simplified and efficient EV-based proteomics strategy for early diagnosis of CRC. DSPE-functionalized beads were specifically designed that enabled direct capture of EVs from plasma samples in 10 minutes with good reproducibility and comprehensive proteome coverage. The single-pot, solid-phase-enhanced sample-preparation (SP3) technology was then combined with data-independent acquisition mass spectrometry (DIA-MS) for in-depth analysis and quantification of EV proteomes. From a cohort with 30 individuals including 11 healthy controls, 8 patients with adenomatous polyp and 11 patients with early-stage CRC, our streamlined workflow reproducibly quantified over 800 proteins from their plasma-derived EV samples, from which dysregulated protein signatures for molecular diagnosis of CRC were revealed. We selected a panel of 10 protein markers to train a machine learning (ML) model, which resulted in accurate prediction of polyp and early-stage CRC in an independent and single-blind validation cohort with excellent diagnostic ability of 89.3% accuracy. Our simplified and efficient clinical proteomic strategy will serve as a valuable tool for fast, accurate, and cost-effective diagnosis of CRC that can be easily extended to other disease samples for discovery of unique EV-based biomarkers., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Aquatic organisms in the environment are frequently exposed to a variety of organic chemicals, while these biological species may show different sensitivities to different chemical groups present in the environment. This study evaluated species sensitivity, hazards, and risks of six classes of organic chemicals in the aquatic environment. None of the taxonomic groups were the most sensitive or tolerant to all chemicals, as one group sensitive to one class of chemicals might possess adaptations to other chemical groups. Polychlorinated biphenyls were generally the most toxic chemical group, followed by polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and pharmaceuticals and personal care products, while per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and phthalate esters were the less toxic chemical groups. The hazard of organic chemicals was closely related to their physicochemical properties, including hydrophobicity and molecular weight. It was shown that 20% of the evaluated chemicals exhibited medium or high ecological risks with the worst-case scenario in the Pearl River Estuary. This novel work represented a comprehensive comparison of chemical hazards and species sensitivity among different classes of organic chemicals, and the reported results herein have provided scientific evidence for ecological risk assessment and water quality management to protect aquatic ecosystems against organic chemicals.

Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a blistering autoimmune disease that affects the skin and mucous membranes. The precise mechanisms by which PV antibodies induce a complete loss of cohesion of keratinocytes are not fully understood. But it is accepted that the process starts with antibody binding to desmosomal targets which leads to its disassembly and subsequent structural changes to cell-cell adhesions. In vitro immunofluorescence imaging of desmosome molecules has been used to characterize this initial phase, often qualitatively. However, there remains an untapped potential of image analysis in providing us more in-depth knowledge regarding ultrastructural changes after antibody binding. Currently, there is no such effort to establish a quantitative framework from immunofluorescence images in PV pathology. We take on this effort here in a comprehensive study to examine the effects of antibodies on key adhesion molecules and the cytoskeletal network, aiming to establish a correlation of ultrastructural changes in cell-cell adhesion with antibody pathogenicity. Specifically, we introduced a data-driven approach to quantitatively evaluate perturbations in adhesion molecules, including desmoglein 3, E-cadherin, as well as the cytoskeleton, following antibody treatment. We identify distinct immunofluorescence imaging signatures that mark the impact of antibody binding on the remodeling of the adhesion molecules and introduce a pathogenicity score to compare the relative effects of different antibodies. From this analysis, we showed that the biophysical response of keratinocytes to distinct PV associated antibodies is highly specific, allowing for accurate prediction of their pathogenicity. For instance, the high pathogenicity scores of the PVIgG and AK23 antibodies show strong agreement with their reported PV pathology. Our data-driven approach offers a more detailed framework for the action of autoantibodies in pemphigus and has the potential to pave the way for the development of effective novel diagnostic methods and therapeutic strategies., Competing Interests: COMPETING INTERESTS None to declare.

Freshwater biodiversity is increasingly threatened by dams and many other anthropogenic stressors, yet our understanding of the complex responses of different biotas and their multiple facets remains limited. Here, we present a multi-faceted and integrated-indices approach to assess the differential responses of freshwater biodiversity to multiple stressors in the Yangtze River, the third longest and most dam-densely river in the world. By combining individual biodiversity indices of phytoplankton, zooplankton, periphyton, macroinvertebrates, and fish with a novel integrated aquatic biodiversity index (IABI), we disentangled the effects of hydrology, water quality, land use, and natural factors on both α and β diversity facets in taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic dimensions. Our results revealed that phytoplankton and fish species and functional richness increased longitudinally, while fish taxonomic and phylogenetic β diversity increased but phytoplankton and macroinvertebrate β diversity remained unchanged. Hydrology and water quality emerged as the key drivers of all individual biodiversity indices, followed by land use and natural factors, with fish and phytoplankton showed the strongest responses. Importantly, we found that natural, land use, and hydrological factors indirectly affected biodiversity by altering water quality, which in turn directly influenced taxonomic and phylogenetic IABIs. Our findings highlight the complex interplay of multiple stressors in shaping freshwater biodiversity and underscore the importance of considering both individual and integrated indices for effective conservation and management. We propose that our multi-faceted and integrated-indices approach can be applied to other large, dam-modified river basins globally., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there is no competing conflict of interest., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Cetaceans play a crucial role in marine ecosystems; however, research on their gastrointestinal microbiota remains limited due to sampling constraints. In this study, we collected hindgut samples from 12 stranded cetaceans and performed 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to investigate microbial composition and functional potentials. Analysis of ZOTUs profiles revealed that the phyla Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes dominated all hindgut samples. However, unique microbial profiles were observed among different cetacean species, with significant separation of gut microbiota communities according to biological evolutionary lineages. Different genera that contain pathogens were observed distinguishing delphinids from physeteroids/ziphiids. Delphinid samples exhibited higher abundances of Vibrio , Escherichia , and Paeniclostridium , whereas physeteroid and ziphiid samples showed higher abundances of Pseudomonas , Enterococcus , and Intestinimonas . Functional analysis indicated convergence in the gut microbiota among all cetaceans, with shared bacterial infection pathways across hindgut samples. In addition, a comparison of the gastrointestinal microbial composition between a stranded short-finned pilot whale ( Globicephala macrorhynchus ) and a stranded rough-toothed dolphin ( Steno bredanensis ) using 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed distinct microbial community structures and functional capacities. To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first report on the gastrointestinal microbiota of the pantropical spotted dolphin ( Stenella attenuata ), Blainville's beaked whale ( Mesoplodon densirostris ), and rough-toothed dolphin, with various comparisons conducted among different cetacean species. Our findings enhance the understanding of microbial composition and diversity in cetacean gastrointestinal microbiota, providing new insights into co-evolution and complex interactions between cetacean microbes and hosts., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Fan, Kang, Lv, Zhai, Jia, Yang, Shi, Zhou, Diao, Li, Jin, Liu, Kristiansen, Zhang, Chen and Li.)

Emerging contaminants (ECs) are increasingly recognized as a global threat to biodiversity and ecosystem health. However, the cumulative risks posed by ECs to aquatic organisms and ecosystems, as well as the influence of anthropogenic activities and natural factors on these risks, remain poorly understood. This study assessed the mixed risks of ECs in Dongting Lake, a Ramsar Convention-classified Typically Changing Wetland, to elucidate the major EC classes, key risk drivers, and magnitude of anthropogenic and natural impacts. Results revealed that ECs pose non-negligible acute (30% probability) and chronic (70% probability) mixed risks to aquatic organisms in the freshwater lake ecosystem, with imidacloprid identified as the primary pollutant stressor. Redundancy analysis (RDA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that cropland and precipitation were major drivers of EC contamination levels and ecological risk. Cropland was positively associated with EC concentrations, while precipitation exhibited a dilution effect. These findings provide critical insights into the ecological risk status and key risk drivers in a typical freshwater lake ecosystem, offering data-driven support for the control and management of ECs in China., 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 © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

With increasing urbanization and rapid industrialization, more and more environmental problems have arisen. Phthalates (PAEs) are the foremost and most widespread plasticizers and are readily emitted from these manufactured products into the environment. PAEs act as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and can have serious impacts on aquatic organisms as well as human health. In this study, the water quality criteria (WQC) of five PAEs (dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)) for freshwater aquatic organisms were developed using a species sensitivity distribution (SSD) and a toxicity percentage ranking (TPR) approach. The results showed that long-term water quality criteria (LWQC) of PAEs using the SSD method could be 13.7, 11.1, 2.8, 7.8, and 0.53 μg/L, respectively. Criteria continuous concentrations (CCC) of PAEs were derived using the TPR method and determined to be 28.4, 13.1, 1.3, 2.5, and 1.6 μg/L, respectively. The five PAEs are commonly measured in China surface waters at concentrations between ng/L and μg/L. DBP, DEHP, and di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP) were the most frequently detected PAEs, with occurrence rates ranging from 67% to 100%. The ecological risk assessment results of PAEs showed a decreasing order of risk at the national level, DEHP, DBP, DMP, DEP, DnOP. The results of this study will be of great benefit to China and other countries in revising water quality standards for the conservation of aquatic species., 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 © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Lake ecosystems confront escalating challenges to their stability and resilience, most intuitively leading to biodiversity loss, necessitating effective preservation strategies to safeguard aquatic environments. However, the complexity of ecological processes governing lake biodiversity under multi-stressor interactions remains an ongoing concern, primarily due to insufficient long-term bioindicator data, particularly concerning macroinvertebrate biodiversity. Here we utilize a unique, continuous, and in situ biomonitoring dataset spanning from 2011 to 2019 to investigate the spatio-temporal variation of macroinvertebrate communities. We assess the impact of four crucial environmental parameters on Lake Dongting and Lake Taihu, i.e., water quality, hydrology, climate change, and land use. These two systems are representative of lakes with Yangtze-connected and disconnected subtropical floodplains in China. We find an alarming trend of declining taxonomic and functional diversities among macroinvertebrate communities despite improvements in water quality. Primary contributing factors to this decline include persistent anthropogenic pressures, particularly alterations in human land use around the lakes, including intensified nutrient loads and reduced habitat heterogeneity. Notably, river-lake connectivity is pivotal in shaping differential responses to multiple stressors. Our results highlight a strong correlation between biodiversity alterations and land use within a 2-5 km radius and 0.05-2.5 km from the shorelines of Lakes Dongting and Taihu, respectively. These findings highlight the importance of implementing land buffer zones with specific spatial scales to enhance taxonomic and functional diversity, securing essential ecosystem services and enhancing the resilience of crucial lake ecosystems., Competing Interests: 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., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Objectives: To compare the efficacy of nadroparin and fondaparinux sodium for prevention of deep vein thromboembolism (DVT) in lower extremities after total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA)., Methods: A total of 592 patients were enrolled in the study. Clinical data of patients who underwent total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in our hospital from December 2021 to September 2022 were retrospectively collected, which mainly included patients' general information, surgery-related information, and DVT-related information. The patients were categorized into the nadroparin group(n = 278) and the fondaparinux sodium group(n = 314) according to the types of anticoagulants used. Anticoagulant therapy began 12-24 h after operation and continued until discharge. DVT prevalence between two groups was compared. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 25 (SPSS, Armonk, NY, USA) was used for statistical analysis., Results: The prevalence of DVT in the nadroparin group and the fondaparinux sodium group was 8.3% (23/278) and 15.0% (47/314), respectively(p = 0.012). Statistical analysis showed that nadroparin group showed a lower prevalence of thrombosis than fondaparinux group (OR = 1.952, P = 0.012). Subgroup analyses showed that nadroparin group had a lower prevalence of DVT than fondaparinux group in some special patients groups such as female patients (OR = 2.258, P = 0.007), patients who are 65-79 years old (OR = 2.796, P = 0.004), patients with hypertension (OR = 2.237, P = 0.042), patients who underwent TKA (OR = 2.091, P = 0.011), and patients who underwent combined spinal-epidural anesthesia (OR = 2.490, P = 0.003) (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Nadroparin may have an advantage over fondaparinux sodium in preventing DVT in lower extremities after THA and TKA., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Binding of autoantibodies to keratinocyte surface antigens, primarily desmoglein 3 (Dsg3) of the desmosomal complex, leads to the dissociation of cell-cell adhesion in the blistering disorder pemphigus vulgaris (PV). After the initial disassembly of desmosomes, cell-cell adhesions actively remodel in association with the cytoskeleton and focal adhesions. Growing evidence highlights the role of adhesion mechanics and mechanotransduction at cell-cell adhesions in this remodeling process, as their active participation may direct autoimmune pathogenicity. However, a large part of the biophysical transformations after antibody binding remains underexplored. Specifically, it is unclear how tension in desmosomes and cell-cell adhesions changes in response to antibodies, and how the altered tensional states translate to cellular responses. Here, we showed a tension loss at Dsg3 using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based tension sensors, a tension loss at the entire cell-cell adhesion, and a potentially compensatory increase in junctional traction force at cell-extracellular matrix adhesions after PV antibody binding. Further, our data indicate that this tension loss is mediated by the inhibition of RhoA at cell-cell contacts, and the extent of RhoA inhibition may be crucial in determining the severity of pathogenicity among different PV antibodies. More importantly, this tension loss can be partially restored by altering actomyosin based cell contractility. Collectively, these findings provide previously unattainable details in our understanding of the mechanisms that govern cell-cell interactions under physiological and autoimmune conditions, which may open the window to entirely new therapeutics aimed at restoring physiological balance to tension dynamics that regulates the maintenance of cell-cell adhesion., Competing Interests: COMPETING INTERESTS None to declare.

The current highway waveform guardrail recognition technology has encountered problems with low segmentation accuracy and strong noise interference. Therefore, an improved U-net semantic segmentation model is proposed to improve the efficiency of road maintenance detection. The model training is guided by mixed expansion convolution and mixed loss function, while the presence of guardrail shedding is investigated by using partial mean values of gray values in ROI region based on segmentation results, while the first-order detail coefficients of wavelet transform are applied to detect guardrail defects and deformation. It has been determined that the Miou and Dice of the improved model are improved by 8.63% and 17.67%, respectively, over the traditional model, and that the method of detecting defects in the data is more accurate than 85%. As a result of efficient detection of highway waveform guardrail, the detection process is shortened and the effectiveness of the detection is improved later on during road maintenance., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Jin et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are increasingly recognized as pervasive environmental contaminants, primarily from their extensive application in flame retardants and plasticizers. Despite their widespread presence, the intricacies of OPE bioaccumulation within aquatic ecosystems remain poorly understood, particularly the environmental determinants influencing their distribution and the bioaccumulation dynamics across aquatic food chains. Here we show that water temperature plays a crucial role in modulating the dispersion of OPE in the aquatic environment of Poyang Lake. We quantified OPE concentrations across various matrices, uncovering levels ranging from 0.198 to 912.622 ng L -1 in water, 0.013-493.36 ng per g dry weight (dw) in sediment, 0.026-41.92 ng per g wet weight (ww) in plankton, 0.13-2100.72 ng per g dw in benthic invertebrates, and 0.31-3956.49 ng per g dw in wild fish, highlighting a pronounced bioaccumulation gradient. Notably, the intestines emerged as the principal site for OPE absorption, displaying the highest concentrations among the seven tissues examined. Among the various OPEs, tris(chloroethyl) phosphate was distinguished by its significant bioaccumulation potential within the aquatic food web, suggesting a need for heightened scrutiny. The propensity for OPE accumulation was markedly higher in benthic invertebrates than wild fish, indicating a differential vulnerability within aquatic biota. This study lays a foundational basis for the risk assessment of OPEs as emerging contaminants and underscores the imperative to prioritize the examination of bioaccumulation effects, particularly in benthic invertebrates, to inform future environmental safeguarding strategies., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there were no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effect of Jiedu Fuzheng decoction (JFD) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and its potential therapeutic mechanism., Results: We prepared JFD-medicated serum from rats and treated NSCLC cells (A549 and NCI-H1650) with 0.5, 1, and 2 mg/mL JFD-medicated serum. CCK-8 and colony formation assays were used to detect cell proliferation. Transwell assays showed that JFD attenuated cell migration and invasion. JFD and SKL2001 (Wnt/β-catenin activator) were simultaneously used to treat NSCLC cells to verify that JFD regulated the biological behavior of NSCLC via Wnt/β-catenin signaling. It was found that 2 mg/mL JFD had the most significant effect on the activity of NSCLC cells. JFD attenuated proliferation and metastasis but increased the proportion of apoptotic cells. At the same time, JFD downregulated N-cadherin, vimentin and β-catenin protein expression in cancer cells. SKL2001 could restore the improvement of JFD on proliferation, metastasis and apoptosis., Conclusion: This study confirmed that JFD suppressed the occurrence and development of NSCLC by regulating Wnt/β-catenin signaling and provided a novel therapeutic scheme for NSCLC., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

We have studied the effect of platinum underlayer for two deposited thicknesses on the microstructure, crystalline quality, morphology, chemical composition, and magnetic properties as well as magnetic domain formation of BaFe 12 O 19 (BaM) grown on YSZ(111) by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). We found that PLD platinum deposited with a thickness of 25 nm cannot withstand the dewetting phenomenon occurring during the subsequent BaM layer growth. A smooth and continuous Pt underlayer that possesses a sharp interface and omits the intermixing between the BaM and substrate was successfully achieved for a deposited Pt film thickness of 75 nm. Independent of the thickness of the deposited Pt layer, the c -axis orientation as well as coercivity Hc and the anisotropy H A fields were significantly improved due to a remarkable improvement of lattice mismatch in comparison with the BaM layer grown without a Pt underlayer on YSZ(111). By applying high-resolution X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM/TEM), and atomically resolved scanning TEM imaging combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, as well as atomic and magnetic force microscopy, a comprehensive investigation of both structure and chemical composition of the deposited BaM films and their interfacial regions was performed. This study aimed to correlate the enhancement of the overall magnetic properties and of the local spin magnetic domain orientation with the modification of BaM microstructure and chemical composition at the nanometer scale due to the Pt underlayer. Finally, we attempted to understand the mechanisms that control the magnetic properties of these BaM films in order to be able to tailor them.

The objective of this study was to create a new method for delivering oral borneol (BN) drug that would improve stability. This was accomplished through microencapsulation using HiCap ® 100 and maltodextrin (MD), resulting in HiCap ® 100/MD/BN microcapsules (MCs). The HiCap ® 100/MD/BN MCs were evaluated in terms of encapsulation efficiency (EE%), drug loading (DL%), morphological observations, particle size distribution, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal analysis, drug degradation rate studies, and in vitro release behavior. The effect of MCs on intestinal permeability in a rat model was assessed using the model drug "florfenicol" (FF) in single-pass intestinal perfusion (SPIP) study. The relationship between MCs and P-glycoprotein (P-gp) was further investigated in comparison with verapamil (Ver). The irritation of MCs was assessed by histological analysis. The MCs in a spherical structure with micron-scale dimensions were obtained. The EE% and DL% were (86.71 ± 0.96)% and (6.03 ± 0.32)%, respectively. MCs played a significantly protective role in drug degradation rate studies. In vitro release studies indicated that the release behavior of MCs was significantly better than BN at the three-release media, and the cumulative release rate exceeded 90% in 15 min. The SPIP studies showed that MCs significantly enhanced the absorption of FF in rats. Compared with Ver, MCs were not promoted by a single inhibition of P-gp. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE)-stained images showed that MCs had no obvious irritation and toxic effects on the intestines of rats. Thus, the preparation of HiCap ® 100/MD/BN MCs improves the stability of BN, which has certain scientific value for the development and application of BN, and provides unique perspectives for future BN-related researches., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists.)

Generally, sunflower seeds are classified by machine vision-based methods in production, which include using photoelectric sensors to identify light-sensitive signals through traditional algorithms for which the equipment cost is relatively high and using neural network image recognition methods to identify images through cameras for which the computational cost is high. To address these problems, a multi-objective sunflower seed classification method based on sparse convolutional neural networks is proposed. Sunflower seeds were obtained from the video recorded using the YOLOv5 Object detection algorithm, and a ResNet-based classification model was used to classify the seeds according to differences in appearance. The ResNet has the disadvantages of having numerous parameters and high storage requirements; therefore, this study referred to the Lottery Ticket Hypothesis and used the Iterative Magnitude Pruning algorithm to compress the sunflower seed classification model, aiming to ascertain the optimal sparse sub-network from the classification model. Experiments were conducted to compare the effects on model performance before and after pruning, pruning degree, and different pruning methods. The results showed that the performance of the ResNet-based sunflower seed classification model using global pruning was the least affected by pruning, with a 92% reduction in the number of parameters, the best accuracy is 0.56% better than non-pruned and 9.17% better than layer-wise pruning. These findings demonstrate that using the Iterative Magnitude Pruning algorithm can render the sunflower seed classification model lightweight with less performance loss. The reduction in computational resources through model compression reduces the cost of sunflower seed classification, making it more applicable to practical production, and this model can be used as a cost-effective alternative to key sunflower seed classification techniques in practical production., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

We previously reported a single-cell adhesion micro tensile tester (SCAμTT) fabricated from IP-S photoresin with two-photon polymerization (TPP) for investigating the mechanics of a single cell-cell junction under defined tensile loading. A major limitation of the platform is the autofluorescence of IP-S, the photoresin for TPP fabrication, which significantly increases background signal and makes fluorescent imaging of stretched cells difficult. In this study, we report the design and fabrication of a new SCAμTT platform that mitigates autofluorescence and demonstrate its capability in imaging a single cell pair as its mutual junction is stretched. By employing a two-material design using IP-S and IP-Visio, a photoresin with reduced autofluorescence, we show a significant reduction in autofluorescence of the platform. Further, by integrating apertures onto the substrate with a gold coating, the influence of autofluorescence on imaging is almost completely mitigated. With this new platform, we demonstrate the ability to image a pair of epithelial cells as they are stretched up to 250% strain, allowing us to observe junction rupture and F-actin retraction while simultaneously recording the accumulation of over 800 kPa of stress in the junction. The platform and methodology presented here can potentially enable detailed investigation of the mechanics of and mechanotransduction in cell-cell junctions and improve the design of other TPP platforms in mechanobiology applications., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play critical roles in regulating the radiosensitivity of various cancers, including esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). This research aimed to explore the role and potential mechanism of hsa&#95;circ&#95;0014879 in regulating ESCC radioresistance. The levels of hsa&#95;circ&#95;0014879, microRNA-519-3p (miR-519-3p) and cell division cycle 25A (CDC25A) were measured using quantitative real-time PCR or western blot. Cell proliferation was evaluated by colony formation assay. Cell migration and invasion were assessed by transwell and scratch assays. The levels of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins were detected by western blot. Xenograft assay was used to analyze the effect of hsa&#95;circ&#95;0014879 on radiosensitivity in vivo. The binding relationship among hsa&#95;circ&#95;0014879, miR-519-3p and CDC25A was confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter assay. Hsa&#95;circ&#95;0014879 and CDC25A were upregulated, whereas miR-519-3p was downregulated in radio-resistant ESCC tissues and cells. Depletion of hsa&#95;circ&#95;0014879 suppressed the proliferation, migration and invasion of radio-resistant ESCC cells. Hsa&#95;circ&#95;0014879 knockdown elevated radiosensitivity of radio-resistant cells by modulating miR-519-3p. Moreover, miR-519-3p enhanced the radiosensitivity of radio-resistant cells by targeting CDC25A. Also, hsa&#95;circ&#95;0014879 upregulated CDC25A via sponging miR-519-3p. Hsa&#95;circ&#95;0014879 silencing enhanced the radiosensitivity of ESCC via regulating the miR-519-3p/CDC25A pathway., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Direct bronchial spread of tuberculosis was extensively described in pre-antibiotic human pathology literature but this description has been overlooked in the post-antibiotic era, in which most pathology data come from animal models that emphasise the granuloma. Modern techniques, such as [ 18 F]2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) PET-CT scans, might provide further insight. Our aim was to understand normal early tuberculosis resolution patterns on pulmonary PET-CT scans in treated patients with tuberculosis who were subsequently cured., Methods: In this observational analysis, we analysed data from PredictTB, an ongoing, prospective, randomised clinical trial that examined sequential baseline and week 4 FDG-PET-CT scans from participants successfully treated (sputum culture negative 18 months after enrolment) for drug-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis in South Africa and China. Participants who were aged 18-75 years, GeneXpert MTB/RIF positive for tuberculosis and negative for rifampicin resistance, had not yet started tuberculosis treatment, had not been treated for active tuberculosis within the previous 3 years, and met basic safety laboratory criteria were included and participants with diabetes, HIV infection, or with extrapulmonary tuberculosis including pleural tuberculosis were excluded. Scans were assessed by two readers for the location of tuberculosis lesions (eg, cavities and consolidations), bronchial thickening patterns, and changes from baseline to week 4 of treatment., Findings: Among the first 124 participants (enrolled from June 22, 2017, to Sept 27, 2018) who were successfully treated, 161 primarily apical cavitary lesions were identified at baseline. Bronchial thickening and inflammation linking non-cavitary consolidative lesions to cavities were observed in 121 (98%) of 124 participants' baseline PET-CT scans. After 4 weeks of treatment, 21 (17%) of 124 participants had new or expanding lesions linked to cavities via bronchial inflammation that were not present at baseline, particularly participants with two or more cavities at baseline and participants from South Africa., Interpretation: In participants with pulmonary tuberculosis who were subsequently cured, the location of cavitary and non-cavitary lesions at baseline and new lesions at week 4 of treatment suggest a cavitary origin of disease and bronchial spread through the lungs. Bronchial spread from cavities might play a larger role in the spread of pulmonary tuberculosis than has been appreciated. Elucidating cavity lesion dynamics and Mycobacterium tuberculosis viability within cavities might better explain treatment outcomes and why some patients are cured and others relapse., Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership, China Ministry of Science and Technology, National Natural Science Foundation of China, and National Institutes of Health., Translations: For the Chinese, Afrikaans and Xhosa translations of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section., Competing Interests: RJW is supported by Francis Crick Institute, which receives funding from UK Research and Innovation (FC0010218), Wellcome (FC0010218), and Cancer Research UK (FC0010218). RJW also receives support from Wellcome (104803, 203135), the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP; SRIA2015-1065), and US National Institutes of Health (NIH; AI115940). GW receives funding from the South African Research Chair Initiative from the National Research Foundation (86535). STM receives grants from the South African Medical Research Council (grant number CDF1576). KA is employed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute which is a grantee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation but a separate legal entity. All other authors declare no competing interests., (© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.)

Cell-cell adhesions are often subjected to mechanical strains of different rates and magnitudes in normal tissue function. However, the rate-dependent mechanical behavior of individual cell-cell adhesions has not been fully characterized due to the lack of proper experimental techniques and therefore remains elusive. This is particularly true under large strain conditions, which may potentially lead to cell-cell adhesion dissociation and ultimately tissue fracture. In this study, we designed and fabricated a single-cell adhesion micro tensile tester (SCAµTT) using two-photon polymerization and performed displacement-controlled tensile tests of individual pairs of adherent epithelial cells with a mature cell-cell adhesion. Straining the cytoskeleton-cell adhesion complex system reveals a passive shear-thinning viscoelastic behavior and a rate-dependent active stress-relaxation mechanism mediated by cytoskeleton growth. Under low strain rates, stress relaxation mediated by the cytoskeleton can effectively relax junctional stress buildup and prevent adhesion bond rupture. Cadherin bond dissociation also exhibits rate-dependent strengthening, in which increased strain rate results in elevated stress levels at which cadherin bonds fail. This bond dissociation becomes a synchronized catastrophic event that leads to junction fracture at high strain rates. Even at high strain rates, a single cell-cell junction displays a remarkable tensile strength to sustain a strain as much as 200% before complete junction rupture. Collectively, the platform and the biophysical understandings in this study are expected to build a foundation for the mechanistic investigation of the adaptive viscoelasticity of the cell-cell junction., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interest.

Background : By the early 1980s, tuberculosis treatment was shortened from 24 to 6 months, maintaining relapse rates of 1-2%. Subsequent trials attempting shorter durations have failed, with 4-month arms consistently having relapse rates of 15-20%. One trial shortened treatment only among those without baseline cavity on chest x-ray and whose month 2 sputum culture converted to negative. The 4-month arm relapse rate decreased to 7% but was still significantly worse than the 6-month arm (1.6%, P<0.01).  We hypothesize that PET/CT characteristics at baseline, PET/CT changes at one month, and markers of residual bacterial load will identify patients with tuberculosis who can be cured with 4 months (16 weeks) of standard treatment. Methods : This is a prospective, multicenter, randomized, phase 2b, noninferiority clinical trial of pulmonary tuberculosis participants. Those eligible start standard of care treatment. PET/CT scans are done at weeks 0, 4, and 16 or 24. Participants who do not meet early treatment completion criteria (baseline radiologic severity, radiologic response at one month, and GeneXpert-detectable bacilli at four months) are placed in Arm A (24 weeks of standard therapy). Those who meet the early treatment completion criteria are randomized at week 16 to continue treatment to week 24 (Arm B) or complete treatment at week 16 (Arm C). The primary endpoint compares the treatment success rate at 18 months between Arms B and C. Discussion : Multiple biomarkers have been assessed to predict TB treatment outcomes. This study uses PET/CT scans and GeneXpert (Xpert) cycle threshold to risk stratify participants. PET/CT scans are not applicable to global public health but could be used in clinical trials to stratify participants and possibly become a surrogate endpoint. If the Predict TB trial is successful, other immunological biomarkers or transcriptional signatures that correlate with treatment outcome may be identified., Trial Registration: NCT02821832., Competing Interests: Competing interests: No competing interests were disclosed.

It has been recognized that ecological risk assessment based on traditional endpoints of toxicity are unable to provide adequate protection because some chemicals may affect reproductive fitness of aquatic organisms at much lower concentrations. In this paper, predicted no effect concentrations (PNECs) for 4-nonylphenol (NP) were derived based either on endpoints of survival, development, and growth or on some nonlethal biomarkers of reproduction, biochemical and molecular biology data. The PNECs derived from reproductive lesion ranged from 0.12 to 0.60 μg NP L(-1), which was significantly lower than those derived from other endpoints. An assessment of ecological risks posed by NP to aquatic organisms in surface waters of China was conducted based on concentration levels of NP in 16 surface waters of 4 major river basins and PNECs derived from reproductive fitness by a tiered ecological risk assessment (ERA). The results showed that 14.2% and 76.5% of surface waters in China may have ecological risks resulting from reproductive fitness if the thresholds of protection for aquatic organisms were set up as 5% (HC5) and 1% (HC1), respectively. The risks were significantly greatest in the Yangtze River Basin than in other major river basins. In comparison with the risks assessed based on traditional endpoints, such as lethality, for those chemicals causing adverse effects on reproduction due to modulation of endocrine function, to be protective of ecosystem structure and function, lesser PNECs, based on sublethal effects of reproduction, were appropriate.

Piperazine derivatives of 2-furanyl[1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-a][1,3,5]triazine have recently been demonstrated to be potent and selective adenosine A(2a) receptor antagonists with oral activity in rodent models of Parkinson's disease. We have replaced the piperazinyl group with a variety of linear, monocyclic, and bicyclic diamines. Of these diamines, (R)-2-(aminomethyl)pyrrolidine is a particularly potent and selective replacement for the piperazinyl group. With this diamine component, we have been able to prepare numerous analogues with low nanomolar affinity toward the A(2a) receptor and good selectivity with respect to the A(1) receptor (>200-fold in some cases). Selected analogues from this series of [1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-a][1,3,5]triazine have now been shown to be orally active in the mouse catalepsy model.

A(1) adenosine receptor (AR) antagonists are effective diuretic agents that may be useful for treating fluid retention disorders including congestive heart failure. However, antagonism of A(1)ARs is potentially a concern when using these agents in patients with ischemic heart disease. To address this concern, the present study was designed to compare the actions of the A(1)AR antagonists CPX (1,3-dipropyl-8-cyclopentylxanthine), BG 9719 (1,3-dipropyl-8-[2-(5,6-epoxynorbornyl)]xanthine), and BG 9928 (1,3-dipropyl-8-[1-(4-propionate)-bicyclo-[2,2,2]octyl]xanthine) on acute myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury and ischemic preconditioning (IPC) in an in vivo dog model of infarction. Barbital-anesthetized dogs were subjected to 60 min of left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion followed by 3 h of reperfusion, after which infarct size was assessed by staining with triphenyltetrazolium chloride. IPC was elicited by four 5-min occlusion/5-min reperfusion cycles produced 10 min before the 60-min occlusion. Multiple-cycle IPC produced a robust reduction ( approximately 65%) in infarct size; this effect of IPC on infarct size was not abrogated in dogs pretreated with any of the three AR antagonists. Surprisingly, in the absence of IPC, pretreatment with CPX or BG 9928 before occlusion or immediately before reperfusion resulted in significant reductions ( approximately 40-50%) in myocardial infarct size. However, treatment with an equivalent dose of BG 9719 had no similar effect. We conclude that the A(1)AR antagonists BG 9719, BG 9928, and CPX do not exacerbate cardiac injury and do not interfere with IPC induced by multiple ischemia/reperfusion cycles. We discuss the possibility that the cardioprotective actions of CPX and BG 9928 may be related to antagonism of A(2B)ARs.