Search

The Camellia tetracocca Zhang is a rare and ancient plant, exclusively found in the vicinity of Puan County, Guizhou Province, China. According to leaf color, two distinct variations have been identified: purple C. tetracocca Zhang (PCTZ) and green C. tetracocca (GCTZ). This research was conducted to investigate the antioxidant activities and chemical compositions of different edible parts of PCTZ and GCTZ. Antioxidant activity was evaluated using DPPH, ABTS, HSA, and T-AOC assays, while the content of compounds was determined by HPLC. The findings demonstrated that the antioxidant capacity of PCTZ leaves is significantly superior to that of GCTZ leaves. Notably, theacrine, a rare compound, contains up to 2.075% in PCTZ leaves, indicating potential as a novel natural antidepressant and antioxidant. In conclusion, PCTZ is a distinctive tea beverage and a valuable genetic material for tea tree breeding due to its high theacrine and low caffeine characteristics.

Stenotrophomonas strains, which are often described as plant growth promoting (PGP) bacteria, are ubiquitous in many environments. A total of 213 genomes of strains of Stenotrophomonas were analyzed using comparative genomics to better understand the ecological roles of these bacteria in the environment. The pan-genome of the 213 strains of Stenotrophomonas consists of 27,186 gene families, including 710 core gene families, 11,039 unique genes and 15,437 accessory genes. Nearly all strains of Stenotrophomonas harbor the genes for GH3-family cellulose degradation and GH2- and GH31-family hemicellulose hydrolase, as well as intact glycolysis and tricarboxylic acid cycle pathways. These abilities suggest that the strains of this genus can easily obtain carbon and energy from the environment. The Stenotrophomonas strains can respond to oxidative stress by synthesizing catalase, superoxide dismutase, methionine sulfoxide reductase, and disulfide isomerase, as well as managing their osmotic balance by accumulating potassium and synthesizing compatible solutes, such as betaine, trehalose, glutamate, and proline. Each Stenotrophomonas strain also contains many genes for resistance to antibiotics and heavy metals. These genes that mediate stress tolerance increase the ability of Stenotrophomonas strains to survive in extreme environments. In addition, many functional genes related to attachment and plant colonization, growth promotion and biocontrol were identified. In detail, the genes associated with flagellar assembly, motility, chemotaxis and biofilm formation enable the strains of Stenotrophomonas to effectively colonize host plants. The presence of genes for phosphate-solubilization and siderophore production and the polyamine, indole-3-acetic acid, and cytokinin biosynthetic pathways confer the ability to promote plant growth. These strains can produce antimicrobial compounds, chitinases, lipases and proteases. Each Stenotrophomonas genome contained 1–9 prophages and 17–60 genomic islands, and the genes related to antibiotic and heavy metal resistance and the biosynthesis of polyamines, indole-3-acetic acid, and cytokinin may be acquired by horizontal gene transfer. This study demonstrates that strains of Stenotrophomonas are highly adaptable for different environments and have strong potential for use as plant growth-promoting bacteria.

Objective: Oxidative stress-induced retinal neurodegenerative changes are among the pathological alterations observed in diabetic retinopathy. Resveratrol (RSV), a polyphenolic compound with diverse pharmacological effects, has shown preventive qualities in several neurodegenerative illnesses, including anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, and antioxidant benefits. However, its therapeutic efficacy in diabetic retinal neurodegeneration has not yet been thoroughly elucidated. Our study aimed to explore the protective mechanisms and therapeutic benefits of RSV on diabetic retinal neurodegeneration alterations. Materials and methods: Using streptozotocin, we created a diabetic mouse model and conducted visual electrophysiological examinations on mice from the normal group, diabetic group, and diabetic group treated with RSV. Retinas were harvested for histological staining. Additionally, primary retinal ganglion cells cultured in high glucose conditions were used to assess malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels upon siRNA-mediated nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) interference. Protein levels of Nrf-2, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), and transcriptional levels of them were also measured. Results: We demonstrated that RSV significantly improved the retinal morphology and function in the diabetic retinopathy model mice. The treated mice exhibited notable improvements in visual electrophysiology, with a significant reduction in retinal ganglion cell apoptosis. Following RSV treatment, the high glucose-cultured ganglion cells demonstrated a considerable rise in SOD levels and a substantial drop in MOD. Moreover, the protein expression of solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11) and Nrf2 significantly increased. RT-PCR and Western blot results indicated a significant attenuation of RSV's therapeutic effects upon Nrf2 inhibition. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that RSV may reduce oxidative stress levels in the retina and inhibit retinal ganglion cell apoptosis via reducing the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway, which lessens the harm that excessive glucose causes to the retina.

Background: Oxidative stress, imbalance of neurotransmitters and multidrug resistant transporters play pivotal roles in the development and treatment of seizures. Classical formula Baijin Pills (BJP) has been used to treat brain damage caused by epilepsy for thousands of years. However, little information on the anti-seizure effects of BJP has been reported so far. Purpose: To investigate the effects of BJP on Lithium-pilocarpine- induced seizures and its role in the regulation of oxidative stress and neurotransmission. Study Design: The present study elucidates the anti-epileptic effects and mechanisms of action of BJP, using a mouse model of Lithium-pilocarpine- induced seizures. Methods: The antiepileptic effect of BJP was tested by fear conditioning test of mice model. Nissl staining showed neural loss and apoptosis in the hippocampus seizure mice and BJP treatment. Immunohistochemistry analysis of Bcl-2 and Bax inflected anti-apoptotic effects of BJP. The chemical colorimetric method was utilized to determine the effects of BJP on oxidative stress. The levels of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were detected by ELISA. Whole-cell votage-clamp recording was made to detect currents of receptor gated channels. Results: We found that BJP can significantly improve the cognitive disorders of epileptic mice, prolonged the latency of seizures and reduced the duration of epilepsy. BJP also effectively ameliorate neural injury in the hippocampus, up-regulated Bcl-2 protein level whereas decreased Bax expression. Moreover, the levels of SOD, GSH as well as γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) were increased, while the levels of MDA, aminomethyl phosphonic acid (AMPA) and N-Methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) were decreased in the hippocampus with BJP treatment. Patch clamp recording showed that BJP had no significant effect on the current induced by GABA, NMDA and AMPA in acutely isolated mice hippocampal neurons. Furthermore, BJP inhibited the expression of P-gp, MRP1 and MDR1 protein. Conclusions: Our study provides the first experimental basis that BJP can exert anti-seizure effects by attenuating oxidative stress, regulating neurotransmission and inhibit drug-resistant associated proteins. BJP may be developed as a drug candidate to treat epilepsy in clinical practice.

Abstract One crucial component of ghost imaging (GI) is the encoded mask. Higher-quality reconstruction at lower sampling rates is still a major challenge for GI. Inspired by deep learning, max-projection method is proposed in the paper to reorder the Hadamard masks for its efficient and rapid reconstruction. The simulations demonstrated that max-projection ordering with only 20 face training images yielded excellent reconstruction outcomes. In noise-free simulations, at an ultralow sampling rate of 5%, the PSNR of the max-projection ordering was 1.1 dB higher than that of the cake-cutting ordering with the best performance in the reference group. In noisy simulations, at ultralow sampling rates, the retrieved images remained almost identical to their noise-free counterparts. Irrespective of the presence or absence of noise, the max-projection ordering guaranteed the highest fidelity of image reconstruction at ultralow sampling rates. The reconstruction time was reduced to mere milliseconds, thereby enabling swift visualization of dynamic phenomena. Accordingly, the max-projection ordering Hadamard matrix offers a promising solution for real-time GI due to its higher reconstruction quality, stronger noise immunity and millisecond reconstruction time.

In this study, a deep learning algorithm was applied to two-dimensional magnetotelluric (MT) data inversion. Compared with the traditional linear iterative inversion methods, the MT inversion method based on convolutional neural networks (CNN) does not rely on the selection of the initial model parameters and does not fall into the local optima. Although the CNN inversion models can provide a clear electrical interface division, their inversion results may remain prone to abrupt electrical interfaces as opposed to the actual underground electrical situation. To solve this issue, a neural network with a residual network architecture (ResNet-50) was constructed in this study. With the apparent resistivity and phase pseudo-section data as the inputs and with the resistivity parameters of the geoelectric model as the training labels, the modified ResNet-50 model was trained end-to-end for producing samples according to the corresponding production strategy of the study area. Through experiments, the training of the ResNet-50 with the dice loss function effectively solved the issue of over-segmentation of the electrical interface by the cross-entropy function, avoided its abrupt inversion, and overcame the computational inefficiency of the traditional iterative methods. The proposed algorithm was validated against MT data measured from a geothermal field prospect in Huanggang, Hubei Province, which showed that the deep learning method has opened up broad prospects in the field of MT data inversion.

Abstract Background Schistosoma mekongi is a human blood fluke causing schistosomiasis that threatens approximately 1.5 million humans in the world. Nonetheless, the limited available S. mekongi genomic resources have hindered understanding of its biology and parasite-host interactions for disease management and pathogen control. The aim of our study was to integrate multiple technologies to construct a high-quality chromosome-level assembly of the S. mekongi genome. Methods The reference genome for S. mekongi was generated through integrating Illumina, PacBio sequencing, 10 × Genomics linked-read sequencing, and high-throughput chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) methods. In this study, we conducted de novo assembly, alignment, and gene prediction to assemble and annotate the genome. Comparative genomics allowed us to compare genomes across different species, shedding light on conserved regions and evolutionary relationships. Additionally, our transcriptomic analysis focused on genes associated with parasite-snail interactions in S. mekongi infection. We employed gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis for functional annotation of these genes. Results In the present study, the S. mekongi genome was both assembled into 8 pseudochromosomes with a length of 404 Mb, with contig N50 and scaffold N50 lengths of 1168 kb and 46,759 kb, respectively. We detected that 43% of the genome consists of repeat sequences and predicted 9103 protein-coding genes. We also focused on proteases, particularly leishmanolysin-like metalloproteases (M8), which are crucial in the invasion of hosts by 12 flatworm species. Through phylogenetic analysis, it was discovered that the M8 gene exhibits lineage-specific amplification among the genus Schistosoma. Lineage-specific expansion of M8 was observed in blood flukes. Additionally, the results of the RNA-seq revealed that a mass of genes related to metabolic and biosynthetic processes were up-regulated, which might be beneficial for cercaria production. Conclusions This study delivers a high-quality, chromosome-scale reference genome of S. mekongi, enhancing our understanding of the divergence and evolution of Schistosoma. The molecular research conducted here also plays a pivotal role in drug discovery and vaccine development. Furthermore, our work greatly advances the understanding of host-parasite interactions, providing crucial insights for schistosomiasis intervention strategies. Graphical Abstract

Abstract Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) are selectively active in ovarian cancer (OC) with homologous recombination (HR) deficiency (HRD) caused by mutations in BRCA1/2 and other DNA repair pathway members. We sought molecular targeted therapy that induce HRD in HR-proficient cells to induce synthetic lethality with PARPi and extend the utility of PARPi. Here, we demonstrate that lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) is an important regulator for OC. Importantly, genetic depletion or pharmacological inhibition of LSD1 induces HRD and sensitizes HR-proficient OC cells to PARPi in vitro and in multiple in vivo models. Mechanistically, LSD1 inhibition directly impairs transcription of BRCA1/2 and RAD51, three genes essential for HR, dependently of its canonical demethylase function. Collectively, our work indicates combination with LSD1 inhibitor could greatly expand the utility of PARPi to patients with HR-proficient tumor, warranting assessment in human clinical trials.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate the dietary exposure level of chromium （Cr） and its potential health risks among residents of Chongqing.MethodsCr concentration data were obtained from the Food Safety Risk Monitoring System， which included 2 780 Cr-containing food samples from nine categories in Chongqing from 2018 to 2021. Food consumption data were derived from the Chongqing Diet Survey Data of the China Health and Nutrition Survey Project 2018 （3 d 24 h dietary recall surveys）. A Monte Carlo simulation was used to estimate the dietary Cr intake levels and the associated health risks.ResultsThe average concentration of Cr in all foods in Chongqing ranged from 0.013 9 to 0.126 3 mg/kg， with a total detection rate of 40.6%. The average Cr concentration was highest in aquatic products， followed by foods for special dietary use， leafy vegetables， and rice. The average daily dietary Cr exposure range of Chongqing residents was 0.683-2.117 μg/kg body weight （BW）， and the dietary Cr exposure level （P95） of the high-food-consumption population was 1.165-3.597 μg/kg BW. The average daily level of Cr exposure decreased with increasing age. The average daily exposure to Cr was highest for people aged 1-6 years and lowest for people aged >60 years. The average exposure to Cr was higher in urban areas than in rural areas， and females had higher exposure levels than males. Cereals and their products had the highest contribution to the total dietary Cr exposure of Chongqing residents， reaching 39.31%-49.13%. The mean and maximum levels of exposure （P95） to chromium were less than one of the tolerable daily intake in all age， sex， and regional groups.ConclusionThe health risk of dietary Cr exposure among Chongqing residents was low. The three main sources of dietary Cr were cereals and their products， vegetables， and meat.

Abstract Vitamin D‐regulating action of PPARγ on obesity has been confirmed on adipocyte differentiation. However, it is not clear whether vitamin D affects the morphological size of mature adipocytes by influencing the expression of PPARγ in vivo. Our hypothesis was that Vitamin D3 (VitD3) inhibits the growth of adipocyte size by suppressing PPARγ expression in white adipocytes of obese mice. Five‐week‐old male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into normal diet and high‐fat diet groups. After 10 weeks, the body weight between the two groups differed by 26.91%. The obese mice were randomly divided into a high‐fat diet, solvent control, low‐dose VitD3 (5000 IU/kg·food), medium‐dose VitD3 (7500 IU/kg·food), high‐dose VitD3 (10,000 IU/kg·food), and PPAR γ antagonist group, and the intervention lasted for 8 weeks. Diet‐induced obesity (DIO) mice fed high‐dose VitD3 exacerbated markers of adiposity (body weight, fat mass, fat mass rate, size of white and brown adipocytes, mRNA, and protein levels of ATGL and Fsp27), and the protein level of ATGL and Fsp27 decreased in the low‐dose group. In conclusion, high‐dose VitD3 possibly via inhibiting the ATGL expression, thereby inhibiting lipolysis, increasing the volume of adipocytes, and decreasing their fat‐storing ability resulted in decreased Fsp27 expression. Therefore, long‐term high‐dose oral VitD3 may not necessarily improve obesity, and we need more clinical trials to explore the intervention dose and duration of VitD3 in the treatment of VitD3 deficiency in obese patients.

Abstract China's severe particle pollution could affect the regional climate and weather conditions that consequently threaten local to global food security. Yet, the underlying mechanisms and quantitative assessment of aerosols on crop yields remain unknown. Here, by integrating a meteorology–chemistry model and a crop model, we show the impacts of atmospheric aerosols on China's meteorology and soybean yields. We find that the potential yields of soybean would decrease in most parts of China due to direct aerosol radiation effects, while showing diverse responses in parts of the Northeast and North China Plain. Moreover, because of the high sensitivity of soybean growth to water, potential yield fluctuations are closely related to aerosol‐induced precipitation changes in most soybean‐growing regions of China. In particular, aerosols play the most important role during soybean's pod‐filling stage, in which the influence of both precipitation perturbations and negative solar radiative forcing is about 5–10 times that of air temperature on crop yield. Our study thereby identifies aerosol mitigation can bring a notable increase in crop yields, highlighting the potential for important co‐benefits in food security across polluting developing countries.

In this paper, the feature increment can be regarded as a learning mapping function, and a non-equilibrium incremental learning (WILS) method for the academic warning is proposed, and the academic warning model of the non-equilibrium incremental learning method is constructed. The learning factor is regulated by introducing the Focal loss function, and the learned knowledge is integrated into the Focal loss as the final loss function. Finally, the three-dimensional indicators of social characteristics, personal characteristics, and student behavior were used to explore the influencing factors of academic performance and academic support strategies were explored in this way. The results show that the average value of the accuracy of the academic early warning model is 0.857, and the F1-Measure is 0.891, which indicates that the model can reasonably and efficiently provide prior warning of students’ learning situations and behavioral performance. This paper proposes countermeasure suggestions for managing academic early warning and academic support work, which enhances the purpose of talent cultivation quality.

In this paper, firstly, the heat transfer characteristics of the stepped phase change accumulator are studied, and the location of the solid-liquid phase interface is determined by the phase fraction in a fixed grid scheme, while the phase change heat transfer process is simulated using Fluent. Secondly, for the phase change heat transfer problem, the enthalpy-porosity method in the Solidification/Melting model is used to treat the solid-liquid mixed paste region of the phase interface as a porous media region, and the evaluation system is constructed in terms of heat storage and discharge efficiency, heat storage, and heat recovery efficiency. Then the mathematical model, boundary conditions and solution parameters of the stepped phase change heat accumulator are set, and the data analysis of the effect of the pool height-to-diameter ratio on the heat storage in the solar inter-seasonal storage heating system is carried out by using ANSYSCFD software. The results show that the heat storage of the system also shows an overall increasing trend with the increase of the pool height-to-diameter ratio, and the heat storage of the system increases faster when the height-to-diameter ratio increases from 0.2 to 1.0 in sequence, and the heat storage of the system increases less when the height-to-diameter ratio changes between 0.9 and 1.8, and basically tends to be stable. This study realizes the graded heat storage and graded heat use of solar energy, which is useful for the research of solar heat supply and heat storage.

Currently, in the field of geological disaster monitoring, monitoring and early warning information is mainly released based on the threshold setting of various types of monitoring equipment. However, since the thresholds are established according to empirical values or expert evaluations, there is a lack of pertinence to different types of geological disasters and different environments. Once set, these thresholds remain unchanged for a long time, and even when adjusted, they only slightly float based on experience, lacking scientific data sample analysis. Additionally, monitoring equipment is susceptible to satellite signals and environmental factors, leading to false alarms and false negatives during operation. To address these issues, a method of dynamic adjustment of self-learning and self-correction early warning thresholds is proposed. This method introduces two variable thresholds and a new performance index optimization method for VTAS based on priority and gate and semi-Markov processes. The application of the semi-Markov process allows the method to consider industrial measurements with non-Gaussian distributions. Moreover, an optimization design process based on genetic algorithms is proposed to improve performance indicators by optimizing parameter settings. Three numerical examples are used to illustrate the effectiveness of this approach and compare it with previous studies. When applied at the measured point, the method effectively reduce false alarms and under-alarms compared to the use of fixed thresholds, improving the accuracy of geological disaster early warning and better protecting the safety of people's lives and property.

Abstract The current research on noncircular hobbing mainly focuses on the linkage model and motion realization. However, the intermittent cutting characteristics of hobbing would increase uncertainties in the manufacturing process. In this paper, a hobbing machining model with tool-shifting characteristics was proposed to solve the problems of cutting force fluctuation and inconsistency of tooth profile envelope accuracy at different positions of the pitch curve in noncircular gear hobbing. Based on the unit cutting force coefficient method, the undeformed chip volume generated by interrupted cutting was used to characterize the fluctuation trend of the hobbing force. The fluctuation characteristics of the cutting force generated by different hobbing models were compared and analyzed. Using the equivalent gear tooth and hob slotting numbers, an analysis model of the tooth profile envelope error of the noncircular gear was constructed. Subsequently, the tooth profile envelope errors at different positions of the pitch curve were compared and analyzed based on the constructed model. The transmission structure of the electronic gearbox was constructed based on the proposed hobbing model, and the hobbing experiment was conducted based on the self-developed noncircular gear CNC hobbing system. This paper proposes a hobbing method that can effectively suppress the fluctuation of the peak and whole circumference cutting force and reduce the maximum envelope error of the whole circumference gear teeth.

Abstract. Endometriosis, a heterogeneous, inflammatory, and estrogen-dependent gynecological disease defined by the presence and growth of endometrial tissues outside the lining of the uterus, affects approximately 5-10% of reproductive-age women, causing chronic pelvic pain and reduced fertility. Although the etiology of endometriosis is still elusive, emerging evidence supports the idea that immune dysregulation can promote the survival and growth of retrograde endometrial debris. Peritoneal macrophages and natural killer (NK) cells exhibit deficient cytotoxicity in the endometriotic microenvironment, leading to inefficient eradication of refluxed endometrial fragments. In addition, the imbalance of T-cell subtypes results in aberrant cytokine production and chronic inflammation, which contribute to endometriosis development. Although it remains uncertain whether immune dysregulation represents an initial cause or merely a secondary enhancer of endometriosis, therapies targeting altered immune pathways exhibit satisfactory effects in preventing disease onset and progression. Here, we summarize the phenotypic and functional alterations of immune cells in the endometriotic microenvironment, focusing on their interactions with microbiota and endocrine and nervous systems, and how these interactions contribute to the etiology and symptomology of endometriosis.

Abstract Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most lethal subtype of breast cancer, with limited therapeutic options readily available. Immunotherapy such as immune checkpoint inhibition has been investigated in TNBC but still encounters low overall response. Neutrophils, the most abundant leukocytes in the body, are increasingly recognized as an active cancer-modulating entity. In the bloodstream, neutrophils escort circulating tumor cells to promote their survival and stimulate their proliferation and metastasis. In the tumor microenvironment, neutrophils modulate the immune milieu through polarization between the anti-tumor and the pro-tumor phenotypes. Through a comprehensive review of recently published literature, it is evident that neutrophils are an important player in TNBC immunobiology and can be used as an important prognostic marker of TNBC. Particularly, in their pro-tumor form, neutrophils facilitate TNBC metastasis through formation of neutrophil extracellular traps and the pre-metastatic niche. These findings will help advance the potential utilization of neutrophils as a therapeutic target in TNBC.

Objective Accurately inserting pedicle screws is the key point of posterior pedicle screw fixation for lower cervical spine (C3–C7) instability. 3D printing technology can improve the accuracy of screw placement. This study compared the safety of 3D‐printed flexible drill guiding template vs. traditional rigid drill guiding template for lower cervical pedicle screw insertion. Methods This was a retrospective study. A total of 34 patients who underwent lower cervical pedicle screw fixation from March 2018 to May 2021 were enrolled in this study, and they were divided into the flexible drill flexible drill group and the traditional drill group. A total of 18 patients in the flexible drill flexible drill group underwent pedicle screw fixation assisted by 3D printed flexible drill guiding templates for the lower cervix, and 16 patients in the traditional drill group underwent pedicle screw fixation assisted by 3D printed regular drill guiding templates for the lower cervix. The length of the incision and intraoperative blood loss during surgery were recorded and compared for the two groups. The grade, deviation of the screw entry point, deviation of the screw medial angle and screw length were measured and compared after surgery for the two groups by independent‐sample tests. Results There was a significant difference in the length of the incision and blood loss between the two groups (P