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Heart failure (HF) affects millions of patients in the world. Shexiang Baoxin Pills (SXB) are extensively applied to treat coronary artery diseases and HF in Chinese hospitals. However, there are still no explanations for why SXB protects against HF. To assess the protective role, we created the HF model in rats by isoproterenol (ISO) subcutaneous injection, 85 milligrams per kilogram body weight for seven days. Four groups were implemented: CON (control), ISO (HF disease group), CAP (captopril, positive drug treatment), and SXB groups. Echocardiography was used to evaluate rats’ HF in vivo. The human CaV1.2 (hCaV1.2) channel currents were detected in tsA-201 cells by patch clamp technique. Five different concentrations of SXB (5, 10, 30, 50, and 100 mg/L) were chosen in this study. The results showed that SXB increased cardiac systolic function and inhibited rats’ cardiac hypertrophy and myocardial fibrosis induced by ISO. Subsequently, it was found that SXB was inhibited by the peak amplitudes of hCaV1.2 channel current (P

Plant-derived flavonoids have been attracting increasing research interest because of their multiple health promoting effects, where numerous investigations were carried out on the optimization of extraction and bioactivities. This study aims to optimize the extraction process of compound flavonoids (CFs) from Chinese herbal medicines and detect their antioxidant activity in vitro. CFs were extracted from the raw materials named “medicine food homology,” composed of hawthorn, lotus leaf, tartary buckwheat, cassia seed, Lycium barbarum, and Poria cocos in a mass ratio of 4 : 2 : 2 : 1.5 : 1 : 1. L9 (34) orthogonal design, level effect and engineering average estimation, and quantification theory were utilized to improve the extraction method of CFs, and the predictive model for CFs yield was constructed. The 2,2ʹ-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2ʹ-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS), hydroxyl radical scavenging rate, and reducing power of CFs were measured. The highest CFs yield was obtained under the following extraction condition: liquid-solid ratio of 35 : 1 mL/g, extraction temperature of 75°C, extraction duration of 75 min, and extraction mode enzyme-assisted extraction. The forecasted yield was 37.62%. The result was accurate and the established prediction equation was reliable (R = 0.95). The antioxidant activity of CFs was significantly positively correlated with the concentration from 0.05 to 0.4 mg/mL. The DPPH, ABTS, hydroxyl radical scavenging abilities, and the reducing power of CFs were 81.82 ± 1.75%, 49.35 ± 0.09%, 89.78 ± 0.66%, and 0.232 ± 0.001 at the concentration of 0.4 mg/mL, respectively. CFs could be exploited as natural antioxidants in pharmaceuticals and functional foods.

Abstract Background Neural tube defects (NTDs) are severe, common birth defects that result from failure of normal neural tube closure during early embryogenesis. Accumulating strong evidence indicates that genetic factors contribute to NTDs etiology, among them, HOX genes play a key role in neural tube closure. Although abnormal HOX gene expression can lead to NTDs, the underlying pathological mechanisms have not fully been understood. Method We detected that H3K27me3 and expression of the Hox genes in a retinoic acid (RA) induced mouse NTDs model on E8.5, E9.5 and E10.5 using RNA-sequencing and chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing assays. Furthermore, we quantified 10 Hox genes using NanoString nCounter in brain tissue of fetuses with 39 NTDs patients including anencephaly, spina bifida, hydrocephaly and encephalocele. Results Here, our results showed differential expression in 26 genes with a > 20-fold change in the level of expression, including 10 upregulated Hox genes. RT-qPCR revealed that these 10 Hox genes were all upregulated in RA-induced mouse NTDs as well as RA-treated embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Using ChIP-seq assays, we demonstrate that a decrease in H3K27me3 level upregulates the expression of Hox cluster A–D in RA-induced mouse NTDs model on E10.5. Interestingly, RA treatment led to attenuation of H3K27me3 due to cooperate between UTX and Suz12, affecting Hox gene regulation. Further analysis, in human anencephaly cases, upregulation of 10 HOX genes was observed, along with aberrant levels of H3K27me3. Notably, HOXB4, HOXC4 and HOXD1 expression was negatively correlated with H3K27me3 levels. Conclusion Our results indicate that abnormal HOX gene expression induced by aberrant H3K27me3 levels may be a risk factor for NTDs and highlight the need for further analysis of genome-wide epigenetic modification in NTDs.

Generating differentially private synthetic human mobility trajectories from real trajectories is a commonly used approach for privacy-preserving trajectory publishing. However, existing synthetic trajectory generation methods suffer from the drawbacks of poor scalability and suboptimal privacy–utility trade-off, due to continuous spatial space, high dimentionality of trajectory data and the suboptimal noise addition mechanism. To overcome the drawbacks, we propose DP-CSM, a novel differentially private trajectory generation method using coreset clustering and the staircase mechanism, to generate differentially private synthetic trajectories in two main steps. Firstly, it generates generalized locations for each timestamp, and utilizes coreset-based clustering to improve scalability. Secondly, it reconstructs synthetic trajectories with the generalized locations, and uses the staircase mechanism to avoid the over-perturbation of noises and maintain utility of synthetic trajectories. We choose three state-of-the-art clustering-based generation methods as the comparative baselines, and conduct comprehensive experiments on three real-world datasets to evaluate the performance of DP-CSM. Experimental results show that DP-CSM achieves better privacy–utility trade-off than the three baselines, and significantly outperforms the three baselines in terms of efficiency.

This paper is dedicated to the asymptotic stability and synchronization for a type of fractional complex-valued inertial neural network by developing a direct analysis method. First, a new fractional differential inequality is presented for nonnegative functions, which provides an effective tool for the convergence analysis of fractional-order systems. Moreover, instead of the previous separation analysis for complex-valued neural networks, a class of Lyapunov functions composed of the complex-valued states and their fractional derivatives is constructed, and some compact stability criteria are derived. In synchronization analysis, unlike the existing control schemes for reduced-order subsystems, some feedback and adaptive control schemes, formed by the linear part and the fractional derivative part, are directly designed for the response fractional inertial neural networks, and some synchronization conditions are derived using the established fractional inequality. Finally, the theoretical analysis is supported via two numerical examples.

This paper is devoted to investigating the synchronization of fractional-order output-coupling multiplex networks (FOOCMNs). Firstly, a type of fractional-order multiplex network is introduced, where the intra-layer coupling and the inter-layer coupling are described separately, and nodes communicate with each other by their outputs, which is more realistic when the node states are unmeasured. By using the Lyapunov method and the fractional differential inequality, sufficient conditions are provided for achieving asymptotic synchronization based on the designed adaptive control, where the synchronized state of each layer is different. Furthermore, a quantized adaptive controller is developed to realize the synchronization of FOOCMNs, which effectively reduces signal transmission frequency and improves the effective utilization rate of network resources. Two numerical examples are given at last to support the theoretical analysis.

Chinese herbal medicine plays an important role in regulating the nutritional metabolism of poultry and maintaining or improving normal physiological functions and animal health. The present study investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with Qiling Jiaogulan Powder (QLJP) on pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary arteriole remodeling in low temperature-exposed broilers. Seven-day-old Ross 308 broilers (n = 240) were reared adaptively to 14 days of age. The broilers were randomly divided into six groups: A control group (basal diet and normal feeding temperature); model group (basal diet); low-, medium- and high-dose QLJP groups (basal diet supplemented with 1 g/kg, 2 g/kg, 4 g/kg QLJP); and L-Arg group (basal diet supplemented with 10 g/kg L-arginine). Additionally, all the broilers, except the broilers in the control group, from the age of 14 days old, had a house temperature continuously lowered by 2 °C each day until it reached 12 °C at 21 days of age, and the low temperature was maintained until the end of the experiment. There were four replicates per group and 10 birds per replicate. The results showed that the structure of the lung tissue was clearer and basically intact in the broilers in the QLJP groups, with a small number of collagen fibers formed, and the content of hydroxyproline (HYP) was significantly reduced. QLJP improved pulmonary arteriole lesions, such as tunica media thickening, intimal hyperplasia, arterial wall hypertrophy, and lumen narrowing. QLJP reduced the relative media thickness (%) and relative medial area (%) of the pulmonary arteriole, and significantly decreased the expression level of the alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) protein in pulmonary arteriole, which alleviated pulmonary arteriole remodeling. The quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) results showed that QLJP treatment significantly reduced the gene and protein levels of transforming growth factor-beta l (TGF-β1) and Smad2 in the lung and downregulated the gene and protein levels of collagen type I alpha 1 (COL1A1) and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2). In conclusion, the results of our study suggested that dietary supplementation with QLJP improved pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary arteriole remodeling by inhibiting the expression of genes related to the TGF-β1/Smad2 signaling pathway and inhibited the occurrence and development of pulmonary arterial hypertension in low-temperature-exposed broilers.

Preparation and application of sustainable polymers derived from renewable resources are of great significance. The aim of this study is to synthesize a kind of sustainable polymeric micelles from rosin and vegetable oils via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and to investigate the doxorubicin delivery properties of these micelles. Dehydroabietic acid–based poly lauryl methacrylate (DA-PLMA) with narrow PDI of 1.13 was prepared in a well-controlled process using rosin as an ATRP initiator. Thereafter, carboxylic groups were introduced to form poly methacrylic acid (PMAA) moieties in DA-PLMA polymer via acid hydrolysis. The resulted DA-PLMA-PMAA could self-assemble in water to form pH-dependent polymeric micelles with a diameter of ∼65 nm and PDI as low as 0.105. Owing to the existence of rosin, DA-PLMA-PMAA micelles also showed self-fluorescence properties. In addition, Dox-loaded micelles were prepared in aqueous solution with the drug-loading capacity as high as 16.0% and showed sustained-release characteristics. These results demonstrate great promise for designing polymeric micellar from rosin and vegetable oils.

Sepsis-induced acute lung injury (ALI) culminates in multiple organ failure via uncontrolled inflammatory responses and requires effective treatment. Herein, we aimed to investigate the effect of calycosin (CA), a natural isoflavonoid, on sepsis-induced ALI. CA attenuated lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced structural damage and inflammatory cell infiltration in lung tissues by histopathological analysis. CA significantly reduced lung wet/dry ratio, inflammatory cell infiltration in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and myeloperoxidase activity. Moreover, CA improved the survival of septic mice. CA also substantially inhibited interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18 levels and cleaved caspase 1 expression and activity in lung tissues. Additionally, CA markedly suppressed oxidative stress by increasing levels of superoxide dismutase and glutathione while decreasing malondialdehyde. In vitro assay showed that CA significantly inhibited LPS-induced IL-1β and IL-18 levels and cleaved caspase 1 expression and activity in BMDMs. Moreover, CA blocked the interaction among NLRP3, ASC, and caspase 1 in LPS-treated cells. CA markedly reduced mitochondrial ROS levels. Significantly, compared with CA treatment, the combination of CA and MitoTEMPO (mitochondria-targeted antioxidant) did not further reduce the IL-1β and IL-18 levels and cleaved caspase 1 expression and activity and decreased mitochondrial ROS levels. Collectively, the inhibition of mitochondrial ROS-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome activation contributes to the protective effects of CA, which may be considered a potential therapeutic agent for septic ALI.

The microfluidic device (MFD) with a glass–PDMS–glass (G-P-G) structure is of interest for a wide range of applications. However, G-P-G MFD fabrication with an ultra-thin PDMS film (especially thickness less than 200 μm) is still a big challenge because the ultra-thin PDMS film is easily deformed, curled, and damaged during demolding and transferring. This study aimed to report a thickness-controllable and low-cost fabrication process of the G-P-G MFD with an ultra-thin PDMS film based on a flexible mold peel-off process. A patterned photoresist layer was deposited on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film to fabricate a flexible mold that could be demolded softly to achieve a rigid structure of the glass–PDMS film. The thickness of ultra-thin patterned PDMS could reach less than 50 μm without damage to the PDMS film. The MFD showcased the excellent property of water evaporation inhibition (water loss < 10%) during PCR thermal cycling because of the ultra-thin PDMS film. Its low-cost fabrication process and excellent water evaporation inhibition present extremely high prospects for digital PCR application.

Despite its wide application across arid land types, furrow irrigation is often associated with numerous environmental problems related to deep percolation, runoff, and soil erosion. In this study, a straightforward approach was proposed to achieve higher uniformity and reduce erosion. Here, the impacts that a moveable “plug” has on the behavior of irrigation water in the furrow were simulated using FLOW-3D and HYDRUS-2D, where three plug heights and two flow rates were set. The effect of inflow rate and plug height on the water advance, water level, cumulative infiltration in the furrow, and uniformity coefficient was determined. Results indicate that the plug was able to slow water velocity by approximately 60% in the furrow and increase the furrow advance time by 3–4 times; the water level was increased by nearly 10 cm compared with no plug. Moreover, an irrigation uniformity range of 90.18–99.22% was associated with this plugging. The addition of a plug in the furrow irrigation practices for smallholder farmers in developing countries demonstrates great potential in reducing the probability of erosion under large slopes and can effectively improve irrigation uniformity.

Reservoir sediments harbor abundant bacterial communities that are sensitive to substances transferred from the water column and might record historic water quality in environmental DNA (eDNA). The unique bacterial community along the sediment profile were retrieved based on eDNA in a reservoir to investigate potential links between water quality and the microbial population on a long-time scale. Bacterial communities in sediment samples gathered into three clusters along the depth (depths of 18–38, 8–18, and 1–7 cm). These three sections accumulated during three periods in which water quality was recorded in history (the pristine stage, degraded stage and remediated stage). Sediment samples from the degraded stage had lower microbial community evenness and diversity and higher microgAMBI indices than the other two sections, suggesting that poor water quality during that period was recorded in sedimental eDNA. After decades of biogeochemical cycles, statistical analysis revealed that the main factors affecting the microbial community were bromine, chlorine, and high molecular-weight PAHs in sediments from the degraded stage. The relevant functional groups Dehalococcoidia, Gemmatimonadales, Sva0485, Burkholderiales and Xanthomonadales might be indicators of the historical loading of these pollutants. Amending the microgAMBI index with our functional group of pollution can better illustrate the significant long-term environmental changes caused by historic anthropogenic activities. In sediments from the pristine stage with less pollution input, DIC (dissolved inorganic carbon) from the karst landform was the dominant factor controlling microbial communities. Whereas, the surface sediments, which accumulated during the remediated stage, had more correlation with chemistry, such as sulfate and heavy metals, in the overlying water. Our research revealed that historical changes in the water condition, that can be affected by anthropogenic activities, can be depicted by changes in the bacterial communities stored in the sediment using sedimental eDNA. Assessments of the bacterial communities in the sediments, either by describing their biodiversity or using particular species as indicators, would be potential proxies to describe historical environmental development of microbial communities.

Abstract Background Neural tube defects (NTDs) are common congenital malformations resulting in failure of the neural tube closure during early embryonic development. Although it is known that maternal folate deficiency increases the risk of NTDs, the mechanism remains elusive. Results Herein, we report that histone H2A monoubiquitination (H2AK119ub1) plays a role in neural tube closure. We found that the folate antagonist methotrexate induced H2AK119ub1 in mouse embryonic stem cells. We demonstrated that an increase in H2AK119ub1 downregulated expression of the neural tube closure-related genes Cdx2, Nes, Pax6, and Gata4 in mouse embryonic stem cells under folate deficiency conditions. We also determined that the E3 ligase Mdm2 was responsible for the methotrexate-induced increase in H2AK119ub1 and downregulation of neural tube closure-related genes. Surprisingly, we found that Mdm2 is required for MTX-induced H2A ubiquitination and is recruited to the sites of DSB, which is dependent on DNA damage signaling kinase ATM. Furthermore, folic acid supplementation restored H2AK119ub1 binding to neural tube closure-related genes. Downregulation of these genes was also observed in both brain tissue of mouse and human NTD cases, and high levels of H2AK119ub1 were found in the corresponding NTDs samples with their maternal serum folate under low levels. Pearson correlation analysis showed a significant negative correlation between expression of the neural precursor genes and H2AK119ub1. Conclusion Our results indicate that folate deficiency contributes to the onset of NTDs by altering H2AK119ub1 and subsequently affecting expression of neural tube closure-related genes. This may be a potential risk factor for NTDs in response to folate deficiency.

Abstract Natural Bombyx mori silk (BS) and Antheraea pernyi silk (AS) were oxidized in sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) solutions. Thereafter, individual silk nanofibers (SNs) were achieved after sonicating the oxidized silk slurries, where the diameters of the resultant SNs were ~ 100 nm and several micrometers in length. Thin membranes were formed by casting the SNs, which had optically transparent (above 75% transmission), mechanically robust (~4.5 GPa of Young’s modulus), and enhanced wetting properties. An interesting aggregating-dispersing (re-dispersing) process by using these SNs was strongly regulated by adjusting the pH values. Consequently, the negatively charged SNs could be concentrated up to ~ 20 wt% (100 times that of the initial dispersion) and offered extraordinary benefits for storage, transportation, and engineering applications.

AIM: To observe the effects on four effective components of Qingguang'an on collagen fibers, α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA)and fibronectin(FN)in rabbits after glaucoma surgery.METHODS: Apply four kinds of effective components of Qingguang'an and Qingguang'an Chinese medicine suspension to D, E, F, G, H groups after filtration surgery, and pass with group A(blank control group)and group B(model group)Compared with group C(Mitomycin C group), the effects of four effective components of Qingguang'an and Qingguang'an traditional Chinese medicine suspension on collagen fibers, α-SMA and FN in the scar tissue of glaucoma after filtration were observed.RESULTS: Compare to B group, the ratio of collagen fiber area to E, F, H group, the expressions of α-SMA and the expressions of FN were different(PCONCLUSION: Qingguang'an effective components 2, Qingguang'an effective components 3, mitomycin C and Qingguang'an suspension reduce the proliferation of myofibroblasts and fibroblasts by inhibiting the expression of collagen fibers, α-SMA and FN, and showed obvious anti-glaucoma staining scar after surgery.

Abstract Background Gastric cancer is the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths and has the fifth highest incidence worldwide, especially in eastern Asia, central and Eastern Europe, and South America. Currently, surgery is the only curative treatment for gastric cancer; however, there is an increasing trend toward laparoscopic radical gastrectomy. Early oral feeding (EOF) has been shown to benefit clinical outcomes compared with open gastrectomy under conditions of enhanced recovery after surgery. There are a lack of guidelines and evidence for the safety and feasibility of EOF in patients undergoing laparoscopic radical gastrectomy. Thus, a prospective randomized trial is warranted. Methods/design The EOF after total laparoscopic radical gastrectomy (SOFTLY) study is a single-center, parallel-arm, non-inferiority randomized controlled trial which will enroll 200 patients who are pathologically diagnosed with gastric cancer and undergo laparoscopic radical gastrectomy. The primary endpoint, incidence of anastomotic leakage, is based on 1.9% in the control group in the CLASS-01 study. The patients will be randomized (1:1) into two groups: the EOF group will receive a clear liquid diet on post-operative day 1 (POD1) and the delayed oral feeding (DOF) group will receive a clear liquid diet on post-operative day 4 (POD4). The demographic and pathologic characteristics will be recorded. Total and oral nutritional intake, general data, total serum protein, serum albumin, blood glucose, and temperature will be recorded before surgery and at the time of hospitalization. Adverse events will also be recorded. The occurrence of post-operative fistulas, including anastomotic leakage, will be recorded as the main severe post-operative adverse event and represent the primary endpoint. Discussion The safety and feasibility of EOF after gastrectomy has not been established. The SOFTLY trial will be the first randomized controlled trial involving total laparoscopic radical gastrectomy, in which the EOF group (POD1) will be compared with the DOF group (POD4). The results of the SOFTLY trial will provide data on the safety and feasibility of EOF after total laparoscopic radical gastrectomy. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR-IOR-15007660. Registered on 28 December 2015. The study has full ethical and institutional approval.

Abstract Background Neural tube defects (NTDs) are common birth defects involving the central nervous system. Recent studies on the etiology of human NTDs have raised the possibility that epigenetic regulation could be involved in determining susceptibility to them. Results Here, we show that the H2AK119ub1 E3 ligase CUL4B is required for the activation of retinoic acid (RA)-inducible developmentally critical homeobox (HOX) genes in NT2/D1 embryonal carcinoma cells. RA treatment led to attenuation of H2AK119ub1 due to decrease in CUL4B, further affecting HOX gene regulation. Furthermore, we found that CUL4B interacted directly with RORγ and negatively regulated its transcriptional activity. Interestingly, knockdown of RORγ decreased the expression of HOX genes along with increased H2AK119ub1 occupancy levels, at HOX gene sites in N2/D1 cells. In addition, upregulation of HOX genes was observed along with lower levels of CUL4B-mediated H2AK119ub1 in both mouse and human anencephaly NTD cases. Notably, the expression of HOXA10 genes was negatively correlated with CUL4B levels in human anencephaly NTD cases. Conclusions Our results indicate that abnormal HOX gene expression induced by aberrant CUL4B-mediated H2AK119ub1 levels may be a risk factor for NTDs, and highlight the need for further analysis of genome-wide epigenetic modifications in NTDs.

We fully demonstrated an ytterbium (Yb) doped triple-clad laser fiber with intense pump absorption, high efficiency, and laser stability. P5+/Al3+ molar ratio in the central region of fiber core was specially designed to be ~1.08 for compensating P2O5 evaporation, while the ratio in the outer region was set as ~0.92 for obtaining a flattened refractive index profile. Applying a two-stage deposition process, one-time collapse technique, low-temperature multi-times sintering, and suitable flow of pure POCl3 during sintering and collapsing process were instrumental in decreasing and offsetting element evaporation. Measured in an all-fiber master oscillator power amplifier configuration, the 7-m-long fiber obtained 1.39 kW near-single-mode laser output at 1079.6 nm with a slope efficiency of 85.2% and a beam quality M2 of 1.36. Output laser spectrum with no sign of nonlinear-related peaks and a narrow 3-dB-bandwidth of ~0.33 nm was obtained. The fiber-based laser setup was kept at the maximum power for 1 h with power degradation less than 0.21%. The results demonstrated Yb-doped aluminophosphosilicate triple-clad fiber is a highly competitive candidate for commercial high-power laser and high-power narrow-linewidth fiber laser.

This paper proposes a solution procedure for probabilistic load flow problem considering the optimal allocation of Static Var Compensator (SVC) in radial distribution systems. Pareto Envelope-based Selection Algorithm II (PESA-II) with fuzzy logic decision maker is developed to determine the optimal location and size of SVC based on the minimum total power losses and Voltage Deviation (VD). Combined cumulants and gram-chalier expansion are used for solving the probabilistic load flow problem. The proposed algorithm is tested on 33-bus and 69-bus distribution systems. The developed algorithm gives an acceptable solution with low number of iterations and less computation cost compared with the Monte Carlo method.

The emerging Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) provides industries with an opportunity to collect, aggregate, and analyze data from sensors, including motion control, machine-to-machine communication, predictive maintenance, smart energy grid, big data analysis, and other smart connected medical systems. The physical systems and the cyber systems are organically integrated, forming an interdependent IIoT. This system provides us with enormous advantages, but at the same time, it also introduces the main safety challenges in the design and operation phase. To exploit the security threats of IIoT systems, in this paper, we propose a novel security-by-design approach for interdependent IIoT environments across two different levels, namely, theory modeling and runtime simulation. Our method theoretically analyzes the cascading failure dynamics of the intentional attack network. Simultaneously, we verified the theoretical results through simulations and gave the risk factors that affect the system’s security to mitigate potential security attack threats. Besides, we prove its applicability through comparative simulation experiments to study application environments that rely on IIoT, which shows that our method helps identify risk factors and mitigate IIoT attacks’ mechanism.

Objects: To evaluate the performance of preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in evaluating diagnoses, operation methods and recurrence of meningiomas according to the World health organization (WHO) pathological classification. Methods: MRI characteristics of 127 meningioma patients were retrospectively analysed according to pathological results (WHO grade) and their association with Simpson’s grades (resection) and recurrence. Results: The T1-weighted imaging (T1WI) signal intensity of WHO grade I meningiomas was slightly hypointense or isointense gray, while the T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) signal intensity was isointense or slightly hyperintense. The T1WI and T2WI signal intensity in WHO grade II and III meningiomas was isointense gray. The enhancement degree and patterns, lobulation, flowing voids, dural tail, maximum diameter, peritumoural oedema, ADC values and margin were significantly different between any 2 grades (P < 0.05). The ADC values were higher for WHO grade I tumors than for WHO grade II and III tumors (P < 0.001). Among all the analyzed characteriscs, ADC values, peritumoural oedema, and margin effectively predicted the diagnosis according to the WHO classification. The operation method and surgical resection were different between WHO grade Ⅰ and WHO grade Ⅱ/Ⅲ meningiomas (P < 0.05). The recurrence rate increased with tumor grade, but there was no statistical difference among the 3 types(P> 0.05). Conclusions: WHO grades and pathological subtypes of meningiomas can generally be determined based on their MRI characteristics. In addition, MRI provides significant guidance for the grading of surgical success and prognosis.

This paper mainly deals with the issue of fixed-time synchronization of fuzzy-based impulsive complex networks. By developing fixed-time stability of impulsive systems and proposing a T-S fuzzy control strategy with pure power-law form, some simple criteria are acquired to achieve fixed-time synchronization of fuzzy-based impulsive complex networks and the estimation of the synchronized time is given. Ultimately, the presented control scheme and synchronization criteria are verified by numerical simulation.

Summary: Chromatin dynamics play a critical role in cell fate determination and maintenance by regulating the expression of genes essential for development and differentiation. In mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs), maintenance of pluripotency coincides with a poised chromatin state containing active and repressive histone modifications. However, the structural features of poised chromatin are largely uncharacterized. By adopting mild time-course MNase-seq with computational analysis, the low-compact chromatin in mESCs is featured in two groups: one in more open regions, corresponding to an active state, and the other enriched with bivalent histone modifications, considered the poised state. A parameter called the chromatin opening potential index (COPI) is also devised to quantify the transcription potential based on the dynamic changes of MNase-seq signals at promoter regions. Use of COPI provides effective prediction of gene activation potential and, more importantly, reveals a few developmental factors essential for mouse neural progenitor cell (NPC) differentiation.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening has been widely implemented in Europe and the USA. However, there is little evidence of participation and diagnostic yields in population-based CRC screening in China. The participation rate and detection of colorectal lesions in this program were reported and related factors were explored. The analysis was conducted in the context of the Cancer Screening Program in Urban China, which recruited 282,377 eligible participants aged 40–74 years from eight cities in Henan province from 2013 to 2019. A total of 39,834 participants were evaluated to be high risk for CRC by an established risk score system and were subsequently recommended for colonoscopy. Of 39,834 with high risk for CRC, 7,454 subjects undertook colonoscopy (participation rate of 18.71%). We found that 50–64 years, high level of education, marriage, former smoking, current alcohol drinking, low levels dietary intake of vegetables, high levels dietary intake of processed meat, lack of physical activity, fecal occult blood test positive result, history of colonic polyp, history of colorectitis, and family history of CRC were associated with increased participation of colonoscopy screening. Overall, 17 CRC (0.23%), 95 advanced adenoma (1.27%), 478 non-advanced adenomas dysplasia (6.41%), 248 hyperplastic polyp (3.33%), and 910 other benign lesions (12.21%) were detected. The findings from the study will provide important references for designing effective population-based CRC screening strategies in the future. Given the relatively low participation rate, there was room for improvement in the yield of CRC screening.

The measurement of the right and wrong results of cognitive tasks has important applications in many commercial and educational areas such as the drivers’ training system, the simulation training and online learning system. This Letter aims to distinguish the heartbeat pattern of cognitively wrong responses to that of cognitively right responses based on the electrocardiogram (ECG) through 36 subjects with different professional backgrounds. The experimental design methods were double-digit and five-digit addition/subtraction, which were blindly selected by subjects from a black box. Through the R–R interval (RRI) series obtained from the ECG data, some linear, nonlinear and moment features were extracted to evaluate the cognitive task results by using pattern recognition methods. The binary classification of RRI datasets indicated that autonomic nerve patterns of the right and wrong cognitive heartbeat responses were distinguishable.

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) gradually accumulate abnormal karyotypes during long-term suboptimal culture, which hinder their application in regenerative medicine. Previous studies demonstrated that the activation of CTNNB1 might be implicated in this process. Hence, the hESC line with stably silenced CTNNB1 was established to further explore the role of CTNNB1 in the malignant transformation of hESCs. It was shown to play a vital role in the maintenance of the physiological properties of stem cells, such as proliferation, migration, differentiation, and telomere regulation. Furthermore, the malignant transformation of hESCs was induced by continuous exposure to 0.001 μg/ml mitomycin C (MMC). The results showed that CTNNB1 and its target genes, including proto-oncogenes CCND1 and C-MYC, were aberrantly upregulated in hESCs after MMC treatment. Moreover, the high expression of CTNNB1 accelerated cell transition from G0/G1 phase to the S phase and stimulated the growth of cells containing breakage-fusion-bridge (BFB) cycles. Conversely, CTNNB1 silencing inhibited these effects and triggered a survival crisis. The current data indicated that CTNNB1 is intimately associated with the physiological properties of stem cells; however, the aberrant expression of CTNNB1 is involved in the malignant transformation of hESCs, which might advance the process by facilitating telomere-related unstable cell proliferation. Thus, the aberrant CTNNB1 level might serve as a potential biomarker for detecting the malignant transformation of hESCs.

Salvia miltiorrhiza has exhibited various bioactive functions due to the existence of polysaccharides, hydrophilic phenolic acids, diterpenoid quinones, and essential oils. However, little research has reported the glycoprotein preparation and corresponding bioactivities. In this study, the water-soluble glycoprotein from S. miltiorrhiza roots was firstly isolated with the extraction process optimized by response surface methodology, and then, the preliminary structural properties, and the antioxidant and immunoregulatory activities were investigated. Results showed that the extraction conditions for higher extraction yields were identified as follows: ultrasonic power of 220 W, ultrasonic time of 2.0 h, extraction temperature of 60 °C, liquid/solid ratio of 20 mL/g, and the glycoprotein yields of 1.63 ± 0.04%. Structural analysis showed that the glycoprotein comprised protein and polysaccharide (contents of 76.96% and 20.62%, respectively), with an average molecular weight of 1.55 × 105 Da. Besides, bioactivities analysis showed that the glycoprotein presented strong scavenging effects on multiple free radicals, and effectively enhanced the antioxidant enzyme activities and immunological indicators in cyclophosphamide-induced immunocompromised mice dose-dependently. These data demonstrated that S. miltiorrhiza glycoprotein presented the potential to be a novel edible functional compound, and could be practically applied in the food industry.

Abstract Background H3.3 is an ancient and conserved H3 variant and plays essential roles in transcriptional regulation. HIRA complex, which is composed of HIRA, UBN1 or UBN2, and Cabin1, is a H3.3 specific chaperone complex. However, it still remains largely uncharacterized how HIRA complex specifically recognizes and deposits H3.3 to the chromatin, such as promoters and enhancers. Results In this study, we demonstrate that the UBN1 or UBN2 subunit is mainly responsible for specific recognition and direct binding of H3.3 by the HIRA complex. While the HIRA subunit can enhance the binding affinity of UBN1 toward H3.3, Cabin1 subunit cannot. We also demonstrate that both Ala87 and Gly90 residues of H3.3 are required and sufficient for the specific recognition and binding by UBN1. ChIP-seq studies reveal that two independent HIRA complexes (UBN1-HIRA and UBN2-HIRA) can cooperatively deposit H3.3 to cis-regulatory regions, including active promoters and active enhancers in mouse embryonic stem (mES) cells. Importantly, disruption of histone chaperone activities of UBN1 and UBN2 by FID/AAA mutation results in the defect of H3.3 deposition at promoters of developmental genes involved in neural differentiation, and subsequently causes the failure of activation of these genes during neural differentiation of mES cells. Conclusion Together, our results provide novel insights into the mechanism by which the HIRA complex specifically recognizes and deposits H3.3 at promoters and enhancers of developmental genes, which plays a critical role in neural differentiation of mES cells.

Abstract Background The hierarchical organization of eukaryotic chromatin plays a central role in gene regulation, by controlling the extent to which the transcription machinery can access DNA. The histone variants H3.3 and H2A.Z have recently been identified as key regulatory players in this process, but the underlying molecular mechanisms by which they permit or restrict gene expression remain unclear. Here, we investigated the regulatory function of H3.3 and H2A.Z on chromatin dynamics and Polycomb-mediated gene silencing. Results Our ChIP-seq analysis reveals that in mouse embryonic stem (mES) cells, H3K27me3 enrichment correlates strongly with H2A.Z. We further demonstrate that H2A.Z promotes PRC2 activity on H3K27 methylation through facilitating chromatin compaction both in vitro and in mES cells. In contrast, PRC2 activity is counteracted by H3.3 through impairing chromatin compaction. However, a subset of H3.3 may positively regulate PRC2-dependent H3K27 methylation via coordinating depositions of H2A.Z to developmental and signaling genes in mES cells. Using all-trans retinoic acid (tRA)-induced gene as a model, we show that the dynamic deposition of H2A.Z and H3.3 coordinately regulates the PRC2-dependent H3K27 methylation by modulating local chromatin structure at the promoter region during the process of turning genes off. Conclusions Our study provides key insights into the mechanism of how histone variants H3.3 and H2A.Z function coordinately to finely tune the PRC2 enzymatic activity during gene silencing, through promoting or impairing chromosome compaction respectively.

CMBP was an alcohol-soluble polysaccharide extracted from Castanea mollissima blume. Our study aimed to investigate the preliminary structural characteristics and in vivo antitumor activity of CMBP. The contents of total sugar, protein and uronic acid in CMBP was 93.68%, 0.89% and 1.78%, respectively. GC and FTIR results suggested galactose and glucose were detected for CMBP (2.86 × 103 Da), while glucose was the dominant monosaccharide in CMBP and pyranose form and α- and β-type glycosidic linkages were founded for CMBP. Meanwhile, CMBP could exhibite strong antitumor effects on S180 tumor-bearing mice. The antitumor effects of CMBP were related to improving the immune response, which result from improving the levels of serum cytokines (TNF-α, IL-2 and IFN-γ), activating immune cells (macrophages, lymphocytes and NK cells), adjusting the distribution of lymphocyte subsets. The H&E staining and cell cycle results indicated CMBP could induce tumor cells apoptosis and extensive injuries.

Partially deacetylated α-chitin nanofibers/nanowhiskers mixtures (DEChNs) were prepared by 35% sodium hydroxide (NaOH) treatment followed by disintegration in water at pH 3–4. The aim of this study was to investigate the hypolipidemic effects of DEChNs at different dosage levels in male Kunming mice. The male mice were randomly separated into five groups, that is, a normal diet group, a high-fat diet group, and three DEChN groups that were treated with different doses of DEChN dispersions (L: low dose, M: medium dose, H: high dose). Primarily, the DEChNs significantly decreased body weight (BW) gain and adipose tissue weight (ATW) gain of mice. Meanwhile, the decreasing extent of weight ratios between ATW and BW was dependent on the dose of DEChNs. Moreover, the DEChNs prevented an increase in plasma lipids (cholesterol and triacylglycerol) in mice when they were fed a high-fat diet. Histopathological examination of hepatocytes revealed that the DEChNs were effective in decreasing the accumulation of lipids in the liver and preventing the development of a fatty liver. The results suggested that the DEChNs reduced the absorption of dietary fat and cholesterol in vivo and could effectively reduce hypercholesterolemia in mice.

The human embryonic stem cell line NERCe002-A-2 was generated by transduction of NERCe002-A cells with an expression vector carrying the luciferase gene. The stem cells labelled with luciferase can be transplanted into animals and detected by the bioluminescence imaging technology. This provides optimal prospects of application to in vivo stem cell tracing. Luciferin served as a substrate to detect the activity of luciferase, and luciferase expression was measured by quantitative PCR. Characterization assays suggested that the NERCe002-A-2 cell line expresses typical markers of pluripotency and can form the 3 germ layers in vivo.

The human embryonic stem cell (hESC) line NERCe003-A-1 was generated by introducing lentiviral-vector–mediated tetracycline-inducible β-catenin expression into a normal hESC line, NERCe003-A. The resulting cell line can overexpress the β-catenin protein, encoded by the CTNNB1 gene, after exposure to doxycycline (Dox). CTNNB1 gene expression was confirmed by quantitative PCR (qPCR) and immunofluorescence assays. Further characterization confirmed that the NERCe003-A-1 cell line expresses typical pluripotency markers and has the ability to form the three germ layers both in vitro and in vivo.

NERCe002-A-3 cells were generated from the normal human embryonic stem cell line NERCe002-A. NERCe002-A-3 cells overexpressed 14-3-3ζ after exposure to doxycycline. 14-3-3ζ protein have the ability to bind a multitude of functionally diverse signalling proteins. The NERCe002-A-3 cell line is considered a model for functional studies of the 14-3-3ζ protein in hESC self-renewal and cell differentiation. Doxycycline-treated NERCe002-A-3 cells showed a > 27-fold increase in relative expression of 14-3-3ζ as compared with un-induced cells. Characterization assays proved that NERCe002-A-3 cells express typical markers of pluripotency and have the ability to form the three germ layers in vivo.

The human embryonic stem cell (hESC) line NERCe002-A-1 was generated through lentiviral transduction of the original NERCe002-A-1 hESC line with Zoanthus sp. green fluorescent protein (ZsGreen). Cells that expressed ZsGreen showed a >8.6-fold increase in fluorescence intensity compared with that of cells that expressed enhanced green fluorescent protein. The fluorescent hESC line can aid in identification of biological characteristics in vitro and in vivo by tracking cell growth, migration, and differentiation. Characteristic tests confirmed that the NERCe002-A-1 cell line expressed typical markers of pluripotency and had the capability to form the three germ layers in vivo.

By using the MCVD system and the all-gas-phase chelate precursor doping technique, we fabricated an Yb-doped aluminophosphosilicate fiber with 20 μm-core and 400 μm-clad in diameter, i.e., 20/400 Yb-APS fiber. The fiber core was doped with 1100 ppm Yb3+, 7200 ppm Al3+, and 8000 ppm P5+. With a molar ratio of Al/P close to 1:1, low refractive index difference and suitable numerical aperture was obtained for large-mode-area fiber design. Directly forward pumped by 976 nm laser diodes, 11-m-long 20/400 Yb-APS fiber presented 3.03 kW laser output at 1080 nm with a slope efficiency of 76.6% and beam quality M2 of ~1.58. Up to this power level, no signs of instable beam profile, beam quality worsening, and laser power roll-over were obtained, indirectly justified no obvious mode instability in the whole laser setup. To directly characterize its power stability and photodarkening effect, the fiber laser was kept at ~2.1 kW for over 500 min with power degradation less than 1.1%. These results indicated that the all-gas-phase chelate precursor doping technique is highly competitive for Yb-APS fiber fabrication toward high-power laser, and the fabricated fiber is very suitable for 2 kW-level or above commercial fiber laser development.

AIM: To investigate the related factors of pupil diameter changes in femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery in patients of different ages and their effects on the operation time and surgical efficacy of patient interface.METHODS: One hundred and one patients(101 eyes)with femtosecond laser assisted cataract surgery were enrolled in this study from March 2017 to June 2018, the age group was divided into middle-aged group(46 cases)and old age group(55 cases). Routine mydriasis was carried out in every patient. The operation time of patient interface, docking time, nucleus radius and pupil diameter before, during and after interface operation, best corrected visual acuity before and after surgery were recorded. The state anxiety questionnaire was used to assess the state anxiety symptoms during interfacing operation and evaluate the clinical efficacy.RESULTS: The age of patients with femtosecond laser assisted cataract surgery was significantly negatively correlated with the diameter of the pupil before, during and after the interface operation, the radius of the nucleus, and the state anxiety score. The interface operation time and the state anxiety score were significantly negative correlation. The pupil diameters of the middle-aged patients(8.89±0.57, 7.52±0.52, 8.96±0.54mm)were significantly greater than those of the elderly group(8.43±0.73, 7.14±0.55, 8.44±0.75mm)before, during and after the interface operation,and the state anxiety score(42.19±9.27)was significantly greater than that of the elderly group(39.80±9.15 points)(PP>0.05).CONCLUSION: The pupillary changes in middle-aged femtosecond laser-assisted cataract patients are more sensitive and these patients are prone to anxiety, which has certain influence on the progress of the surgery.

AIM: To discuss the influencing factors of interface operation in femtosecond laser assisted cataract surgery(FLACS). METHODS: From March 2016 to October 2017, 44 patients(44 eyes)were enrolled in this study who had adverse cases occurred in interface operation in femtosecond laser assisted cataract surgery. A questionnaire survey was conducted to find out the relevant factors. RESULTS: The patient's emotion, comfort and external environment can influence the process and safety of interface operation in femtosecond laser assisted cataract surgery. The positive detection rate of patients with state anxiety was 73%, with mild and moderate status anxiety, among which there was no statistical difference between male and female state(P>0.05). The patient's comfort level was 89% and the satisfaction rate was 96%. CONCLUSION: The emotional, comfort, and environmental factors of patients in femtosecond laser assisted cataract surgery may affect the process and safety of interface operations, effective nursing and management measures can be implemented to improve patient surgical coordination and comfort, and reduce intraoperative complications.

The nonlocal spin valve configuration consists of two ferromagnetic and nonmagnetic channels, which is an effective configuration for determining spin injection and accumulation. Here, we report that a reversed nonlocal spin signal was detected by changing the voltage probe configurations in graphene (Py/MgO/graphene/MgO/Py) lateral spin valves. The abnormal reversed spin-dependent nonlocal voltage is attributed to the nonuniform pinhole at the interface of the low-resistance tunnel barrier, which makes the charge current flow through the detection electrode and return to the graphene channel. We demonstrate that the channel-width induced spin-polarized current inhomogeneity significantly contributes to nonlocal resistance. A detailed description and simulated results of the tunnel junctions provide evidence for the reversal of the nonlocal voltage sign induced by the low-resistance tunnel barriers. Our work sheds light on the understanding of the spatial distribution of the spin current and the effect of the tunnel barrier, which are essential for the development of spintronic devices.

Lithium (Li) metal is regarded as the ideal anode for rechargeable Li-metal batteries such as Li-S and Li-air batteries. A series of problems caused by Li dendrites, such as low Coulombic efficiency (CE) and a short circuit, have limited the application of Li-metal batteries. In this study, a graphene-modified three-dimensional (3D) Copper (Cu) current collector is addressed to enable dendrite-free Li deposition. After Cu foam is immersed into graphene oxide (GO) suspension, a spontaneous reduction of GO, induced by Cu, generates reduced graphene oxide on a 3D Cu (rGO@Cu) substrate. The rGO@Cu foam not only provides large surface area to accommodate Li deposition for lowering the local effective current density, but also forms a rGO protective layer to effectively control the growth of Li dendrites. As current collector, the rGO@Cu foam shows superior properties than commercial Cu foam and planar Cu foil in terms of cycling stability and CE. The rGO@Cu foam delivers a CE as high as 98.5% for over 350 cycles at the current density of 1 mA cm−2. Furthermore, the full cell using LiFePO4 as cathode and Li metal as anode with rGO@Cu foam as current collector (LiFePO4/rGO@Cu-Li) is assembled to prove the admirable capacities and indicates commercialization of Li-metal batteries.

A novel low molecular weight polysaccharide from Grifola frondosa (LMw-GFP) was prepared in this study, and its structural characteristics and antitumor mechanism in vivo were further investigated. The results showed that LMw-GFP contained 95.83% carbohydrate, 0.34% protein and 0.21% uronic acid, with the average molecular weight of approximately 1.79 × 103 Da. Additionally, FTIR, GC, NMR and methylation analysis further demonstrated that LMw-GFP was a homogeneous polysaccharide composed of α-T-Glcp (28.26%), α-1 → 4-Glcp (50.24%) and α-1 → 3,4-Glcp (21.50%). The in vivo antitumor experiments showed that LMw-GFP exhibited antitumor effects on H22 hepatoma cells with an inhibitory ratio of 40.1% via protecting immune organs and enhancing the activities of NK cells, macrophages and lymphocytes. Besides, the H&E staining, cell cycle analysis and fluorescent staining results showed that LMw-GFP could induce H22 solid tumor cells apoptosis in vivo via mitochondrial apoptotic pathway.

Li-metal batteries are the preferred candidates for the next-generation energy storage, due to the lowest electrode potential and high capacity of Li anode. However, the dangerous Li dendrites and serious interface reaction hinder its practical application. In this work, we construct a difunctional protecting layer on the surface of the Li anode (the AgNO3-modified Li anode, AMLA) for Li-S batteries. This stable protecting layer can hinder the corrosion reaction with intermediate polysulfides (Li2Sx, 4 ≤ x ≤ 8) and suppress the Li dendrites by regulating Li metal nucleation and depositing Li under the layer uniformly. The AMLA can cycle more than 50 h at 5 mA cm−2 with the steady overpotential of lower than 0.2 V and show high capacity of 666.7 mAh g−1 even after 500 cycles at 0.8375 mA cm−2 in Li-S cell. This work makes great contribution to the protection of the Li anode and further promotes the practical application.

Nowadays, lithium (Li) metal batteries arouse widespread concerns due to its ultrahigh specific capacity (3,860 mAh g−1). However, the growth of Li dendrites has always limited their industrial development. In this paper, the use of concentrated electrolyte with lithium difluoro(oxalate)borate (LiODFB) salt in 1, 2-dimethoxyethane (DME) enables the good cycling of a Li metal anode at high Coulombic efficiency (up to 98.1%) without dendrite growth. Furthermore, a Li/Li cell can be cycled at 1 mA cm−2 for over 3,000 h. Besides, compared to conventional LiPF6-carbonate electrolyte, Li/LiFePO4 cells with 4 M LiODFB-DME exhibit superior electrochemical performances, especially at high temperature (65°C). These outstanding performances can be certified to the increased availability of Li+ concentration and the merits of LiODFB salt. We believe that the concentrated LiODFB electrolyte is help to enable practical applications for Li metal anode in rechargeable batteries.

Electrocatalytic water splitting is an efficient route to generate renewable energy sources, in which the noble metal materials are usually used as electrocatalysts. But the high price and scarcity of these catalysts impede their large-scale applications. Ni-based materials are considered to be the most suitable catalytic materials to substitute these noble metal materials. In this paper, the monodispersed α-Ni(OH)2 microspheres assembled by ultrathin nanosheets were synthesized by a facile solvothermal method. This method was surfactant-free and no precipitator was used. The as-obtained products were well-characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), thermal gravimetric (TG) analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results of N2 adsorption/desorption isotherm indicate that the BET surface area of the products was 169.94 m2g−1, and the pore-size distribution centered at 3.5 nm. Then, the electrochemical properties were evaluated by linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) in 1 M KOH. At a current density of 10 mA cm2, the overpotential for the α-Ni(OH)2-MS is 320 mV, and the Tafel slope is 98.7 mV dec−1, indicating its excellent reaction kinetics for an efficient catalyst toward oxygen evolution reaction (OER).

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have potential applications in biomass conversion and green chemicals due to their cost-effectiveness and environmentally friendly properties. This study reports on a feasible method of using DESs for lignin selective extraction from poplar wood meal. DESs obtained from various hydrogen-bond donors and acceptors were used to evaluate the dissolving capacity of lignin from poplar wood meal. Among the various DESs, lactic acid: choline chloride (9 : 1) exhibits the optimal extraction capacity, which is capable of selectively dissolving 95% of lignin from poplar wood meal at 120°C for 6 h. The purity of isolated lignin reaches 98% after regeneration in water. From Fourier Transform-IR, nitrobenzene oxidation and nuclear magnetic resonance analysis, the results demonstrate that the DESs can selectively cleave ether linkages and damage the non-condensation section of lignin, thereby facilitating lignin dissolution from wood meal. Thus, this study provides a promising route for the extraction of high-purity lignin from biomass materials.

The musk gland in an adult male forest musk deer is an organ that synthesizes, stores, and secretes musk, a cream-colored liquid upon initial secretion that gradually transforms into a blackish-brown solid substance upon full maturation. In this study, four healthy adult male forest musk deer were selected and a total of 12 musk samples were collected for analysis. The samples were in three different states depending on the different seasonal collection dates, which were in June, August, and October. High-throughput 16S-rRNA gene sequencing technology was used to detect microbiota changes in the gland. The results indicate that microbial richness gradually declined during the musk maturation process. The microbiota composition between the initial liquid and final solid musk samples was varied significantly (P < 0.05). The dominant bacterial phyla were similar at all three stages included Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes. However, the abundances were differences in terms of the dominant bacterial genera. PICRUSt analysis showed the highest represented category was “Amino acid transport and metabolism” (24.8%), followed by “Transcription” (22.04%), and “Carbohydrate transport and metabolism” (20.74%). Our findings indicate that the microbiota in the musk gland plays an important role in the maturation process of musk.

With the advent of the Internet of Everything era, the Industrial Internet is increasingly showing mutual integration and development. Its core framework, the industrial CPS (Cyber-Physical Systems), has received more and more attention and in-depth research in recent years. These complex industrial CPS systems are usually composed of multiple interdependent sub-networks (such as physical networks and control networks, etc.). Minor faults or failure behaviors between sub-networks may cause serious cascading failure effects of the entire system. In this paper, we will propose a security scheme based on intranal-adding links in the face of the integrated and converged industrial CPS system environment. Firstly, by calculating the size of the largest connected component in the entire system, we can compare and analyze industrial CPS systems’ security performance under random attacks. Secondly, we compare and analyze the risk of cascading failure between integrated industrial CPS systems under different intranal-adding link strategies. Finally, the simulation results verify the system security strategy’s effectiveness under different strategies and show a relatively better exchange strategy to enhance the system’s security. In addition, this paper’s research work can help us design how to further optimize the interdependent industrial CPS system’s topology to cope with the integrated and converged industrial CPS system environment.