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Irrigation water management and real-time monitoring of crop water stress status can enhance agricultural water use efficiency, crop yield, and crop quality. The aim of this study was to simplify the calculation of the crop water stress index (CWSI) and improve its diagnostic accuracy. Simplified CWSI (CWSIsi) was used to diagnose water stress for cotton that has received four different irrigation treatments (no stress, mild stress, moderate stress, and severe stress) at the flowering and boll stage. High resolution thermal infrared and multispectral images were taken using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle remote sensing platform at midday (local time 13:00), and stomatal conductance (gs), transpiration rate (tr), and cotton root zone soil volumetric water content (θ) were concurrently measured. The soil background pixels of thermal images were eliminated using the Canny edge detection to obtain a unimodal histogram of pure canopy temperatures. Then the wet reference temperature (Twet), dry reference temperature (Tdry), and mean canopy temperature (Tl) were obtained from the canopy temperature histogram to calculate CWSIsi. The other two methods of CWSI evaluation were empirical CWSI (CWSIe), in which the temperature parameters were determined by measuring natural reference cotton leaves, and statistical CWSI (CWSIs), in which Twet was the mean of the lowest 5% of canopy temperatures and Tdry was the air temperature (Tair) + 5 °C. Compared with CWSIe, CWSIs and spectral indices (NDVI, TCARI, OSAVI, TCARI/OSAVI), CWSIsi has higher correlation with gs (R2 = 0.660) and tr (R2 = 0.592). The correlation coefficient (R) for θ (0–45 cm) and CWSIsi is also high (0.812). The plotted high-resolution map of CWSIsi shows the different distribution of cotton water stress in different irrigation treatments. These findings demonstrate that CWSIsi, which only requires parameters from a canopy temperature histogram, may potentially be applied to precision irrigation management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and related derivatives have attracted significant research attention due to their potential applications in a variety of fields. However, it remains challenging to fabricate MOF‐based composites into multidimensional structures, especially to endow them with ordered structures. Here, a facile strategy is developed for the preparation of Pt@ zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIF)‐8/SiO2 composite with 3D‐ordered macroporous (3DOM) structure (denoted as 3DOM‐Pt@ZIF‐8/SiO2) by the in situ self‐templated transformation of Pt/ZnO/SiO2 composite with 3DOM structure (denoted as 3DOM‐Pt/ZnO/SiO2), which is prepared by a nanocasting method with face‐centered cubic (fcc) polystyrene spheres as the template. The sampling analysis at various crystallization times confirms the detailed dissolution–precipitation process from 3DOM‐Pt/ZnO/SiO2 to 3DOM‐Pt@ZIF‐8/SiO2, in which Pt nanoparticles (NPs) are fully encapsulated into the 3DOM framework of ZIF‐8/SiO2 by a continuous ZIF‐8 shell in the surface. Besides, it is found that choosing suitable volume ratio of N,N‐dimethylformamide (DMF):H2O and SiO2 content is crucial to induce the in situ nucleation and growth of continuous ZIF‐8 shell on the 3DOM structure and also to prevent the 3DOM structure from collapsing. Crucially, the obtained 3DOM‐Pt@ZIF‐8/SiO2 shows high size‐selective catalytic properties for the hydrogenation of n‐hexene and cis‐cyclooctene due to the molecular sieve effect of ZIF‐8 shell on the framework. A facile self‐templated strategy is developed for the encapsulation of Pt nanoparticles within zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIF)‐8/SiO2 with 3D‐ordered macroporous (3DOM) structure by in situ transformation of Pt/ZnO/SiO2 with 3DOM structure based on a dissolution–precipitation mechanism. The obtained 3DOM‐Pt@ZIF‐8/SiO2 exhibits steady size‐selective catalytic properties for the hydrogenation of n‐hexene and cis‐cyclooctene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In subsurface irrigation, emitter orifices can become clogged by root intrusion. Using the technologies of subsurface drip irrigation, porous ceramic moulding and 3D printing, a new ceramic patch type subsurface drip irrigation line (CP-SDIL) with a simple structure was developed. The CP-SDIL consists of a plastic pipe, a plastic patch, a porous ceramic water-seepage pad and a rubber leakage-proof gasket. The CP-SDIL discharge can be adjusted by changing the material of the ceramic water-seepage pad which is the core component. The CP-SDIL pressure–discharge relationship is linear, and the flow region index is one. The working pressure and the ceramic materials had a significant influence on the discharge of water from the CP-SDIL into the soil. The higher the ceramic porosity and the working pressure, the larger the discharge and the movement of the wetting front. Based on a theoretical analysis and using the reference value for the soil saturation zone radius, an equation for calculating the discharge from CP-SDIL into the soil was developed. The results of this study can be used as a reference for the promotion and application of CP-SDIL. • Ceramic patch type subsurface drip irrigation line was developed. • Discharge could be adjusted by changing ceramic material. • Equation to calculated subsurface drip irrigation line discharge was developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Radioresistance is an important factor for unsatisfactory prognosis in Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients. Ubiquitous mitochondrial creatine kinase (CKMT1) is always associated with malignancy in a variety of cancers. However, its significance in NPC progression and radiosensitivity remains unclear. The present study focused on investigating the effects of CKMT1 on NPC cell radiosensitivity. Material and methods: CKMT1 was overexpressed in NPC cell line CNE-1 or knocked out in CNE-2. Biological changes were detected after cells exposing to different doses of X-ray to determine the role of CKMT1 on NPC cell radiosensitivity. Results: CKMT1 promotes proliferation and migration in NPC cell lines CNE-1 and CNE-2. Overexpression of CKMT1 in CNE-1 cells enhanced colony formation rates, reduced G2/M phase cell cycle arrest, lowered apoptosis rate and c-PARP level, and elevated STAT3 phosphorylation level after radiation treatment. While knocking out CKMT1 using the CRISPR/Cas9 system in CNE-2 cells lowered colony formation rates, increased G2/M phase cell cycle arrest, apoptosis rates, and c-PARP levels, and decreased STAT3 phosphorylation in response to radiation treatment. Conclusions: NPC cells with higher CKMT1 exhibited lower radiosensitivity through promoting phosphorylation of STAT3. Our findings suggest that CKMT1 may be an alternative radiotherapeutic target in NPC therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • ZnTe nanosheets were synthesized via an improved physical vapour deposition method. • The thickness of as-synthesized ZnTe nanosheets thin to tens of nanometers. • The as-synthesized ZnTe nanosheets show a typical p-type conductivity. • Photodetectors based on individual ZnTe nanosheets show high photoresponsivity. Abstract Low-dimensional semiconductor nanomaterials with novel properties hold great promise for potential electronics and photonics applications. Here we report the growth of high quality ultra-thin ZnTe nanosheets by a space-confined physical vapour deposition route. The as-prepared ZnTe nanosheets are well crystallized and exhibit the zinc-blende crystal structure, with lateral dimension up to tens of micrometers and thickness thin to tens of nanometers. P-type conductivity was confirmed by field-effect transistors based on the individual nanosheet. Photodetectors constructed by the high-quality ZnTe nanosheets exhibit high photoresponsivity (453.9 A/W), excellent stability and reliability. These results reveal that such high-quality ZnTe nanosheets are excellent candidates for optoelectronic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The first DENV-1 outbreak occurred in Xishuangbanna, a border area of China, Burma and Laos in 2017. • Dengue isolated strains show diversification between Burma and China. • Dengue fever has become a disease circulating in the interior of China. • Amino acid substitution (I440T) may lead to weakened virulence of the epidemic strains. • The diversity of global DENV-1 highly increased in 1972 and then slightly decreased after that until 2017. Abstract Background Xishuangbanna, a border area of China, Burma and Laos, had its first major DENV-1 outbreak in 2017. This study aims to explore the genetic characterization, potential source and evolution of the viruses in outbreak. Methods The structural protein C/prM/E genes of viruses isolated from local residents or Burmese travelers were sequenced followed by mutation, phylogenetic, homologous recombination, molecular clock and demographic reconstruction analysis. Results Phylogenetic analysis revealed that all of the strains were classified as three cluster of DENV-1. Cluster 1, 2 and 3 were most similar to China Guangzhou 2011, China Hubei 2014 and Laos 2008 strain, respectively. Among 236 base mutations, 31 caused nonsynonymous mutations when compared with the DENV-1SS. No homologous recombination signal was discovered. The structural protein of these strains had similar three-dimensional structure. Only site 434 showed differences among five predicted protein binding sites. Molecular clock phylogenetic and demographic reconstruction analysis showed that DENV-1 became highly diversified in 1972 followed by a slightly decreased period until 2017. Conclusions Dengue isolated strains show diversification between Burma and China. Amino acid substitution (I440T) may lead to weakened virulence of the epidemic strains. DENV-1 became highly diversified in 1972 followed by a slightly decreased period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract The adhering and spreading of endothelia cells (ECs) and macrophages (MAs) to SEMA4D/Heparin modified surface. Highlights • Monitoring the EC/MA interactions with biomaterials under dynamic circumstances. • Surfaces with high heparin promoted EC adhesion and spreading. • Surfaces with high SEMA4D enhanced both MA adhesion and spreading. • Specific igand-receptor interactions promote adhesion and spreading for either EC or MA. Abstract In vitro evaluation techniques that address cellular interactions under dynamic circumstances are required for the development of advanced biomaterials. In this study, quartz crystal microbalance and dissipation (QCM-D) provided a surface sensitive technique that enabled real-time monitoring of the adhesion and spreading response of endothelial cells (ECs) and macrophages (MAs) to soluble-semaphoring 4D (SEMA4D)/heparin modified substratum. The high heparin and low SEMA4D of substratum promoted ECs adhering and spreading. However, surfaces with high SEMA4D and low heparin enhanced MA adhering and spreading. Furthermore, DF plots of QCM-D indicated that the adhering and spreading of MAs were mainly mediated via the ligand-receptor interaction of SEMA4D-CD72, while both adhering and spreading of ECs were mainly mediated via heparin-induced integrin binding. This study suggests that QCM-D combined with other appropriate methods can be utilized to explore the mechanisms for cellular interaction with biomaterial surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • HYDRUS-2D is suitable for simulating water movement from ceramic emitters. • An equation for designing irrigation systems with ceramic emitters is given. • The appropriate working pressure head for ceramic emitters should be 20–50 cm. • Hydraulic conductivity of ceramic emitters should be 0.1–1.9 cm h−1. Abstract Emitter discharge is one of the most important parameters considered in the design, operation, and management of subsurface irrigation systems. The emitter discharge, if properly chosen, can eliminate surface runoff and minimize deep percolation water losses. The discharge from a ceramic emitter depends on the working pressure head and the ceramic hydraulic conductivity, so it is important to determine the optimal working levels for these two design parameters. In this work, it is confirmed that the HYDRUS-2D predictions of the cumulative infiltration and the horizontal wetting front are in good agreement with experimental results, and that the Hydrus-2D model can be used to accurately simulate soil water movement under subsurface irrigation with ceramic emitters. Additional simulations with HYDRUS-2D were used to study the effects of various design parameters (i.e. working pressure head and ceramic hydraulic conductivity) on emitter discharges in soils, deep percolation and soil wetting fronts. Results show that both the working pressure head and ceramic hydraulic conductivity have significant impact on the discharge of emitters in soil, and the deep percolation water losses. The emitter discharge in soil decreases with time and finally stabilizes. When the working pressure head and ceramic hydraulic conductivity are higher, the stable discharge (emitter discharge in soil at 120 h) is greater, and this situation may increase the risk of deep percolation. The relationship between the working pressure head, ceramic hydraulic conductivity, and stable discharge is developed as a power function. To satisfy the water requirements of trees with an active layer of root systems down to about 0–100 cm in the Loess Plateau in China and reduce the risk of deep percolation, it is recommended that the working pressure head should be 20–50 cm of water and the ceramic hydraulic conductivity should be between 0.1 and 1.9 cm h−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal behavior and kinetics of Yiluo coal (YC) and the residues of fermented cornstalk (FC) were investigated in this study. The Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) and Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) methods were used for the kinetic analysis of the pyrolysis process. The results showed that the activation energy ( E α ) was increased with the increase of the thermal conversion rate ( α ), and the average values of E α of YC, FC and the blend (m YC /m FC  = 6/4) were 304.26, 224.94 and 233.46 kJ/mol, respectively. The order reaction model function for the blend was also developed by the master-plots method. By comparing the E a and the enthalpy, it was found that the blend was favored to format activated complex due to the lower potential energy barrier. Meanwhile, the average value of Gibbs free energy of the blend was 169.83 kJ/mol, and the changes of entropies indicated that the pyrolysis process was evolved from ordered-state to disordered-state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The steady-state diagnostic and prognostic simulation for the Xiao Dongkemadi glacier (XD) of the Tibetan Plateau was performed with the thermo-mechanically-coupled-with-Full-Stokes code Elmer (http://www.csc.fi/elmer/). In this paper, some changes of glacial thermodynamic parameters caused by ice thickness and atmospheric temperature variation were simulated in view of different thickness. The purpose of this study was to fill the gap in analyzing the ice dynamic characteristic of a polar continental glacier. The diagnostic simulation revealed the following conclusions: (1) when the thickness change was small, surface velocity, ice temperature, and deviation stress variation in the bedrock showed a tendency to change with thickness, and when the terrain was gentle, the thickness variation dominated the ice velocity. (2) The ice temperature of the bedrock was high in the whole profile and reached the pressure melting point in the terminus, and it was easy to slide at the bottom, which was consistent with the measured ground penetrating radar data near the terminus. (3) The static friction forces decrease with thickness, and they showed a complex nonlinear relationship, which revealed that the deviation stress in the bottom was influenced by thickness and ice temperature at the bedrock. The prognostic simulating from 2007 to 2047 presented: (1) The simulation forecasted a shrinkage of nearly 600 m in the terminus and the longitudinal section, and wound up diminished by nearly 25% by the end of 2047; (2) the change of thickness was small at the region between 5650 and 5700 m.a.s.l, which might be related to lower atmospheric temperature; (3) thickness dominated the deviation stress (σxx and σxz) in the bottom, and the impact of the terrain was little higher compared to deviation stress (σxx). In other words, the glacial thickness dominated the glacial force and movement to a great extent and the low temperature at high altitude reduced the XD’s sensitivity facing future climate warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To elucidate the differences in microRNAs during dengue virus infection between Vero cell-adapted strain (DENV-2-Vero) and its source, the clinical C6/36 isolated strain (DENV-2-C6/36), a comparison analysis was performed in Vero cells by high throughput sequencing. The results showed that the expression of 16 known and 3 novel miRNAs exhibited marked differences. 5 known miRNAs were up-regulated in DENV-2-C6/36 group, while 11 known microRNAs were down-regulated in DENV-2-Vero group. The GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis showed that there was a distinct difference in regulating viral replication between two strains. In DENV-2-Vero infection group, significantly enriched GO terms included virion attachment to host cells, viral structural protein/genome processing and packaging. Meanwhile, the regulation of cell death and apoptosis between two groups were different in the early stage of infection. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that DENV-2-C6/36 infection induced more intense regulation of immune-related pathways, including Fc gamma R-mediated phagocytosis, etc. DENV-2-Vero infection could partially alleviate the immune defense of Vero cells compared with DENV-2-C6/36. The results indicated that the distinct microRNA changes induced by two DENV-2 strains may be partly related to their infective abilities. Our data provide useful insights that help elucidate the host-pathogen interactions following DENV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The surface martensite strengthening of ultra‐fine isotropic porous iron has been performed via carburization and quenching treatment at 950 °C for 30 min. This paper is devoted to investigating the evolution of microstructure and related mechanical behavior of porous iron after carburization treatment. Results indicate that an effective carburization thickness (300 µm) contributes to a substantial improvement in compressive ductility (62%) and surface hardness (219 HV0.025) of carburized porous iron. Further, the quenching treatment after carburization produces the porous iron with an ultra‐fine martensite microstructure on surface layer that makes porous iron attain the highest yield strength (256 MPa) and energy absorption capacity (85 KJ kg−1). The major contribution of this present work is a demonstration that an improvement in mechanical properties of ultra‐fine porous iron can be achieved through the carburization and quenching treatment to control the phase structure on surface. Thus, the surface martensite strengthening is considered as a feasible method to prepare more valuable porous iron based alloys, and to provide them with more promising applications on key structural parts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of the Chinese herbal medicine Yin Zhi Huang soup (YZS) in an experimental autoimmune prostatitis (EAP) rat model. In total, 48 rats were randomly divided into the following four groups (n=12/group): saline group, pathological model group, Qianlietai group, and YZS group. We determined the average wet weight of the prostate tissue, the ratio of the wet weight of the prostate tissue to body weight, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels in the blood serum, the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in the rats’ prostate tissues, and the pathological changes in the prostate tissue using light microscopy. YZS reduced the rats’ prostate wet weight, the ratio of the prostate wet weight to body weight, and TNF-α levels in the blood serum and inhibited the expression of iNOS in the rats’ prostate tissues (P<0.05). Following YZS treatment, the pathological changes in the rats’ prostates were improved compared with those in the model group (P<0.05). Furthermore, YZS treatment reduced inflammatory changes in the prostate tissue. It also significantly suppressed proinflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-α, and chemokines, such as iNOS, in the rat model of EAP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subsurface irrigation has been achieved by using ceramic emitters, pitchers, pots and ceramic tubes, which have gained a certain degree of interest in arid regions due to their efficient use of water. Research on the formation of wetting patterns around the ceramic emitter is essential for the design of irrigation system. In this study, numerical simulations were carried out to investigate the effects of emitter installation method, emitter buried depth, emitter structural parameters, irrigation doses and initial soil water content on the wetting patterns in clay loam with Hydrus-2D. Finally, two field application experiments were conducted to test the practicality and reliability of simulation results. The simulation results were in good agreement with the experimental data. Results showed, emitter installation method had the least effect on the wetting pattern. A 25 cm buried depth would be suit for irrigating vegetables, a 45 cm deep buried depth would suit for irrigating fruit trees. The structure parameters had a significant effect on cumulative fluxes and horizontal wetting front, the structural parameters (emitter length is 7.00 cm, emitter external diameter is 1.25 cm, and emitter inner diameter is 0.60 cm) would be a better fabricate parameters for ceramic emitter. Wetting front increased with increasing irrigation doses and initial water content. To prevent percolation, when the initial water content was high, it should be better to cut down the irrigation duration of ceramic emitter. The field results indicated that Hydrus-2D could be used to investigate the suitable parameters for ceramic emitter in subsurface irrigation systems and determine the suitable arrangement and operation mode of ceramic emitter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brackish water columns with three initial salinity gradients were frozen at −15 °C and then thawed at 20 °C. Vertical distributions of six ions (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl− and SO 4 2−) among five ice layers were compared after unidirectional freezing, and the temporal variations of ion concentrations at five melting stages were recorded during unidirectional thawing. Meanwhile, the evolvement of ice microstructure was also observed. Our results show that: (1) Driven by the rejection of ice crystals and gravity during unidirectional freezing, the total dissolved salts (TDS) of the bottom ice layer were approximately three times that of the top layer. (2) Specifically, 45 % of the total amount of Na+ and Cl− was observed at the bottom layer after unidirectional freezing, and the 30 % of Ca2+ appeared to concentrate in the middle layer. (3) During unidirectional thawing, the desalination rates reached over 80 % after 14 h. With greater initial salinity, the brine channel connectivity was more distinguished. (4) The percent proportions of Na+, K+, Cl− and SO 4 2− showed two peaks during unidirectional melting, where 30 % to 50 % of individual total amount was discharged. The percent proportion of Ca2+ merely peaked once, with 25 % being discharged. [Display omitted] • Salt enriched at the column bottom after unidirectional freezing of brackish water. • Salt cells enlarged from top to bottom and eventually evolved into brine channels. • The total dissolved solids of unidirectionally melted water featured double peaks. • Concentration peaks of ions in meltwater followed: Na+ > K+ > Mg2+ > Ca2+. • Ca2+ showed distinguished patterns than other ions during unidirectional freeze-thaw. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • First preparation of Bi 2 S 3 quantum dots (QDs) decorated-MIL-53 (Fe) composites (BM) by an easy chemical synthesis strategy. • The BM/persulfate/Visible light system was designed to effectively degrade ciprofloxacin in water. • The BM can facilitate the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. • Electron transfer between QDs and MIL-53(Fe) contributes to the formation of oxygen vacancies. • Bi 2 S 3 QDs decorated with MIL-53 (Fe) for excellent repeatability and stability. In recent years, concurrent photocatalysis-persulfate activation (CPPA) has emerged as a potential method for antibiotic removal. A highly active and stable catalyst is the prerequisites for the development of CPPA technology. Herein, Bi 2 S 3 quantum dots (QDs) decorated MIL-53 (Fe) hybrids were synthesized for the first time by a simple chemical synthesis strategy and used for antibiotic degradation in the CPPA system. The energy band structure and optical properties show that BM has a narrower forbidden bandwidth, higher carrier separation, and transport efficiency compared to the original MIL-53(Fe). It also promotes the O 2 transfer and makes the BM rich in oxygen vacancy (Ov), which becomes a bridge to connect photocatalysis and SR-AOPs. The BM-5/PS/vis system degraded over 97.4 % of the ciprofloxacin in 15 min and remained effective in the presence of common interfering substances or over a wide pH range. The quenching and trapping experiments indicate the dominance of superoxide radicals and singlet oxygen in the degradation process. The simultaneous activity of free radical and non-free routes could be responsible for the improved antibiotic degradation efficiency. This work provides a facile strategy in surface modification to improve the physicochemical properties of MIL-53(Fe) and demonstrates the catalytic role of BM in the CPPA system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intercropping and biochar application are two main practices that can conserve land, improve water and fertilizer use efficiency and crop yields. However, the performance of the combination of different biochar application amounts and intercropping system is not clear. The objectives of this study were to determine how biochar and intercropping affected soil water, soil pH and nutrients, plant growth, yield, irrigation water - fertilizer use efficiency, and economic benefits for cotton monoculture and cotton-sugarbeet intercropping system, and find the optimal biochar application amount and application years. A three-year cotton-sugarbeet intercropping with biochar application experiment were conducted compared with cotton monoculture. The biochar was continuously applied to the field at the rates of 0, 10, 50 and 100 t ha−1 in 2018, 0, 10, 25, 50 and100 t ha−1 in 2019 and 0, 10, 25 and 30 t ha−1 in 2020. The soil water, nutrients, cotton growth, cotton and sugarbeet yields, water and fertilizer use efficiency and economic benefits were studied. The combination of biochar and cotton-sugarbeet intercropping has several positive effects compared to the cotton monoculture system. The soil water condition was improved. The comprehensive fertility of soil was increased by 3.9–28.3%. The cotton yields, water and fertilizer use efficiency and economic benefits were increased by 0.5–43.8%, 43.3–135.3% and 11.5–65.6%, respectively. The multicriteria assessment showed that the biochar application amount at 10 t ha−1 treatment performed the best with the highest scale every year. The multivariate nonlinearity equation implicated that three years of a continuous biochar application amount of 16.6 t ha−1 was an efficient mode to improve IWUE. The research provides a new insight for agricultural production in the arid and semi-arid. [Display omitted] • Biochar application and intercropping increased cotton yields. • Biochar at 10 t ha−1 increased cotton yields and economics the most. • Intercropping with 3-year continuous biochar application at 16.6 t ha−1 is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Review: 199 refs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past few decades, dengue has spread rapidly and is an emerging disease in China. An unexpected dengue outbreak occurred in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China, resulting in 1331 patients in 2013. In order to obtain the complete genome information and perform mutation and evolutionary analysis of causative agent related to this largest outbreak of dengue fever. The viruses were isolated by cell culture and evaluated by genome sequence analysis. Phylogenetic trees were then constructed by Neighbor-Joining methods (MEGA6.0), followed by analysis of nucleotide mutation and amino acid substitution. The analysis of the diversity of secondary structure for E and NS1 protein were also performed. Then selection pressures acting on the coding sequences were estimated by PAML software. The complete genome sequences of two isolated strains (YNSW1, YNSW2) were 10,710 and 10,702 nucleotides in length, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis revealed both strain were classified as genotype II of DENV-3. The results indicated that both isolated strains of Xishuangbanna in 2013 and Laos 2013 stains (KF816161.1, KF816158.1, LC147061.1, LC147059.1, KF816162.1) were most similar to Bangladesh (AY496873.2) in 2002. After comparing with the DENV-3SS (H87) 62 amino acid substitutions were identified in translated regions, and 38 amino acid substitutions were identified in translated regions compared with DENV-3 genotype II stains Bangladesh (AY496873.2). 27(YNSW1) or 28(YNSW2) single nucleotide changes were observed in structural protein sequences with 7(YNSW1) or 8(YNSW2) non-synonymous mutations compared with AY496873.2. Of them, 4 non-synonymous mutations were identified in E protein sequences with (2 in the β-sheet, 2 in the coil). Meanwhile, 117(YNSW1) or 115 (YNSW2) single nucleotide changes were observed in non-structural protein sequences with 31(YNSW1) or 30 (YNSW2) non-synonymous mutations. Particularly, 14 single nucleotide changes were observed in NS1 sequences with 4/14 non-synonymous substitutions (4 in the coil). Selection pressure analysis revealed no positive selection in the amino acid sites of the genes encoding for structural and non-structural proteins. This study may help understand the intrinsic geographical relatedness of dengue virus 3 and contributes further to research on their infectivity, pathogenicity and vaccine development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Late thrombus and restenosis caused by delayed endothelialization and insufficient biocompatibility of polymer coating continue to be the greatest limitations of drug-eluting stents. In this study, based on the specific structure of vascular basement membrane, a novel biomimetic nano-coating was constructed by incorporating laminin into electrostatic-assembled heparin/poly- l -lysine nanoparticles. Alteration of heparin and poly- l -lysine concentration ratio in a certain range has no significantly influence nanoparticle size, uniformity and stability, but may affect the chemical property and subsequently the binding efficiency to dopamine-coated titanium surface. By use of this feature, four different nanoparticles were synthesized and immobilized on titanium surface for creating gradient nanoparticle binding density. According to in vitro biocompatibility evaluation, the nanoparticle modified surfaces were found to effectively block coagulation pathway and reduce thrombosis formation. Moreover, NP10L and NP15L modified surface with relatively low heparin exposing density (4.9 to 7.1 μg/cm2) showed beneficial effect in selective promoting EPCs and ECs proliferation, as well as stimulating cell migration and NO synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human enteroviruses (EVs) are the major causative agents of aseptic meningitis. In this study, a total of 524 children were admitted to the children Kunming hospital (continental China) for aseptic meningitis manifestations in 2009 and 2010. An EV infection was diagnosed in 85/524 children (16.2 %) and the viruses detected were assigned to 16 serotypes. Most serotypes belonged to the enterovirus B species. Echovirus 9 was predominant (24.7 %), followed by coxsackievirus B5 (23.5 %) and then echovirus 30 (16.5 %). Echovirus 9 was firstly identified as the predominant serotype in sporadic aseptic meningitis which occurred in Yunnan, Southwest China. This work indicates the need to perform large-scale surveillance to gain a better insight into the epidemiology of enteroviruses associated with aseptic meningitis in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs are small RNA that are tightly interrelated with the initiation, development, and metastasis of cancers. Studies have shown that miR-10b is increased in various cancers. However, the underlying mechanisms of miR-10b in the occurrence and metastasis of endometrial cancer are poorly understood. To investigate its roles and correlations with Homeobox box 3 (HOXB3) in endometrial cancer, cancer tissues and adjacent normal endometrium tissues from 20 patients with endometrial cancer were studied. miR-10b expression was significantly up-regulated (p < 0.01) in endometrial cancer tissue, whereas HOXB3 was lowly expressed. The silence of miR-10b resulted in significantly enhanced cell apoptosis, and remarkably reduced cell proliferation, migration, and invasion (p < 0.05). Moreover, the protein levels of HOXB3 were increased in KLE cells with silenced miR-10b, and dual-luciferase reporter assay suggested that miR-10b could directly target HOXB3. Furthermore, overexpression of HOXB3 promoted cell apoptosis but inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion (p < 0.01). To conclude, miR-10b might control cell apoptosis, proliferation, migration, and invasion in endometrial cancer via regulation of HOXB3 expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The differential lncRNAs in DENV-3 and ADE were validated by RNA-Seq for the first time. • Predictive analysis of the coding potential of differential lncRNAs. • lncRNAs derived from X and Y chromosomes in ADE are different from DENV-3 and negative controls. Dengue fever, as a mosquito-borne viral disease widely spread in tropical and subtropical regions, remarkably threatens public health, while the mechanism involved in host-DENV interaction has not been fully elucidated. Firstly, we analyzed the expression levels of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in THP-1 cells after DENV-3 infection and Antibody- Dependent Enhancement of viral infection (ADE-VI) by RNA-Seq. Secondly, through the RT-qPCR to confirm those differentially expressed (DE) lncRNAs. Then, we also analyzed the competitive endogenous RNA (CeRNA) regulatory network of DE lncRNAs. Finally, we predicted the encode ability of DE lncRNAs. It was found that on the X and Y chromosomes, the expression levels of lncRNAs in THP-1 cells after ADE-VI were significantly different from those in the negative control and the DENV-3 infection groups. There were 71 DE lncRNAs after DENV-3 infection, including 42 up-regulated and 29 down-regulated lncRNAs. A total of 70 DE lncRNAs after ADE-VI were detected, including 38 up-regulated and 32 down- regulated lncRNAs. After ADE-VI and DENV-3 infection, there were 35 DE lncRNAs, including 11 up-regulated and 24 down-regulated lncRNAs. The analysis of the CeRNA regulatory network of DE lncRNAs revealed that, TRIM29, STC2, and IGFBP5 were correlated with the ADE-VI. Additionally, it was found that lncRNAs not only participated in the CeRNA regulatory network, but also maybe encoded small peptides. Our findings provided clues for further investigation into the lncRNAs associated antiviral mechanism of ADE-VI and DENV-3 infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyzed Chinese Miao population samples (n = 268) from Guizhou province, Southwest China, with 19 X-chromosomal short tandem repeats (STRs) included in the AGCU X19 amplification kit. The combined PE is 0.999999922 and the combined PDs in males and females are 0.9999999999999999999994 and 0.9999999999998, respectively. The mean paternity exclusion change values are larger than 0.99999996. The HDs in seven linkage groups vary from 0.9324 to 0.9968. Subsequently, comparison among different Chinese populations shows that the substructures of Chinese were significantly influenced by ethno-linguistic rather than geographical boundaries, including most prominently Turkic-speaking and Tibeto-Burman-speaking populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Modified biochar decreased pH of salt-affected soils in an intercropping system. • Oversupply of biochar had negative impact on soil water and crop yield. • A 10 t ha−1 biochar application rate was recommended to improve soil and yields. Biochar application in agricultural salt-affected soils has shown strong potential to amend soil and promote production. The effect of biochar on soil properties and crop yield varies with crop, soil, biochar properties and climate. Thus, it is critical to select suitable biochar and their application amounts for ameliorating salt-affected soils while improving its conditions and crop yields. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of biochar application rates on soil properties, water and temperature conditions and crop yields in saline-alkali soils under cotton-sugarbeet intercropping. We used a three-year (2018–2020) field experiment with biochar application rates of 0, 10, 50 and 100 t ha−1 in 2018, 0, 10, 25, 50 and100 t ha−1 in 2019 and 0, 10, 25 and 30 t ha−1 in 2020. Soil bulk density decreased and thus porosity increased with application of biochar. Soil pH decreased with increasing biochar application amount and the rate of change ranged from −0.003 to −0.004 per ton of biochar. Biochar application at 10 t ha−1 increased soil water content (SWC) and weighted planar soil water storage (WPSWS) in all three experimental years, while oversupply of biochar decreased SWC. Application of biochar moderated soil temperature fluctuations. The yield of cotton and sugarbeet first increased and then decreased with increasing amount of biochar. Considering the effects of biochar on soil water, temperature, and crop yields, 10 t ha−1 biochar amount was proposed as an appropriate application rate for saline-alkali soils. The results provided valuable information on appropriate biochar rates to amend salt-affected soils and their properties while increase crop yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bulk Fe–N alloys were fabricated using ultra-fine ε-Fe 3 N powder by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 600 °C, 650 °C, 700 °C, and 750 °C. The sintering temperatures were varied over wide ranges and the impact of such variations on sintered specimens was investigated through the characterization of their microstructures, chemical compositions, hardness, densities, compressive properties, and magnetic properties. The results indicate that γ ′-Fe 4 N and α -(Fe,N) (Fe–N solid solution) are the major phases of sintered specimens and the nitrogen concentration can significantly reduce with the sintering temperature increasing. The Fe–N phase transformation behavior during sintering process influences the instantaneous density, microstructure, and properties. The γ ′-Fe 4 N and α -(Fe,N) formed an homogeneous multiphase structure in the specimen sintered at 700 °C and this structure shows excellent compressive properties. Specimens sintered at 750 °C possess higher toughness, larger saturation magnetization, lower coercivity, and less remanence ratio. These findings indicate a certain nitrogen concentration bulk Fe–N alloy with good performance is attainable via SPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changes of the ionospheric electric field before and after four huge earthquakes, which include the Ms 8.7 earthquake of 2004 and the Ms 8.5 earthquake of 2005 in Sumatra of Indonesia, the Ms 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake of 2008 in China, the Ms 8.8 earthquake of 2010 in Chile, and their strong aftershocks are studied in this paper. The significant results revealed that the power spectral density of low-frequency electric field below 20 Hz in the ionosphere, a kind of electromagnetic radiation phenomena, increased abnormally before and after the earthquakes and partially corresponded to the increased power spectral density of the low-frequency geoelectric field in time. This research preliminarily indicates that the low-frequency electromagnetic radiation during the imminent stages before such earthquakes could be detected by the observation of the ionospheric electric field. However, the spatial, temporal, and intensive complexities of the electric field anomalies in the ionosphere before earthquakes have come in sight also. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hemin-functionalized WS2 nanosheets (hemin/WS2-NSs) were first obtained by hemin assembled on the surface of few-layered WS2 nanosheets (WS2-NSs) via van der Waals interactions. Significantly, this new material possessed the advantages of both hemin and WS2 nanosheets and exhibited some unique properties. Firstly, hemin/WS2-NSs had intrinsic peroxidase-like activity, which could effectively catalyze oxidation of the substrate 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) by H2O2 to produce a typical blue colored reaction. Secondly, the activity of hemin/WS2-NSs was much higher than the activity of hemin or WS2-NSs alone. The catalytic activity followed the typical Michaelis–Menten kinetics and was dependent on the temperature, pH, H2O2 concentration, as well as reaction time. Based on this finding, a new highly sensitive and selective colorimetric method for H2O2 and glucose detection was developed. This method was simple and inexpensive for glucose detection using glucose oxidase (GOx) and hemin/WS2-NSs with a linear range of 0.5 × 10−5 to 2.0 × 10−4 mol L−1 with a detection limit of 1.5 × 10−6 mol L−1. The good catalytic activity and low-cost make the hemin/WS2-NSs a useful biocatalyst for a wide range of potential applications in environmental chemistry, biotechnology and clinical diagnostics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cigarette smoking is reported to decrease survival and induce chemotherapy resistance in patients with various cancers. However, the impact of cigarette smoking on patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains unknown. Methods: A total of 1,084 ESCC patients were retrospectively enrolled from a southern Chinese institution. Patients were divided into two groups according to their treatment modalities: the SC group (surgery with chemotherapy) (n = 306) and the S group (surgery without chemotherapy) (n = 778). Smoking status was quantified as smoking history (non-smoker, ex-smoker, and current smoker) and cumulative smoking (0, between 0 and 20, and greater than 20 pack-years). The association between cigarette smoking and overall survival (OS) was evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method and univariate/multivariate regression analysis. Results: Among 1,084 patients, 702 (64.8%) reported a cigarette smoking history, and the 5-year OS for non-smokers and smokers was 45.8% and 37.3%, respectively. In the SC group, compared with non-smoker, the adjusted HRs of ex-smoker and current smoker were 1.540 (95% CI, 1.1–2.2) and 2.110 (95% CI, 1.4–3.1), respectively; there is a correlative trend of decreased OS with increased cigarette smoking (Ptrend = 0.001). These associations were insignificant in the S group. In subgroup analysis of the SC group, the lower OS conferred by smoking was not significantly modified by age, gender, body mass index, alcohol drinking, or chemotherapy method (chemotherapy and chemoradiotherapy). Conclusion: Our results suggest that smoking may affect treatment outcome in patients with resected ESCC who received chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) capture stent has drawn increasing attentions and become one of the most promising concepts for the next generation vascular stent. In this regard, it is of great significance to immobilize a molecule with the ability to bind EPC for rapid in vivo endothelialization with high specificity. In this work, a facile two-step method aimed at constructing a coating with specific EPC capturing aptamers is reported. The processes involves as the first-step deposition of plasma polymerized allylamine (PPAam) on a substrate to introduce amine groups, followed by the electrostatic adsorption of a 34 bases single strand DNA sequence to the PPAam surface as a second step (PPAam-DNA). Grazing incidence attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (GATR-FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed the successful immobilization of the aptamers. Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) real time monitoring result shows that about 175 ng/cm 2 aptamers were conjugated onto the PPAam surface. The interactions between the modified surfaces and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (ECs), smooth muscle cells (SMCs), and murine induced EPCs derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were also investigated. It was demonstrated that PPAam-DNA samples could capture more EPCs, and present a cellular friendly surface for the proliferation of both EPCs and ECs but no effect on the hyperplasia of SMCs. Also, the co-culture results of 3 types of cells confirmed that the aptamer could specifically bond EPCs rather than ECs and SMCs, suggesting the competitive adhesion advantage of EPCs to ECs and SMCs. These data demonstrate that the EPC aptamer has large potential for designing an EPC captured stent and other vascular grafts with targeted in situ endothelialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biocompatibility of currently used coronary artery stent is still far from perfect, which closely related to insufficient endothelialization and thrombus formation. In this study, heparin, fibronectin and VEGF were immobilized on Ti surface to construct a multifunctional microenvironment with favorable properties to inhibit thrombosis formation and promote endothelialization simultaneously. The microenvironment on Ti surface was characterized in detail and demonstrated that the Hep/Fn/VEGF biofunctional coating was constructed successfully on Ti surface. The influence of surface properties such as chemical composition, roughness, hydrophilicity, and binding density of biomolecules on the performances of hemocompatibility and cytocompatibility was evaluated and discussed. Modified surface significantly enhanced the AT III binding density and prolonged the clotting time. In vitro platelet adhesion and activation assays further proved that the modified surface presented favorable anti-coagulant property. In addition, the proliferation of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and endothelial cells (ECs) on the Hep/Fn/VEGF biofunctional coating was significantly promoted. In conclusion, the Hep/Fn/VEGF biofunctional coating was successfully constructed with desirable anticoagulant and endothelialization supporting properties. This work may provide a promising approach for biofunctional surface modification of coronary artery stent to acquire a desired multifunctional microenvironment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface biofunctional modification of coronary artery stent to improve the hemocompatibility and selectively accelerate endothelium regeneration but prevent restenosis have been become a new hotspot. For this, a novel method was developed in this work by co-immobilization of Ln and heparin complex on poly- l -lysine modified Ti surface. Take the advantage of the specific interaction between Ln and heparin, Ln and heparin complexes with different concentration ratios were set up for creating different exposure density of these two types of biomolecules. According to biocompatibility evaluation results, the Hep/Ln complexes modified surface displayed less platelet adhesion and activation. Especially, on L(150)H and L(200)H surface, the AT III binding quantity, APTT value and anti-coagulation property of modified surface were significantly promoted. Furthermore, the adherent density and proliferation activity of ECs and EPCs were positively correlated with Ln concentration. Notably, the proliferation of both ECs and EPCs on L(100)H, L(150)H and L(200)H surface were greatly promoted. Another hand, the proliferation activity of SMCs was significantly inhibited on Hep/Ln modified surfaces, which was considered mainly due to the inhibitory effect of heparin to SMCs. According to the existing results, this study demonstrated that in a certain range of heparin and laminin concentration ratio, the biological behavior of platelets, ECs, EPCs and SMCs could be selectively directed. We suggested that this article provided a potential method to construct an adequate platform on a stent surface for accelerate endothelialization with low side effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of full-thickness skin regeneration is complex and has many parameters involved, which makes it difficult to use a single dressing to meet the various requirements of the complete regeneration at the same time. Therefore, developing hydrogel dressings with multifunction, including tunable rheological properties and aperture, hemostatic, antibacterial and super cytocompatibility, is a desirable candidate in wound healing. In this study, a series of complex hydrogels were developed via the hydrogen bond and covalent bond between chitosan (CS) and alginate (SA). These hydrogels exhibited suitable pore size and tunable rheological properties for cell adhesion. Chitosan endowed hemostatic, antibacterial properties and great cytocompatibility and thus solved two primary problems in the early stage of the wound healing process. Moreover, the sustained cytocompatibility of the hydrogels was further investigated after adding FGF and VE-cadherin via the co-culture of L929 and EC for 12 days. The confocal 3D fluorescent images showed that the cells were spherical and tended to form multicellular spheroids, which distributed in about 40–60 μm thick hydrogels. Furthermore, the hydrogel dressings significantly accelerate defected skin turn to normal skin with proper epithelial thickness and new blood vessels and hair follicles through the histological analysis of in vivo wound healing. The findings mentioned above demonstrated that the CS/SA hydrogels with growth factors have great potential as multifunctional hydrogel dressings for full-thickness skin regeneration incorporated with hemostatic, antibacterial, sustained cytocompatibility for 3D cell culture and normal skin repairing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: White, blue, black and purple red wheat bran powders were prepared by ultrafine grinding to the particle size distribution of 0.5–100 μm. The effects of wheat bran addition on the qualities of dry Chinese noodles were investigated. Rapid Visco Analyzer results suggested that peak viscosity, hot paste viscosity, cool paste viscosity, breakdown viscosity and setback viscosity of the blends decreased with the increasing bran levels from 2.0% to 6.0% (P < 0.05). Color of dough sheet (L*) decreased with the addition of wheat bran, while a* and b* values increased distinctly. Water absorption and firmness of the cooked noodles showed up trends with increasing addition of bran, while cooking loss showed a downtrend. Tensile strength and elongation rate decreased when bran addition was 2.0%, but increased when bran addition reached 4.0%–6.0%. Storage modulus (E′) and loss modulus (E″) showed decreasing trends with increases in bran addition at frequencies of 0.1–10 Hz. SEM revealed that bran presence could slightly decrease surface connectivity between starch granules and gluten. It is possible to produce fiber-rich noodles by using 2.0%–6.0% ultrafine-ground bran in wheat flour. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Timely and accurate detection of crop water stress is vital for precision irrigation. Whether the accuracy of the prevailing diagnosis of crop water stress using vegetation indices (VIs) and spectral reflectance can be improved still remains to be investigated. The crop surface characteristics such as grayscale or color vary under different water stress, so in this study one more variable, image texture, was utilized together to diagnose water stress. For this end, the canopy image of winter wheat in bloom was obtained by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with multispectral sensor, and the effect of soil background was eliminated using vegetation index threshold method. On this basis, Grey level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) was used to calculate the mean (MEA), variance (VAR), homogeneity (HOM), contrast (CON), dissimilarity (DIS), entropy (ENT), second moment (SEC) and correlation (COR) of the image texture under different spatial resolutions (0.008 m, 0.01 m, 0.02 m, 0.05 m, 0.1 m and 0.2 m). Next, the canopy vegetation indices were obtained by mathematical transformation of canopy reflectance, and then sensitive image texture and vegetation indices by full subset regression method. Finally, Cubist, BPNN (Back Propagation Neural Network) and ELM (Extreme Learning Machine) methods were adopted to build the estimation models of the stomatal conductance (Gs) of winter wheat (between the sensitive image texture and Gs, and between vegetation index and Gs), and the water stress map was plotted based on the optimal Gs estimation model. The result showed: (i) the image texture obtained from the high-resolution multispectral image had a high correlation with Gs, and the image texture (VAR, HOM, CON, DIS, ENT and SEC) at 550 nm had the most significant correlation; (ii) the higher the ground resolution, the higher the correlation between the Gs and the image texture, the vegetation indices, respectively. The image texture with a ground resolution of 0.008 m combined with VIs and Gs had the highest correlation, and combining image texture and vegetation index can significantly improve the estimation accuracy of winter wheat Gs; (iii) Among the three estimation models, the BPNN model constructed by combining the image texture and VIs (MEA, VAR, ENT, DWSI and EXG) had the best estimation performance (Calibration: R c 2 = 0.899, RMSE c = 0.01, MAE c = 0.006; Validation: R c 2 = 0.834, RMSE v =;0.018, MAE v = 0.014), and an accurate estimation could even be achieved at a lower Gs value. Compared with the BPNN model solely based on VIs or image texture, the R c 2 of the BPNN model based on the combined variables increased by 24% and 22.48%, respectively. Therefore, combining UAV multispectral image texture and VIs to estimate Gs provides a feasible and accurate method for water stress diagnosis of winter wheat. • The incorporation of texture improved the accuracy of water stress diagnoses with VIs. • BPNN model with VIs and texture provided the highest accuracy of Gs estimation. • UAV provides a feasible and accurate method for water stress diagnosis of winter wheat. • Removing soil background and screening methods improve the quality of remote sensing data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An atmospheric pressure needle plasma is generated with a hollowneedle-plate dielectric barrier discharge, and the plasma parameters are measured by optical emission spectroscopy. The length of the needle plasma reaches 3 cm with an argon flow rate in the range from 3.5 to 6.1 ml/min when the applied voltage is 7.2 kV. The spatial distribution of oxygen-atom spectral-line intensity indicates that there is a large concentration of excited oxygen atoms in the middle of the plasma. Gas temperature is estimated by simulating the spectrum of OH radical around 309 nm. The spatial distribution of gas temperature along the plasma is uniform. Gas temperature decreases with the increase in argon flow rate. Electron density determined by the Stark broadening of H\alpha is in the range from 5.8 \times 10^14 to 6.0 \times 10^14\ \cm^-3 when the electron temperature is 1–4 eV. The application of plasma in the modification of material surface is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Poor haemocompatibility is a main issue of artificial cardiovascular materials in clinical application. Nitric oxide (NO), produced by vascular endothelial cells, is a well known inhibitor of platelet adhesion and activation. Thus, NO-releasing biomaterials are beneficial for improving haemocompatibility of blood-contacting biomedical devices. In this paper, a novel method was developed for enhancement of haemocompatibility by exploiting endogenous NO donors. TiO2 films were firstly synthesized on Si (100) wafers via unbalanced magnetron sputtering technology, and then polydopamine was grafted on TiO2 films and used as a linker for further immobilization of cystamine. The obtained surfaces were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. NO generation is evaluated by saville-griess reagents, and it shows that cystamine immobilized samples are able to catalytically generate NO by decomposing endogenous S-nitrosothiols (RSNO). In vitro platelet adhesion results reveal that cystamine modified surfaces can inhibit collagen-induced platelet activation. ELISA analysis reveals that cGMP in platelets obviously increases on cystamine immobilized surface, which suggests the reducing of platelet activation is through NO/cGMP signal channel. It can be concluded that cystamine immobilized surface shows better blood compatibility by catalyzing NO release from the endogenous NO donor. It may be a promising method for improvement of haemocompatibility of blood-contacting implants. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Immobilization of selenocystamine on TiO2 film deposited on silicon wafer and 316 stainless steel stents for catalytic generation of nitric oxide was described. Polydopamine was used as the linker for immobilization of selenocystamine to the TiO2 surface. In vitro stability of the immobilized selenocystamine was investigated and the result shows surface selenium loss occurs mostly in the first four weeks. The selenocystamine immobilized surface possesses glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity, and the activity increases with the amount of grafted polydopamine. Such selenocystamine immobilized surfaces show the ability of catalytically decomposing endogenous S-nitrosothiols (RSNO), generating NO; thus the surface displays the ability to inhibit collagen-induced platelet acitivation and aggregation. Additionally, smooth muscle cells are inhibited from adhering to the selenocystamine immobilized sample when RSNO is added to the culture media. ELISA analysis reveals that cGMP in both platelets and smooth muscle cells significantly increases with NO release on selenocystamine immobilized samples. Two months in vivo results show that selenocystamine immobilized stents are endothelialized, and show significant anti-proliferation properties, indicating that this is a favorable method for potential application in vascular stents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homogeneous discharge in air is often considered to be the ultimate low-temperature atmospheric pressure plasmas for industrial applications. In this paper, we present a method whereby stable homogeneous discharge in open air can be generated by a simple plasma needle. The discharge mechanism is discussed based on the spatially resolved light emission waveforms from the plasma. Optical emission spectroscopy is used to determine electron energy and rotational temperature, and results indicate that both electron energy and rotational temperature increase with increasing the applied voltage. The results are analyzed qualitatively based on the discharge mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Wettability of amorphous carbon films can be adjusted by doping with other elements, including F, Si, Ti, O and N. In this study, nitrogen-doped hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H:N) films were deposited on silicon wafers (100) by plasma immersion ion implantation–deposition (PIII-D) using C2H2 +N2 gas mixtures. Film composition and bonding structure were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Surface morphology of the films was characterized using an extended multimode nanoscope atomic force microscope (AFM). Wettability examination was performed using the sessile drop method. Bloodcompatibility of the films was assessed by in vitro platelet adhesion test. The results suggest that a-C:N:H film synthesized at the highest N2/C2H2 flux ratio of 2/1 presents better anti-thrombotic property than the low temperature isotropic pyrolytic carbon (LTIC) and this improvement of bloodcompatibility can owe to the increase of hydrophilicity of the film caused by N incorporation in the carbon network and additional increase of surface roughness. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: One of the important considerations of antithrombotic biomaterial improvement is to control the response of blood cells and plasma proteins to the materials. Material surface characteristics can be suggested as the important factors that influence the response of blood to materials. Thus, modifying the surface characteristics of a material becomes an important way to endue it with the antithrombotic function of preventing blood cell/plasma protein activation. This article is going to summarize results from previous studies on functional inorganic films coated with blood contacting biomaterials, including fabricating condition, characteristics and antithrombotic function. The functional inorganic films of Ti–O, a-C:N:H and Si–N synthesized using PIII-D on the surface of a biomaterial can endue it with the antithrombotic function of preventing platelet adhesion/activation. The characteristics of the films changed with alteration of the fabrication condition and influenced their antithrombotic function strongly. The in vitro test results showed that improved biomaterial surfaces with special antithrombotic function can be obtained from the optimization of the fabrication condition according to the understanding of the blood–materials interaction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• A novel cement-based manufacture technology was proposed. • FCC-inspired cementitious lattice materials were designed and fabricated. • Low thermal conductivity was obtained. • The mechanical behaviors were obtained based on in situ tests. • The advantages and disadvantages of FCLMs were discussed. Lightweight and thermal insulative cementitious materials with large porous structures for improving energy efficiency have rapid development currently. However, the design of cementitious materials for energy-efficient building system in terms of low thermal conductivity, excellent mechanical properties and lightweight remains a crucial challenge in construction & building fields. Recently, the polymer-based lattice-inspired structures fabricated by 3D printing technology (3DPT) show a rapid development that achieves a balance of thermal and mechanical properties due to their ordered and large-scale cellular architecture. In this work, a novel category of lattice-inspired cementitious lattice materials was first proposed for applying in the energy-efficient building systems by integrating the 3DPT and traditional casting technology. Taking face-centered cubic (FCC) lattice as an example, the advantages of the proposed fabrication technology and FCLMs are follows: (i) ultralight weight; (ii) enhanced ductility of brittle cementitious materials; (iii) low thermal conductivity. Through the structural and material design, the proposed fabrication technology could effectively overcome the current issues of 3DPT, such as the weakness of interlayer performance and low accuracy (Extrusion-based 3DPT) as well as limited feasible materials (Powder-bed-based 3DPT), in the civil engineering. How to design cementitious materials for energy-efficient building system in terms of thermal conductivity, mechanical properties and lightweight requirement remains a crucial challenge in construction & building fields. Inspired by the low thermal conductivity and lightweight structure of metamaterials in the previous researches (Song et al., Materials & Design, 2019. 173: 107773 - 86; Nicholas et al. Nano letter, 2018. 18: 4755 - 61), here a novel category of lattice-inspired cementitious materials with ordered porous structures has been proposed for energy-efficient building materials with lightweight, low thermal conductivity and good mechanical properties characteristics. Additionally, recently there is increased interest to use 3D concrete printing technology (3DCPT) to automatically manufacture complicated and customized structure. However, currently, 3DCPT encounters many sticky issues, involving that (i) weak interlayer performance induced by cold joints between layers; (ii) deformation under self-weight due to the low yield stress of fresh mix; (iii) probable shrinkage under the low water/cement ratios typically used in printed mortars; (iv) geometrical instability owing to creating suspended structures. It is not a trivial to directly print cementitious porous materials, and therefore this work also achieved a breakthrough in developing cementitious porous materials combining advanced SLA 3D printing and traditional casting technology for the first time. It is worth mention that compared to Extrusion-based 3DCPT and Powder-bed-based 3DCPT, the advantages of the manufacture technology include that (i) automatically printing 3D complex structure; (ii) Optional cementitious materials; (iii) Good interlayer performances of prepared materials. We expect that the proposed design idea and novel manufacture strategy could serve as the guideline to develop material-structural-functional integrated energy-efficient building materials combining 3D printing technology, advanced structure design and high-performance cementitious materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This is the first complete-genome analysis of dengue epidemic strains from Hunan. • Epidemic DENV-2 strains were closest to the Zhejiang strain in 2017. • The PrM/M region had the highest AA mutation rate, while NS4B was conservative. • Three amino acid mutations may important for replication and virulence of DENV-2. In 2018, a small-scale dengue epidemic broke out in Hunan Province, an inland province in central South China, with 172 people infected. To verify the causative agent, complete genome information was obtained by PCR and sequencing based on the viral RNAs extracted from patient serum samples. Mutation and evolutionary analysis were performed by MEGA7.0 software. The online softwares "Predict protein" and "Mfold" were used to predict the secondary structure of proteins and untranslated regions, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all five isolates in this study were DENV type 2, which is most closely related to the Zhejiang strain (2017-MH110588). Compared with the DENV-2 standard strain, 773 nucleotide mutations occurred in the isolated strain, of which 666 were nonsense mutations. Of the 80 mutated amino acids, 22 occurred in the structural protein region (2 in C region, 8 in PrM/M region, 12 in E region), and 58 in the non-structural (NS) protein region (9 in NS1 region, 10 in NS2 region, 12 in NS3 region, 7 in NS4 region, 20 in NS5 region). The prM/M region had the highest AA mutation rate, while NS4B was conservative. Three amino acid mutations (E: N390thS, and NS5: S676thN, K800thT) may important for the replication and virulence of the DENV. Secondary structure prediction observed 28 changes in polynucleotide binding regions and 110 changes in protein binding sites of coding sequence. 2 and 4 base substitutions resulted in 2 and 6 significant changes in the RNA secondary structure of 5′ UTR and 3′ UTR, respectively. Two significant positive selection sites were observed in NS5. To our knowledge, this research is the first complete genome analysis of the epidemic strain of the 2018 dengue outbreak in Hunan and will benefit further research for virus traceability and vaccine development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The root water uptake in water-repellent soils of summer maize were simulated using HYDRUS-1D. • The root water uptake rates and cumulative RWU decreased with the increase of initial WDPT values. • After 30 DAS, higher E a was observed in WR soils compared to CK. Soil water repellency (SWR) is an ubiquitous soil property, that has major effects on surface and subsurface water flow, soil erosion, and therefore also affects plant growth and development. Soil water repellency has been recently observed to decrease summer maize growth, especially when the initial persistence of soil water repellency was high. However, mechanics implicated in maize biomass limitations are still unclear due to limited field observations and measurements of plant water use. This research aims to explain the possible mechanisms that impede the growth of summer maize in water repellent soils by examining soil water content, soil water evaporation and root water uptake (RWU) and comparing the measurements to simulations using HYDRUS-1D. Data from five increasing levels of SWR (CK, WR1, WR2, WR3 and WR4) from a two-year experiment were used. The soil hydraulic parameters described with the van-Genuchten model were calibrated inversely based on the observed volumetric soil water content at 26, 47 and 68 days after sowing (DAS) in 2016 and validated by water content values on 33, 62 and 91 DAS in 2017. The results showed the daily and cumulative RWU values ranked in an order of CK > WR1 > WR2 > WR3 > WR4. The RWU rates and cumulative RWU decreased with an increase of initial water droplet penetration time (persistence), which indicated weaker RWU ability of summer maize in the water repellent treatments. Thirty days after sowing, higher evaporation was observed in water repellent soils compared to CK. Weak RWU of summer maize grown in the water repellent soils and strong soil water evaporation were found. This research demonstrates the possible mechanisms that impede summer maize growth in water repellent soils could include weak RWU and high evaporation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid and effective repair of epithelial tissue is desirable for improving the success rate of operation and reducing postoperative complications. Hydrogel is a widely studied wound repair material, especially as a wound dressing for damaged epithelial tissue. Based on the catalytic effect of thrombin on fibrinogen, in this study, a three-dimensional fibrin gel which of adequate epithelial cell compatibility was constructed by using thrombin and fibrinogen under the cross-linking action of calcium ion. Immunofluorescence staining and hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining showed that bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) was embedded in fibrin gel. Furthermore, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was used to induce BMSC to differentiate into CD31+ and vWF+ endothelial cell (EC) in fibrin gel. The results showed that the fibrin gel surface may effectively promote the adhesion and proliferation of EC and smooth muscle cell (SMC). After 15 days of culture, it was found that the BMSC embedded in the hydrogel had differentiated into EC. The results of in vivo skin wound experiment in rats further proved that the fibrin gel containing BMSC could promote wound healing and repair, and showed the potential to promote neovascularization at the injured site. The construction method of hydrogel materials proposed in this study has potential application value in the field of regenerative medicine. Unlabelled Image • Three-dimensional fibrin gel embedded with BMSC was successfully constructed. • BMSC in fibrin gel was differentiated into CD31+ and vWF+ EC via VEGF inducing. • The fibrin gel can quickly stop bleeding on wounds without secondary bleeding. • The fibrin gel containing BMSC could promote wound healing, and showed the potential to promote neovascularization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constitutive photomorphogenesis 9 signalosome subunit 1 (CSN1) plays an important role in the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway and regulates various cellular processes, such as the cell cycle and DNA repair. The CSN complex consists of eight subunits (CSN1 to CSN8) and regulates the tumorigenesis of a variety of tumor types. However, the exact role of CSN1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. The present study evaluated the expression and biological effects of CSN1 in HCC tissue samples and cell lines. CSN1 was significantly overexpressed in HCC tissue and cell lines, compared with their normal counterparts. In patients with HCC, elevated CSN1 levels correlated with tumor size, tumor metastasis and tumor stage. Loss-of-function assays indicated that CSN1 knockdown inhibited the proliferation and migration HCC cells. In addition, CSN1 promoted the expression of cyclin A2 in a ubiquitination-independent manner. Lastly, xenograft experiments indicated that CSN1 promoted HCC tumor growth in vivo. The present study suggested that CSN1 inhibition could represent a potential approach for the prevention of HCC progression and metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The working pressure head of subsurface irrigation system with ceramic emitters must be higher than 20 cm. • It is better to use the soil water content uniformity to evaluate the irrigation quality of SICE. • The discharge deviation in soil is less than that in air when working pressure head is higher than 20 cm. A subsurface irrigation system with ceramic emitters (SICE) without a pump has been developed to limit energy consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Yet whether SICE can be used in low-pressure conditions has not been tested; moreover, there is no index for evaluating the irrigation quality of SICE. Laboratory experiments, with six treatments, were conducted to study ceramic emitter hydraulic characteristics in the air and soil under different working pressure heads and emitter types. The results indicated that when H increased, the emitter discharge increased linearly, and the discharge deviation decreased in the air. With increased H in the soil, the emitter discharge, soil water content, and soil water content uniformity increased, and the discharge deviation decreased. When H was greater than or equal to 20 cm, the discharge deviation in the soil was less than that in the air, and the soil water content uniformity was higher than 80 %. The soil water content uniformity could be used in the evaluation of the irrigation quality of SICE based on the reliability and convenience of observation. To make the best use of soil water potential on the outflow of the emitter, reduce the discharge deviation, and improve soil water content uniformity, the working pressure head of SICE should be higher than 20 cm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ten years of irrigation with brackish water resulted in a less SOC-rich soil. • The soil microbial communities in the Brackish field were less connected and more stressed. • The correlations of soil microbial hub species with soluble salts were ion-specific. Irrigation with brackish water has been widely applied in many regions of the world as an efficient alternative to conserve freshwater resources. Although it has limited soluble salt content, brackish water can alter the physio-chemical properties and microbial communities of soil over time. In this study, a cotton field that utilized drip irrigation with brackish water for 10 years (Brackish field) was compared with a nearby field that utilized drip irrigation with fresh water (Fresh field). Our results show the following: 1) After 10 years, the Brackish field was saltier with a greater electrical conductivity and sodium adsorption ratio, as well as less soil organic carbon content when compared with the Fresh field. 2) The more polarized distribution of the most abundant operational taxonomic unit (OTU) was observed in the Brackish field, accompanied by significantly smaller beta diversity, a less clustered network and fewer co-occurrences (edges) within the soil microbial community compared with the less salty Fresh field, altogether demonstrating that long-term brackish irrigation was very likely to form a less diverse and more stressed environment for soil microbes to co-exist. 3) The mismatches between the edge ranking of hub species and the ranking of relative abundances highlight that the predominant abundances of salt tolerant species from genera Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas may help cotton to grow better in the saline soil but may not help to stabilize soil microbial communities. In future studies, sophisticated sampling protocols with high time-resolution are required to fully capture the possible soil microbial responses to event-sensitive ion redistributions across cotton rows as well during repeated irrigation cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Tumor specific CD8 + T cells in spleen express a high level of PD-1. • PD-1 expression on splenic tumor-specific CD8 + T cells correlates positively with IFN-γ synthesis. • For tumor-bearing host, PD-1 pathway exerts its inhibitory function on tumor specific CD8 + T cells at tumor site. The inhibitory effects of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) receptor on tumor specific T cells were mainly investigated at tumor site. While PD-1 expression can be rapidly unregulated upon T cell activation at lymphoid tissues, little is known about where PD-1 signal exerts its inhibitory function in tumor-bearing host. To address this issue, we assessed the effects of PD-1 on vaccine induced activation of splenic CD8 + T cells in mice. The vaccine consisted of mice CD8 + T cell epitope peptide and poly IC. After vaccination, spleen or tumor tissues were dissociated, IFN-γ synthesis and PD-1 expression by CD8 + T cells were detected by flow cytometry. We found that CD8 + T cells could be successfully activated in spleen after immunization, characterized by the capability of producing IFN-γ when encountering relevant peptide. These activated splenic CD8 + T cells also expressed a high level of PD-1. Although PD-L1 expression in spleen parenchyma was also increased after vaccination, PD-1 blockade did not affect the activation of splenic CD8 + T cells, but enhanced the anti-tumor effects of peptide vaccine. This synergetic effect of peptide vaccine plus PD-1 blockade was coupled with increased aggregation of IFN-γ + CD8 + tumor infiltrated lymphocytes (TILs), rather than CD4 + TILs. The results indicated that for tumor-bearing host, PD-1 pathway exerted its inhibitory function at tumor site and PD-1 expression on the splenic CD8 + T cells correlated positively with IFN-γ synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]