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ObjectiveTo investigate white matter microstructural alterations in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with depression using the whole-brain diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) method and to explore the DTI–based machine learning model in identifying depressed PD (dPD).MethodsThe DTI data were collected from 37 patients with dPD and 35 patients with non-depressed PD (ndPD), and 25 healthy control (HC) subjects were collected as the reference. An atlas-based analysis method was used to compare fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) among the three groups. A support vector machine (SVM) was trained to examine the probability of discriminating between dPD and ndPD.ResultsAs compared with ndPD, dPD group exhibited significantly decreased FA in the bilateral corticospinal tract, right cingulum (cingulate gyrus), left cingulum hippocampus, bilateral inferior longitudinal fasciculus, and bilateral superior longitudinal fasciculus, and increased MD in the right cingulum (cingulate gyrus) and left superior longitudinal fasciculus-temporal part. For discriminating between dPD and ndPD, the SVM model with DTI features exhibited an accuracy of 0.70 in the training set [area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was 0.78] and an accuracy of 0.73 in the test set (area under the ROC was 0.71).ConclusionDepression in PD is associated with white matter microstructural alterations. The SVM machine learning model based on DTI parameters could be valuable for the individualized diagnosis of dPD.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are non–protein-coding RNAs that have a circular structure and do not possess a 5` cap or 3` poly-A tail. Their structure is more stable than that of linear RNAs, and they are difficult to deform via hydrolysis. Advancements in measurement technology such as RNA sequencing have enabled the detection of circRNAs in various eukaryotes in both in vitro and in vivo studies. The main function of circRNAs involves sponging of microRNAs (MiRNAs) and interaction with proteins associated with physiological and pathological processes, while some circRNAs are involved in translation. circRNAs act as tumor suppressors or oncogenes during the development of many tumors and are emerging as new diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. They also affect resistance to certain chemotherapy drugs such as imatinib. The objective of this review is to investigate the expression and clinical significance of circRNAs in hematological malignancies. We will also explore the effect of circRNAs on proliferation and apoptosis in hematological malignancy cells and their possible use as biomarkers or targets to determine prognoses. The current literature indicates that circRNAs may provide new therapeutic strategies for patients with hematologic malignancies.

Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) levels have been revealed as a robust biomarker for metformin use. We conducted Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to explore the association between GDF-15 and gallstone disease to inform potential therapeutic effects targeting GDF-15. Four genetic variants associated with GDF-15 levels at p < 5 × 10–8 were selected as instrumental variables from a genome-wide association meta-analysis including 21,758 individuals. Two-sample MR analysis was conducted using summary-level data from UK Biobank (10,520 gallstone cases and 350,674 controls) and FinnGen consortium (19,023 gallstone cases and 195,144 controls). Polygenic risk score analysis using individual-level data in UK biobank was performed to complement the MR findings by examining the non-linearity of the association. Diabetic complications were taken as positive controls to validate the therapeutic effect of targeting GDF-15. Linear and nonlinear associations between genetically predicted GDF-15 levels and gallstones were estimated with stratification by the diabetic status. In the two-sample MR analysis, the odds ratio (OR) of gallstones was 1.09 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.03–1.15; p = 0.001) for one standard deviation increase in genetically predicted GDF-15 levels in the meta-analysis of two datasets. Polygenic risk score analysis found this association to be U-shaped (p = 0.037). The observed association was predominantly seen in nondiabetic population (OR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.01–1.21; p = 0.003). An inverse association between genetically predicted GDF-15 levels and diabetic complications (OR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.62–0.96; p = 0.023) was observed, validating the potential therapeutic effects of targeting GDF-15 levels. This MR study indicates that the increased risk of gallstone disease should be taken into account when considering GDF-15 as a therapeutic target for diabetic complications.

The galectin family of proteins has high affinity with β-galactoside-containing glycans. These proteins participate in cell growth and differentiation, cell adhesion, cell signal transduction, cell apoptosis, and other cellular activities. In recent years, a large number of studies have described the expression and correlation of galectins in different tumors. Each member of the family plays a vital role in tumor growth, progression, angiogenesis, adhesion, and tumor immune escape. Studies on the roles of galectins in lymphoma have mainly involved galectin-1, -3, -7, and -9. The results suggest that galectins may become novel targets for precise tumor treatment. This article reviews current research progress regarding galectins in lymphoma and provides new ideas for exploring them as novel targets for treating lymphoma and other important medical issues.

In recent years, serious geological disasters occur frequently in China.These geological disasters are with obvious concealment, high emergency, great destructive power and long disaster chain. The key task of our work in the field of geological disaster prevention and control is the identification and judgement of the hidden dangers in early stage. If these serious geological hazards could be identified early, the prevent and control of them may be initiative. Now the key problem we faced is how to realize the accurate exploration of the hidden dangers in areas where manpower could not reach.The UAV platform has the advantages of strong mobility, good convenience and more load modules.The UAV can carry a variety of sensors which can give full play to various technical advantages and obtain survey data of serious geo-hazards.These data are more accurate.The UAV can carry lidar equipment to penetrate surface vegetation. Accurate three-dimensional laser-point cloud data and real surface data elevation model (DEM) could be obtained. DEM can derive many characteristic parameters of micro-geomorphic factors such as mountain shadow, slope, contour, roughness and curvature etc..The UAV can also be equipped with tilting camera modules which can acquire both real 3D model and digital orthophoto map(DOM).This series of data can complement each other and be applied in combination.We can accurately extract the information of dangerous geological body and rock mass structure surface in different geomorphic environments. Based on these data, we can carry out qualitative and quantitative analysis.Therefore, we can further realize the serious geological hazards.

Abstract Background The tumorigenesis of prostate cancer involves genetic mutations. Tumour mutational burden (TMB) is an emerging biomarker for predicting the efficacy of immunotherapy. Results Single-nucleotide polymorphisms were the most common variant type, and C>T transversion was the most commonly presented type of single-nucleotide variant. The high-TMB group had lower overall survival (OS) than the low-TMB group. TMB was associated with age, T stage and N stage. Functional enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) showed that they are involved in pathways related to the terms spindle, chromosomal region, nuclear division, chromosome segregation, cell cycle, oocyte meiosis and other terms associated with DNA mutation and cell proliferation. Six hub genes, PLK1, KIF2C, MELK, EXO1, CEP55 and CDK1, were identified. All the genes were associated with disease-free survival, and CEP55 and CDK1 were associated with OS. Conclusions The present study provides a comprehensive analysis of the significance of TMB and DEGs and infiltrating immune cells related to TMB, which provides helpful information for exploring the significance of TMB in prostate cancer.

A cellulose-based matrix for monitoring milk freshness (MF) was produced from rice straw particles (RSPs) in a 0.125–0.150 mm that was bis-quaternized to attach bromocresol purple (BP) as a sensor. Under alkali conditions, the obstinate structure of the rice straw had opened, thereby improving the accessibility of the cellulose. Bis-quaternization created more adsorption sites for BP. The maximum adsorption capacity was 97.68 mg/g. The sensors were interwoven with cellulosic fibers to form the cellulose-based label with a relatively loose three-dimensional structure via hydrogen bonds. As the proportion of BP-BCRPs was increased from 10% to 40%, the air permeability of the label increased from 3.76 to 15.01 mm/s, which increased the response to the tested gases (10.12 s for 1 mL of acetic acid). The intelligent label exhibited excellent sensitivity at pH values of 3–9 with highly saturated color changes. During the storage period, the label color shifted from blue-purple to yellow as acidity was increased from 17.24 to 19.8 °T due to capillarity action, providing a timely warning to consumers. The prepared colorimetric porous intelligent cellulose-based label is suitable for monitoring of MF.

The naphthalene derivative fluorescent probe F6 was synthesized and a 1 × 10−3 mol/L solution of Al3+ and other metals to be tested was prepared for the subsequent experiments. The Al3+ fluorescence system of the naphthalene derivative fluorescent probe F6 was successfully constructed as demonstrated by fluorescence emission spectroscopy. The optimal time, temperature and pH of the reaction were investigated. The selectivity and anti-interference ability of the probe F6 for Al3+ were investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy in a methanol solution. The experiments showed that the probe has high selectivity and anti-interference ability for Al3+. The binding ratio of F6 to Al3+ was 2:1, and the binding constant was calculated to be 1.598 × 105 M−1. The possible mechanism of the binding of the two was speculated. Different concentrations of Al3+ were added to Panax Quinquefolium and Paeoniae Radix Alba. The results showed that the recoveries of Al3+ were 99.75–100.56% and 98.67–99.67%, respectively. The detection limit was 8.73 × 10−8 mol/L. The experiments demonstrated that the formed fluorescence system can be successfully adapted for the determination of Al3+ content in two Chinese herbal medicines, which has good practical application.

High iron stores have been reported to be associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, evidence for the associations of iron metabolism with T2DM is inconsistent, and whether there is a threshold effect remains controversial. In the present study, we aimed to examine the associations between various iron biomarkers and the risk of T2DM as well as impaired glucose metabolism (IGM) and hyperglycemia in Chinese women of childbearing age. A total of 1145 women were divided into three groups (normal blood glucose metabolism group; IGM group; T2DM group). Biomarkers of iron metabolism (serum ferritin (SF), transferrin, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), transferrin saturation, serum iron, total body iron, and sTfR-to-lgferritin index) were measured. After adjusting for various confounding risk factors, SF and sTfR were positively associated with the risk of IGM (fourth vs. first quartile: SF odds ratio (OR) = 1.93 (95% CI 1.17–3.20) and sTfR OR = 3.08 (95% CI 1.84–5.14)) and T2DM (SF OR = 2.39 (95% CI 1.40–4.06) and sTfR OR = 3.84 (95% CI 2.53–5.83)). There was a nonlinear relationship between SF and risk of T2DM and hyperglycemia (p for nonlinearity < 0.01). Our findings suggested that SF and sTfR could be independent predictors of T2DM risk.

Vegetation can play a crucial role in stabilizing slopes through their hydrological and mechanical properties, yet few studies have systematically compared their effects on soil moisture resistance and slope stability. To investigate this, four steep slopes covered by different forests were analyzed in terms of climatic conditions, soil moisture dynamics, root strength and soil physical properties. The results revealed that the roots of Phyllostachys pubescens forests had a higher number and were deeper than the main plant species in the other three forests. Although the root tensile strength of Phyllostachys pubescens was not the strongest, its additional cohesion contributed more to hillslope stability. In the other three forests, suction stress was the main factor contributing to hillslope stability. The soil moisture change rate in Phyllostachys pubescens was found to be the smallest among the four forests studied, indicating that it had the greatest rainfall interception ability. The stability of the slope land covered by shrub forest was found to be more variable than the other three lands in high temperature conditions. Through its soil moisture reducing ability, root characteristics and magnitude of safety factor, Phyllostachys pubescens was identified as a suitable species for slope stabilization in the study area. The findings of this work may provide useful insights for local forest management in terms of selecting suitable plant species to reduce shallow landslides.

Although research supports the feasibility and reliability of health-related physical fitness (HRPF) tests in typically developing children and adolescents, little is known regarding the feasibility and reliability of these tests for those with hearing impairments (HI). The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and reliability of a HRPF test battery for children and adolescents with HI. A test–retest design with a one-week interval was conducted with 26 participants with HI (mean age: 12.7 ± 2.8 years; 9 male). The feasibility and reliability of seven field-based HRPF tests (i.e., body mass index, grip strength, standing long jump, vital capacity, long distance run, sit-and-reach, one leg stand) were evaluated. All the tests showed high feasibility (completion rate > 90%). Six tests indicated good to excellent test–retest reliability (all intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] > 0.75) while the one leg stand test showed poor reliability (ICC = 0.36). Relatively large percentages of standard error of measurement (SEM%) and minimal detectable change (MDC%) were observed in the sit-and-reach test (SEM% = 52.4%, MDC% = 145.2%) and one leg stand test (SEM% = 107.9%, MDC% = 299.2%), whereas the rest of the tests demonstrated reasonable SEM% and MDC% values. Collectively, most of the tests can be feasibly and reliably used to assess HRPF for children and adolescents with HI.

Background: Increasingly, studies have discovered that different fatty acids (Fas) are linked to colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. Methods: We systematically searched Embase and Medline databases to identify eligible studies that examined the associations of different types of Fas with CRC risk. The effect estimates and their 95% confidence intervals (Cis) were pooled using a random-effects model. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed to examine the robustness of the study findings. Results: This study evaluated the associations of 28 dietary and 18 blood Fas with CRC risk by summarizing the most updated evidence from 54 observational and four Mendelian Randomization (MR) studies. The present findings suggested that high dietary intake of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexanoic acid (DHA), and docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) are related to low risk of CRC, while the n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio and trans-FA are related to high risk of CRC. The summary of all cohort studies found that a high intake of SFA and DHA was a protective factor for CRC, and a high intake of the n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio was a risk factor for CRC. In the subgroup analysis of cancer subsites, we found that the dietary intake of linoleic acid (LA) and trans-FA are risk factors, while DPA is a protective factor for colon cancer. High dietary DHA intake was associated with a lower risk of rectal cancer, while the dietary n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio was associated with a higher risk of rectal cancer. Meta-analysis of blood FA levels showed a significant reverse association between blood pentadecanoic acid and CRC risk, whilst other blood Fas showed no significant association with CRC risk. All included MR studies showed that high plasma arachidonic acid (AA) is associated with increased CRC risk. Conclusions: Current evidence on the dietary intake and blood levels of Fas in relation to CRC risk is less consistent. Future studies are needed to investigate how the metabolism of Fas contributes to CRC development.

Objective To investigate temporal variation in the abundance of total Vibrio parahaemolyticus in shellfish farm in Qingdao. Methods The abundance of total V. parahaemolyticus in shellfish and farm environment was detected using the most probable number real-time polymerase chain reaction(MPN real-time PCR) method during June 2013 and May 2014, and the correlation between V. parahaemolyticus abundance and the season was analyzed. Results The lowest level of MPN in shellfish and seawater presented from January to March, increased slowly before June, then rapidly rised up and reached the highest level until Augest. After that, it deceased rapidly to the lowest level in January. The lowest level of MPN in sediment was in March and the highest level kept from May to December(18 067.5-24 000.0 MPN/g), then dropped rapidly in January, and reached the lowest level in March(88.0 MPN/g). Conclusion Compared with the traditional methods, MPN-PCR has better sensitivity in reflecting V. parahaemolyticus growing trend with the the season and tempreture change. The level of bactiera abundence in oyster and seawater can be accurately assessed, which might play a role of early warning. The rapid growth time of V. parahaemolyticus in seawater and oyster is from June to Augest, which should be taken notice in the process of handling and eating to avoid foodborn disease.

Biological treatment is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly technique for treating toluene. However, this process is limited by the type and quantity of toluene degraders that can be applied to different environments and methods. It is a feasible solution to constructing new genetic engineering organisms for toluene degradation through biotechnology. To facilitate genetic manipulation and improve gene expression, the toluene/o-xylene monooxygenase locus from Pseudomonas stutzeri was reconstructed and artificially synthesized. All six genes were optimized and driven with a monocistronic transcriptional pattern by T7 promoter and terminator to be expressed at a high level. The engineered bacteria can hydroxylate toluene to a mixture of o-, m- and p-cresol, which are then further oxidized to 3- and 4-methylcatechol. Benzene can also be oxidized to phenol, catechol and pyrogallol successively. The negative effects of toluene can be removed by the engineered bacteria via proteomics analysis. Overall, the artificial gene clusters established in this study can be used to construct different toluene and benzene degradation organisms for bioremediation. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/13102818.2021.1996267 .

This paper introduces the mixed incremental $H_\infty $ and incremental passivity control problem for Markov switched stochastic (MSS) nonlinear systems. The multiple incremental Lyapunov functions approach and the structure of Markov framework are utilized to establish some sufficient conditions for the MSS nonlinear systems, which will be used for the incrementally globally asymptotically stable in the mean(IGASiM) and performance index analysis. It is proved that under the proposed non-IGASiM subsystems the underlying MSS nonlinear systems are IGASiM and possess the mixed incremental $H_\infty $ and incremental passivity performance metric in the presence of specified conditions. The mathematical induction method is selected to guarantee the robust incremental stability of MSS systems with IGASiM and non-IGASiM subsystems and the performance index can be exhibited a prescribed decay rate. The effectiveness of the proposed results is demonstrated by two simulation examples.

Abstract The improper handling of smelting slag will seriously pollute the environment, and the unfilled roof of the goaf of the mine will threaten the safety of the mine. Expansion materials have attracted more and more attention because of their excellent properties. In this paper, copper-nickel smelting slag that has some active ingredients of gelling is used instead of traditional aggregate and some part of cement in order to reduce its pollution to the environment and its costs. For safety reasons, hydrogen peroxide was chosen as the foaming agent. Sodium silicate and hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) are used as additives. Our results showed that after 28 days of curing, the material has better mechanical properties and the early compressive strength of the material was enhanced by sodium silicate. The efficiency of foaming was improved by CTAB. It also proves that copper–nickel smelting slag can be used in expansion material. At the same time, the utilization rate of the copper–nickel smelting slag of this formula can reach 70%, reduce its pollution to the environment.

Abstract The green bacterial biosynthesis of lead sulfide nanocrystallites by l-cysteine-desulfurizing bacterium Lysinibacillus sphaericus SH72 was demonstrated in this work. Nanocrystals formed by this bacterial method were characterized using the mineralogical and morphological approaches. The results revealed that the microbially synthesized PbS nanocrystals assume a cubic structure, and are often aggregated as spheroids of about 105 nm in size. These spheroids are composed of numerous nanoparticles with diameter 5–10 nm. Surface characterization of the bacterial nanoparticles with FTIR spectroscopy shows that the l-cysteine coats the surface of PbS nanoparticle as a stabilizing ligand. The optical features of the PbS nanocrystallites were assessed by UV–Vis spectroscopy and PL spectroscopy. The maximum absorption wavelength of the bacterial PbS particles occurs at 240 nm, and the photoluminescence emission band ranges from 375 to 550 nm. The band gap energy is calculated to be 4.36 eV, compared to 0.41 eV for the naturally occurring bulk PbS, with this clear blue shift attributable to the quantum size effect.

Abstract Background To measure the effects of using different combinations of multiple informants and the impact score on the estimated prevalence of mental health problems in Chinese schoolchildren. Methods Complete information on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were obtained from students (S), parents (P), and teachers (T) for 4986 schoolchildren (11–17 years-old). We used 3 criteria to determine the prevalence of mental health problems: SDQ cut-off value (previously established in the United Kingdom), SDQ cut-off value plus an impact score of 1 or more, or plus an impact score of 2 or more. A student was defined as having a mental health problem if any informant (S, P, or T) classified the child as ‘abnormal’. We compared the prevalence of mental health problems determined from 1 informant, 2 informants, and 3 informants. Results The prevalence of overall mental health problems increased with rising number of informants, but decreased with increasing impact score. When the impact score was not considered, the prevalence was 8.2% to 14.2% when rated by 1 informant, 18.8% to 24.7% when rated by 2 informants, and 28.3% when rated by all 3 informants. Failure to measure the impact score led to a two to threefold greater estimate of the prevalence of mental health problems. Conclusions The types, number, and combinations of multiple informants and use of the impact score must be considered when comparing the results of different studies. It is preferable to use multiple informants and have the impact score taken the impact into account to reflect the real burden of mental health burden in children and adolescent.

Abstract Background On the basis of the integration constructs from self-determination theory (SDT) and achievement goal theory (AGT), this study aims to investigate the relationship among classroom motivational climate from four perspectives (i.e. autonomy support, relatedness support, task-involving climate and ego-involving climate), three psychological needs (i.e. autonomy, competence and relatedness), self-determined motivation and physical activity (PA) in secondary physical education (PE). Methods Participants consisted of 1186 Chinese students aged 11 to 16 years from three secondary schools in Shanghai. Accelerometers were utilized to measure moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Questionnaires were used to measure SDT variables (i.e. classroom motivational climate, perceived competence, autonomy, relatedness and self-determined motivation). Structural equation modelling (SEM) was adopted to analyse the hypothesised relationship. Results SEM analysis revealed that task-involving climate and autonomy support were positively associated with autonomy, relatedness and competence. Relatedness support was positively related with autonomy and relatedness, whereas ego-involving climate was only associated with competence. The three psychological needs positively affected self-determined motivation, and self-determined motivation positively affected the MVPA time of secondary school students in PE lessons. Conclusion These findings support a model of motivation that integrates SDT and AGT, provides new insight into understanding MVPA in Chinese PE, and establishes a solid basis for intervention research.

This study describes the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the scyphozoan Acromitus flagellatus (Maas, 1903), a blooming jellyfish found in the coastal areas of Hainan, China. Its mitochondrial DNA is 16,779 bp in length and has a linear structure, comprising 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two rRNAs (s-rRNA and l-rRNA), and two tRNAs (trna-W-TCA and trna-M-CAT). A + T content was 65.39% (A: 29.27%, C: 16.59%, G: 18.03%, and T: 36.12%). ATG was the start codon in 11 PCGs: COX1, COX2, ATP8, ATP6, COX3, NAD2, NAD6, NAD4l, NAD1, NAD4, and COB. NAD5 and NAD3 had GTG as the start codon. TAG was the stop codon for COX2, NAD6, and COB. The other 10 PCGs were terminated by TAA. The neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree of the 15 related jellyfish species showed that A. flagellatus is closely related to Nemopilema nomurai and Rhopilema esculentum.

Currently, the most effective strategy for dealing with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is delaying the onset of dementia. Severe hypoglycemia is strongly associated with dementia; however, the effects of recurrent moderate hypoglycemia (RH) on the progression of cognitive deficits in patients with diabetes with genetic susceptibility to AD remain unclear. Here, we report that insulin-controlled hyperglycemia slightly aggravated AD-type pathologies and cognitive impairment; however, RH significantly increased neuronal hyperactivity and accelerated the progression of cognitive deficits in streptozotocin-induced (STZ-induced) diabetic APP/PS1 mice. Glucose transporter 3–mediated (GLUT3-mediated) neuronal glucose uptake was not significantly altered under hyperglycemia but was markedly reduced by RH, which induced excessive mitochondrial fission in the hippocampus. Overexpression of GLUT3, specifically in the dentate gyrus (DG) area of the hippocampus, enhanced mitochondrial function and improved cognitive deficits. Activation of the transient receptor potential channel 6 (TRPC6) increased GLUT3-mediated glucose uptake in the brain and alleviated RH-induced cognitive deficits, and inactivation of the Ca2+/AMPK pathway was responsible for TRPC6-induced GLUT3 inhibition. Taken together, RH impairs brain GLUT3-mediated glucose uptake and further provokes neuronal mitochondrial dysfunction by inhibiting TRPC6 expression, which then accelerates progression of cognitive deficits in diabetic APP/PS1 mice. Avoiding RH is essential for glycemic control in patients with diabetes, and TRPC6/GLUT3 represents potent targets for delaying the onset of dementia in patients with diabetes.

The outbreak of COVID-19 poses a serious threat to global health. Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain is the most frequent symptom in patients with COVID-19 besides fever and cough. There are limited studies addressing MSK symptoms in patients with COVID-19. This review aims to provide an overview of current studies related to MSK pain in patients with COVID-19, summarize the possible mechanisms of myalgia, and describe the current management options. In addition to acute respiratory manifestations, COVID-19 might also affect neurological systems which include skeletal manifestations and muscular injury. A possible mechanism of MSK pain and myalgia in COVID-19 may be related to the distribution of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) and the occurrence of cytokine storms. ACE-2 has been shown to be the receptor of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV2). Moreover, studies have shown that inflammatory cytokines could cause myalgia by inducing prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production. In addition, it was also found that the plasma levels of IL2, IL7, IL10, IL-6, TNFα, and e lymphopenia were higher in patients with COVID-19. In general, the treatment of MSK pain in patients with COVID-19 falls into pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. Various treatments of each have its own merits. The role of vaccination is irreplaceable in the efforts to prevent COVID-19 and mitigates its subsequent symptoms.

WU polyomavirus (WUPyV) is a novel member of the family Polyomaviridae recently detected in respiratory tract specimens. So far, it has not been proven whether WUPyV is a real causative agent for respiratory diseases. In this study, we described two patients with fatal infection who had WUPyV detected in their nasopharyngeal swabs. Furthermore, we conducted a multicentre study in six hospitals from different districts of China. WUPyV was detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction assays, and the clinical and molecular epidemiological characteristics of WUPyV strains among hospitalized children with acute lower respiratory tract infections all around China from 2017 to 2019 were analysed. Two complete WUPyV genome sequences were assembled from fatal patients’ airway specimens. Phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that they were most closely related to strains derived from Fujian and Chongqing, China, in 2008 and 2013, respectively. In 2017–2019, a total of 1,812 samples from children with acute lower respiratory tract infections were detected for WUPyV, of which 11 (0.6%) were positive. Children aged ≤5 were more susceptible to WUPyV infection. A total of 81.8% of WUPyV-positive patients were coinfected with other viruses, of which rhinovirus enjoyed the highest frequency. The main clinical symptoms of infected patients include fever, coughing and sputum expectoration. Most patients were diagnosed with pneumonia, followed by bronchial surgery. Three patients manifested severe infection, and all patients improved and were discharged. Our results show that WUPyV persistently circulates in China. Further investigations on the clinical role and pathogenicity of WUPyV are necessary.

In the planting of crops, especially medicinal plants, formula fertilization is important for improving the utilization rate of elements, soil quality, crop yield, and quality. Therefore, it is important to study targeted fertilizer application schemes for sustainable agricultural development and environmental protection. In this study, an L9(34) orthogonal design was used to conduct a field experiment to study the effects of NPK combined application on the growth and pharmacodynamic component biosynthesis of Atractylodes chinensis (DC.) Koidz. Results showed that after applying a base fertilizer at the seedling stage (late May), topdressing at the vegetative stage (late June) and fruit stage (late August) was beneficial to the growth and development of A. chinensis. The high concentrations of phosphorus were conducive to the accumulation of yield and effective components, and the best harvest time was after late October. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the comprehensive score of T6 treatment was the highest, indicating that the optimal fertilization scheme for the high yield and high quality of A. chinensis was (N2P3K1): N 180, P2O5 225, and K2O 105 kg⋅ha–1. A signaling response analysis showed that during the growth and development of A. chinensis, the T6 fertilization scheme had clear effects on the activity and gene expression of the key enzymes acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase (FPPS). Under the T4 [(N2P1K2): N 180, P2O5 75, and K2O 210 kg⋅ha–1] fertilization scheme, the activity and gene expression of the key enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR) were higher. Moreover, ACC was closely related to the synthesis of the polyacetylene component atractylodin, and FPPS played an important regulatory role in the synthesis of sesquiterpene components atractylenolide II, β-eudesmol, and atractylon. In summary, the high phosphorus fertilization scheme T6 could notably increase the yield of A. chinensis, and promote the accumulation of polyacetylene and sesquiterpene volatile oils by increasing the expression of ACC and FPPS. Therefore, we postulate that the precise application of nutrients (NPK) plays a vital role in the yield formation and quality regulation of A. chinensis.

Mastitis is the most common malignant disease in women, which seriously threatens women's physical and mental health. Jingfang Granules (JF) is a Chinese medicine compound, derived from the classic famous prescription-''Jingfang Baidu Powder''. JF has been widely used to relieve symptoms such as fever, headache, and cough caused by a cold. Our previous studies have shown that JF contains various active ingredients (β-sitosterol, isorhamnetin, hesperetin), which has the effect on antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic. Previous studies conveyed that JF had the potential to treat metabolic abnormalities and inflammation, which promoted us to investigate its therapeutic effects on LPS-induced mastitis and the underlying mechanisms. The pathologic changes suggested that the mammary gland edema and inflammatory factor infiltration were alleviated by JF in LPS-induced mastitis model. Furthermore, The ELISA assays suggested that the activity of Myeloperoxidase (MPO) and the expression of pro-inflammatory factors such as IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α were reduced by JF. The protein levels of TLR4, P-NF-κB, NLRP3, ASC, Caspase-1, IL-1β, P-P38, P-ERK1/2, and P-AKT were detected by western blotting. And then we found that JF alleviated mastitis inflammation by regulating NF-κB, NLRP3, PI3K/AKT, MAPK signaling pathways. In addition, we found that JF improved the integrity of the blood-milk barrier by increasing the expression of ZO-1, Claudin-3 and Occludin. Interestingly, JF could also significantly inhibit LPS-induced apoptosis. In summary, we successfully established a model of LPS-induced mastitis in mice and confirmed that JF could inhibit inflammation, improve the integrity of the blood-milk barrier and inhibit apoptosis, which also indicates the potential applicability of JF for the prevention and treatment of mastitis.

The allocation of exogenously cued spatial attention is governed by a saliency map. Yet, how salience is mapped when multiple salient stimuli are present simultaneously, and how this mapping interacts with awareness remains unclear. These questions were addressed here using either visible or invisible displays presenting two foreground stimuli (whose bars were oriented differently from the bars in the otherwise uniform background): a high salience target and a distractor of varied, lesser salience. Interference, or not, by the distractor with the effective salience of the target served to index a graded or non-graded nature of salience mapping, respectively. The invisible and visible displays were empirically validated by a two-alternative forced choice test (detecting the quadrant of the target) demonstrating subjects’ performance at or above chance level, respectively. By combining psychophysics, fMRI, and effective connectivity analysis, we found a graded distribution of salience with awareness, changing to a non-graded distribution without awareness. Crucially, we further revealed that the graded distribution was contingent upon feedback from the posterior intraparietal sulcus (pIPS, especially from the right pIPS), whereas the non-graded distribution was innate to V1. Together, this awareness-dependent mapping of saliency reconciles several previous, seemingly contradictory findings regarding the nature of the saliency map.

Fat greenling Hexagrammos otakii, belonging to Scorpaeniformes, is an important commercial marine fish species distributed in coast waters of China, Japan, and Korea. Artificial gynogenesis induction is one of the important techniques of chromosome manipulation and genetic breeding. The eggs are fertilized with genetic inactivated sperm, and genome information of the offspring is totally contributed by maternal genome. Until now, no gynogenesis induction was reported in H. otakii and other Scorpaeniformes species. The present study developed an effective gynogenesis induction method in H. otakii by applying hydrostatic pressure to the eggs activated with UV-irradiated homologous sperm. The optimal inducing conditions were 36,000 erg mm−2 for UV-irradiated and pressure of 65 MPa for 6 min at 20 min post fertilization. The relative hatching rates could reach 92%. The early development and growth before 6 month post hatching showed no difference between the gynogenetic and control diploid. The all-maternal inheritance was confirmed with 4 microsatellite loci. The genetic diversity of the control and gynogenetic diploid revealed with 20 microsatellite loci showed that the homozygosity of the gynogenetic diploid stocks was 0.84 in average, which was nearly double the value of the control diploid stocks (0.45 in average). Under scanning electron microscope, the egg envelop had a gelatinous-honeycomb before 0.5 h post fertilization (hpf). Then all or part of the gelatinous-honeycomb layer disappeared before 24 hpf. The uniform pores distributed to hexagonal pattern on the egg envelop were found in the control diploid and haploid groups. However, no pore on the egg envelop was found in the gynogenetic diploid from fertilization to hatching. These results would provide a valuable reference for gynogenesis induction in fish with viscous ovarian fluid coated eggs, although special incubation process to increase the survival rate should be further developed based on the characteristics of gynogenetic H. otakii.

Summary: Background: Calcium plays a role in a wide range of biological functions. Here we conducted a phenome-wide Mendelian randomisation (MR-PheWAS) analysis and a systematic review for MR studies to comprehensively investigate the health effects of serum calcium. Methods: One-hundred and thirty genetic variants strongly associated with serum calcium levels were used as instrumental variables. A phenome-wide association analysis (PheWAS) was conducted to examine the associations of genetically predicted serum calcium with 1473 distinct phenotypes in the UK Biobank including 339,197 individuals. Observed associations in PheWAS were further tested for replication in two-sample MR replication analysis. A systematic review for MR studies on serum calcium was performed to synthesize the published evidence and compare with the current MR-PheWAS findings. Findings: Higher genetically predicted calcium levels were associated with decreased risk of 5 diseases in dermatologic and musculoskeletal systems and increased risk of 17 diseases in circulatory, digestive, endocrine, genitourinary and immune systems. Eight associations were replicated in two-sample MR analysis. These included decreased risk of osteoarthritis and increased risk of coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, coronary atherosclerosis, hyperparathyroidism, disorder of parathyroid gland, gout, and calculus of kidney and ureter with increased serum calcium. Systematic review of 25 MR studies provided supporting evidence on five out of the eight disease outcomes, while the increased risk of gout, hyperparathyroidism and disorder of parathyroid gland were novel findings. Interpretation: This study found wide-ranged health effects of high serum calcium, which suggests that the benefits and adversities of strategies promoting calcium intake should be assessed. Funding: ET is supported by a CRUK Career Development Fellowship (C31250/A22804). XL is supported by the Natural Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of Zhejiang Province. SCL acknowledges research funding from the Swedish Heart Lung Foundation (Hjärt-Lungfonden, 20210351), the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet, 2019-00977), and the Swedish Cancer Society (Cancerfonden).

BackgroundIt is of great significance to evaluate symptomatic subclavian artery (SA) stenosis by color Doppler ultrasonography. More than 50% SA stenosis may induce symptoms. Currently, there is a paucity of published literature and lack of practitioner consensus for how ultrasonic findings should be interpreted in patients with SA stenosis.ObjectiveThe study aimed to prospectively evaluate SA stenosis using color Doppler ultrasonography, with digital subtraction angiography as a reference. Moreover, we aimed to determine the optimal thresholds to predict SA stenosis (≥50%).MethodsA total of 423 SAs from 234 patients with normal or stenotic lumen were enrolled. The peak systolic velocity (PSV) and acceleration time at the stenotic and distal segments of the SA, peak reversed velocity of the vertebral artery, and waveforms of the stenotic SA, distal SA, and vertebral artery were recorded. The ratios of stenotic PSV to distal PSV (PSVr) and distal AT to stenotic AT were also calculated. The optimal cutoff values were determined using receiver operating characteristic analysis.ResultsAll ultrasonic parameters were significantly correlated with the degree of SA stenosis, whereas PSV (r = 0.624, P < 0.001), PSVr (r = 0.654, P < 0.001) and VA waveform change (r = 0.631, P < 0.001) had the strongest correlation with SA stenosis. The optimal cutoff values were as follows: PSV ≥ 230 cm/s and PSVr ≥ 2.2 to predict ≥ 50% stenosis, and PSV ≥ 340 cm/s and PSVr ≥ 3.0 to predict ≥ 70% stenosis.ConclusionsSymptomatic patients with the ultrasonic parameters of PSV ≥ 230 cm/s and PSVr ≥ 2.2 need to be considered for further verification by computed tomographic angiography or magnetic resonance angiography, or by digital subtraction angiography with a view to percutaneous transluminal angioplasty/stent implantation in the same session. The recommended graded cutoff values can help in long-term management of patients with SA stenosis.

Objective: Intraplaque neovascularization is a marker of plaque vulnerability and is used to predict the risk of future vascular events in patients with symptomatic carotid stenosis; however, its association with asymptomatic carotid stenosis has not been prospectively evaluated. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the association between intraplaque neovascularization assessed using contrast-enhanced ultrasound and the occurrence of future ischemic events in asymptomatic patients diagnosed with carotid stenosis.Methods: We recruited patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis from our center. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound was performed at baseline. The outcomes were ischemic stroke and cardiovascular events. We plotted Kaplan-Meier survival curves and performed a log-rank test to compare endpoint event probability in patients with and without grade 2 intraplaque neovascularization. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess predictors of future vascular events.Results: The data of 50 participants were included in the analysis (median follow-up, 43.7 months). Endpoint events occurred in 12 participants (24%). The Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that patients with grade 2 intraplaque neovascularization had a higher probability of future vascular events than those with grades 0 and 1 (p < .05). Grade 2 intraplaque neovascularization (hazard ratio: 4.530, 95% confidence interval, 1.337–15.343, p < .05) was an independent predictor of future vascular events in patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis.Conclusion: Grade 2 intraplaque neovascularization assessed using contrast-enhanced ultrasound independently predicted future ischemic events in patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis, and contrast-enhanced ultrasound may be an effective screening method to identify high-risk subgroups of patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis.

Abstract Background Aging‐associated osteoporosis is frequently seen in the elderly in clinic, but efficient managements are limited because of unclear nosogenesis. The current study aims to investigate the role of melatonin on senescent bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) and the underlying regulating mechanism. Methods Melatonin levels were tested by ELISA. Gene expression profiles were performed by RNA‐sequencing, enrichment of H3K36me2 on gene promoters was analyzed by Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Sequencing (ChIP‐seq), and chromatin accessibility was determined by Assay for Transposase‐Accessible Chromatin with high‐throughput sequencing (ATAC‐seq). Osteogenesis of BMSCs in vitro was measured by Alizarin Red and Alkaline Phosphatase staining, and in vivo effects of melatonin was assessed by histological staining and micro computed tomography (micro‐CT) scan. Correlation of NSD2 expression and severity of senile osteoporosis patients were analyzed by Pearson correlation. Results Melatonin levels were decreased during aging in human bone marrow, accompanied by downregulation of the histone methyltransferase nuclear receptor binding SET domain protein 2 (NSD2) expression in the senescent BMSCs. Melatonin stimulated the expression of NSD2 through MT1/2‐mediated signaling pathways, resulting in the rebalancing of H3K36me2 and H3K27me3 modifications to increase chromatin accessibility of the osteogenic genes, runt‐related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) and bone gamma‐carboxyglutamate protein (BGLAP). Melatonin promoted osteogenesis of BMSCs in vitro, and alleviates osteoporosis progression in the aging mice. In clinic, severity of senile osteoporosis (SOP) was negatively correlated with melatonin level in bone marrow, as well as NSD2 expression in BMSCs. Similarly, melatonin remarkably enhanced osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs derived from SOP patients in vitro. Conclusions Collectively, our study dissects previously unreported mechanistic insights into the epigenetic regulating machinery of melatonin in meliorating osteogenic differentiation of senescent BMSC, and provides evidence for application of melatonin in preventing aging‐associated bone loss.

Abstract Background Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a common autosomal dominant inherited disease, and the occurrence rate is around 0.1–0.2‰. The causative variant of FNB1 gene accounts for approximately 70–80% of all MFS cases. In this study, we found a heterozygous c.3217G > T (p.Glu1073*) nonsense variant in the FBN1 gene. This finding extended the variant spectrum of the FBN1 gene and will provide a solution for patients to bear healthy offspring by preimplantation genetic testing or prenatal diagnosis. Case presentation The patient was treated due to tachycardia during excitement in a hospital. Echocardiography showed dilatation of the ascending aorta and main pulmonary artery, mitral regurgitation (mild), tricuspid regurgitation (mild), and abnormal left ventricular filling. Electrocardiograph showed sinus rhythm. In addition, flutters of shadows in front of his eyes and vitreous opacity were present in the patient. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples from members of the family and 100 unrelated controls. Potential variants were screened out by next-generation sequencing and confirmed by MLPA & Sanger sequencing. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was performed to detect the relative mRNA quantitation in the patient. A heterozygous nonsense variant c.3217G > T of the FBN1 gene, which resulted in p. Glu1073Term, was identified in both patients. Only wild type bases were found in the cDNA sequence of the patient. Real-time fluorogenic quantitative PCR results showed that the relative expression level of FBN1 cDNA in the patient was only about 21% compared to that of normal individuals. This variant c.3217G > T of the FBN1 gene introduces a Stop codon in the cb-EGF12 domain. We speculated that a premature translational-termination codon (PTC) was located in the mRNA and the target mRNA was disintegrated through a process known as nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD), which led to a significant decrease of the fibrillin-1 protein, eventually causing clinical symptoms in the patient. Conclusions In this study, we found a heterozygous c.3217G > T (p.Glu1073*) nonsense variant in the FBN1 gene, which eventually led to Marfan syndrome in a Chinese family.

To determine prevalence of, seroprevalence of, and potential exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) among a cohort of evacuees returning to the United States from Wuhan, China, in January 2020, we conducted a cross-sectional study of quarantined evacuees from 1 repatriation flight. Overall, 193 of 195 evacuees completed exposure surveys and submitted upper respiratory or serum specimens or both at arrival in the United States. Nearly all evacuees had taken preventive measures to limit potential exposure while in Wuhan, and none had detectable SARS-CoV-2 in upper respiratory tract specimens, suggesting the absence of asymptomatic respiratory shedding among this group at the time of testing. Evidence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 was detected in 1 evacuee, who reported experiencing no symptoms or high-risk exposures in the previous 2 months. These findings demonstrated that this group of evacuees posed a low risk of introducing SARS-CoV-2 to the United States.

Photoreceptor UVR8 in plants senses environmental UV levels through 26 structural tryptophan residues, but the role of 18 of them was unknown. The authors show, by experiments and computations, how these form a light-harvesting network that funnels the excitation to the pyramid centers enhancing the light-perception efficiency.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was identified as the etiologic agent associated with coronavirus disease, which emerged in late 2019. In response, we developed a diagnostic panel consisting of 3 real-time reverse transcription PCR assays targeting the nucleocapsid gene and evaluated use of these assays for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection. All assays demonstrated a linear dynamic range of 8 orders of magnitude and an analytical limit of detection of 5 copies/reaction of quantified RNA transcripts and 1 x 10−1.5 50% tissue culture infectious dose/mL of cell-cultured SARS-CoV-2. All assays performed comparably with nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal secretions, serum, and fecal specimens spiked with cultured virus. We obtained no false-positive amplifications with other human coronaviruses or common respiratory pathogens. Results from all 3 assays were highly correlated during clinical specimen testing. On February 4, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration issued an Emergency Use Authorization to enable emergency use of this panel.

Circular RNA (circRNA), as a kind of novel identified non-coding RNA, has become the focus of attention for its vital physiological and pathological roles. However, the function and mechanism of circRNAs in the regulation of cancer progression are largely unknown. In the present study we found a circRNA termed circHMCU whose expression was associated with poor prognosis. It was upregulated in cell lines with high metastatic potential compared with its parental cell line and in breast cancer tissues compared with normal tissues. In vitro results proved that circHMCU could significantly promote proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities of breast cancer cells via affecting the G1 phase cell cycle checkpoint and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) pathway. Further in vivo studies showed that overexpression of circHMCU contributed to rapid proliferation and lung metastasis of breast cancer. For determination of the mechanisms, bioinformatics analysis revealed two complementary sequences within circHMCU for let-7 microRNAs, which was validated by a luciferase reporter assay. Finally, let-7 microRNAs could rescue the functions of circHMCU in breast cancer via suppressing the expression of MCY, HMGA2, and CCND1. Taken together, our findings demonstrated that circHMCU exerted oncogenic functions in breast cancer and could be a used as a novel biomarker in the diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer.

The etiologic agent of an outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan, China, was identified as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in January 2020. A patient in the United States was given a diagnosis of infection with this virus by the state of Washington and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on January 20, 2020. We isolated virus from nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal specimens from this patient and characterized the viral sequence, replication properties, and cell culture tropism. We found that the virus replicates to high titer in Vero-CCL81 cells and Vero E6 cells in the absence of trypsin. We also deposited the virus into 2 virus repositories, making it broadly available to the public health and research communities. We hope that open access to this reagent will expedite development of medical countermeasures.

Abstract Background Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play crucial roles in tumor progression and are aberrantly expressed in various cancers. However, the functional roles of lncRNAs in breast cancer remain largely unknown. Methods Based on public databases and integrating bioinformatics analyses, the overexpression of lncRNA BCRT1 in breast cancer tissues was detected and further validated in a cohort of breast cancer tissues. The effects of lncRNA BCRT1 on proliferation, migration, invasion and macrophage polarization were determined by in vitro and in vivo experiments. Luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) were carried out to reveal the interaction between lncRNA BCRT1, miR-1303, and PTBP3. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and RT-PCR were used to evaluate the regulatory effect of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) on lncRNA BCRT1. Results LncRNA BCRT1 was significantly upregulated in breast cancer tissues, which was correlated with poor prognosis in breast cancer patients. LncRNA BCRT1 knockdown remarkably suppressed tumor growth and metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, lncRNA BCRT1 could competitively bind with miR-1303 to prevent the degradation of its target gene PTBP3, which acts as a tumor-promoter in breast cancer. LncRNA BCRT1 overexpression could promote M2 polarization of macrophages, mediated by exosomes, which further accelerated breast cancer progression. Furthermore, lncRNA BCRT1 was upregulated in response to hypoxia, which was attributed to the binding of HIF-1α to HREs in the lncRNA BCRT1 promoter. Conclusions Collectively, these results reveal a novel HIF-1α/lncRNA BCRT1/miR-1303/PTBP3 pathway for breast cancer progression and suggest that lncRNA BCRT1 might be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for breast cancer.

Abstract Background Pituicytoma is a rare pituitary non-neuroendocrine tumour. The awareness of pituitary non-neuroendocrine tumours has gradually increased over the past several decades, but the knowledge of some histological variants of the tumours is limited, particularly in clinicopathological significance. Here, we report a rare case of pituicytoma variant. Case presentation A 71-year-old man presented with sudden symptoms of stroke including urinary incontinence, weakness in right lower limb, and trouble speaking. Physical examinations showed a right facial paralysis. The radiological examinations eventually found a 1.7 × 1.4 × 1.3 cm sellar occupied lesion. After symptomatic treatment improved the symptoms, the patient underwent transsphenoidal resection of the pituitary mass. Histologically, the tumour contained hypocellular area and hypercellular area. The hypocellular area showed elongated spindle cells arranged in a fascicular pattern around small vessels and scattered Herring bodies; the hypercellular area showed a large number of pseudorosettes. Immunohistochemistrically, the tumour cells were positive for thyroid transcription factor-1, S100, and neuron-specific enolase. Neurofilament only showed a little positive in the hypocellular area, and silver impregnation was only noted in a perivascular distribution. The patient had no recurrence 4 months after the surgery. Conclusions The rare variant of pituicytoma has a favourable prognosis. Moreover, it needs to be distinguished pituicytomas with pseudorosettes from ependymomas because of different prognosis. Lastly, Herring bodies may occasionally be seen in the pituicytoma, which could be a potential diagnostic pitfall.

Abstract Background Spinal cord microglia plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain. However, the mechanisms underlying spinal microglial activation during neuropathic pain remain incompletely determined. Here, we investigated the role of Pellino1 (Peli1) and its interplay with spinal microglial activation in neuropathic pain. Methods In this study, we examined the effects of Peli1 on pain hypersensitivity and spinal microglial activation after chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve in mice. The molecular mechanisms involved in Peli1-mediated hyperalgesia were determined by western blot, immunofluorescence, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We utilized immunoprecipitation to examine the ubiquitination of tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) following CCI. In addition, we explored the effect of Peli1 on BV2 microglial cells in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge. Results We found that CCI induced a significant increase in the levels of Peli1, which was present in the great majority of microglia in the spinal dorsal horn. Our results showed that spinal Peli1 contributed to the induction and maintenance of CCI-induced neuropathic pain. The biochemical data revealed that CCI-induced Peli1 in the spinal cord significantly increased mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphorylation, activated nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), and enhanced the production of proinflammatory cytokines, accompanied by spinal microglial activation. Peli1 additionally was able to promote K63-linked ubiquitination of TRAF6 in the ipsilateral spinal cord following CCI. Furthermore, we demonstrated that Peli1 in microglial cells significantly enhanced inflammatory reactions after LPS treatment. Conclusion These results suggest that the upregulation of spinal Peli1 is essential for the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain via Peli1-dependent mobilization of spinal cord microglia, activation of MAPK/NF-κB signaling, and production of proinflammatory cytokines. Modulation of Peli1 may serve as a potential approach for the treatment of neuropathic pain.

Strain CG-9, isolated from human saliva and identified as Enterococcus faecalis, produced a component that inhibits the growth of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The active peptide from the cell-free supernatant of Enterococcus faecalis CG-9 was purified in three steps: (1) precipitation with 70% saturated ammonium sulfate: (2) cation-exchange chromatography, (3) gel filter chromatography. The purified bacteriocin exhibited a wide range of antimicrobial activity against many food-borne spoilage and Pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, as well as some yeast. The bacteriocin was heat stable, pH resistant and protease sensitive. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, sodium dodecyl sulfate, Tween 80 and 6% sodium chloride did not decrease the activity. The characterization, antimicrobial spectrum and molecular mass of this bacteriocin suggested that it was a novel bacteriocin with potential research and application value in food industry.

Bacillus subtilis HLZ-68 can produce l-amino acid oxidase (l-AAO), and dl-arginine can be degraded asymmetrically by suspending the wet bacterial biomass in the degradation liquid. By adding oxygen-vectors to the fermentation medium, the collected amount of wet bacterial biomass can be increased. Taking n-dodecane, n-hexadecane, oleic acid, paraffin and n-hexane as oxygen-vectors, the optimal oxygen-vector was 1.2% (v/v) oleic acid. The wet weight biomass increased by 66.83% and the activity of l-AAO in the fermentation broth increased by 38.88% compared with those before the addition of oxygen-vector. The standard sample dl-arginine was derivatized by phenyl isothiocyanate, and then subjected to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the obtained peak area and arginine content were used as standard curves to measure the dl-arginine. The content of d-arginine and l-arginine in the initial degradation solution was 50% each, and the bacterial cells were added to the initial degradation solution of dl-arginine. After 21 h of reaction, l-arginine was completely degraded, leaving 47% of d-arginine. d-alanine was easily extracted from the reaction solution using cation-exchange resin, after centrifugation, decolourization, concentration and vacuum drying, and the chemical and optical purity of the extracted d-arginine were 92.68% and 97.46%, respectively.

Spectral cluster based on multi-view data has proven effective for clustering multi-source real-world data because consensus and complementary information of multi-view data ensure the result of clustering. Feature learning is the vital step in spectral clustering, and excellent feature representations can effectively improve spectral clustering performance. In this article, we propose Multi-View Spectral Clustering via ELM-Autoencoder Ensemble Features Representations Learning (MvSC-EF-ELM). First, Extreme Learning Machine as an Autoencoder(ELM-AE) learns feature representations by adopting a singular value decomposition, which reconstructs the inputs using the embedding feature space. Second, the single view and multi-view spectral clustering algorithm are applied embedding feature representations space into the eigenspace and cluster's them, respectively. Experiments on benchmark datasets demonstrate that our approach empirically validates the power of ELM-AE for feature learning from raw data and may effectively facilitate multi-view spectral clustering and induce superior clustering results.

Abstract Objective To investigate the 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging manifestations for anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), a rare subtype of T/NK cell lymphoma. Methods Fifty patients with ALCL, including 32 anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive patients and 18 ALK-negative patients, were enrolled. The positive detection, maximal standardized uptake value (SUVmax), and distribution of nodal and extranodal involvement were recorded and analysed. Fifty patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) were collected as a control group. Results ALCL lesions were demonstrated to be 18F-FDG-avid tumours with a mean SUVmax of 19.4 ± 12.6. Most (76%) ALCL patients presented with stage III-IV disease, and nodal and extranodal involvement occurred in 74.0 and 72.0% of the patients, respectively. ALCL and DLBCL showed many similarities in tumour stage, 18F-FDG uptake and tumour involvement (P > 0.05), although the preferred extranodal organs of involvement (bone and the gastrointestinal tract, respectively) were different (P

Leaf area index (LAI) is a valuable indicator used in vegetation growth monitoring. To optimize the index selection according to the type of remote sensing data and to improve the inversion accuracy of LAI, this article analyzes the influence of different bandwidths on the accuracy of the inversion model based on vegetation indices. First, the simulation dataset is generated by the PROSAIL model, and on this basis, 15 vegetation indices with high correlation coefficients with LAI. Then, by analyzing the sensitivity of these 15 indices to the variations in bandwidth, and to the coefficient of determination (R2) of the LAI inversion model with the variations of bandwidth, the influence of different bandwidths on the accuracy of LAI estimation by each index is determined. The results show that bandwidth is one of the most important factors in determining the accuracy of LAI inversion, and the influence on different vegetation indices can be divided into the following three categories. First, narrowband vegetation index, the accuracy of inversion models built by vegetation indices decreases with the increase of bandwidth, including SR[800,680], OSAVI, MTVI2, SR[752,690], RDVI, NDCI, and NVI. Second, middleband vegetation index, the accuracy first increases and then decreases with the increase of bandwidth, including SR[700,670], Carte5, and SR[675,700]. Third, broadband vegetation index, the accuracy increases with the increase of bandwidth, including SPVI, Carte2, OSAVI2, MTVI1, and NDVI705. The study provides a scientific basis for vegetation index optimization in the process of LAI inversion.

Background: Oxidative stress is implicated in the pathogenesis of vitiligo. The function of DJ-1 in oxidative damage of melanocytes is still elusive. Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of DJ-1 in oxidative damage of melanocytes. Material and Methods: The expression of DJ-1 in melanocytes was studied by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. Short-interfering RNAs (siRNA) were employed to downregulate DJ-1. The cells were pooled into three groups: mock group (cells with transfection reagent), negative control (NC) group (negative siRNA control), and siRNA group. After H2O2treatment for 24 h, the morphological changes, cell viability, apoptosis, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and mitochondrial respiration were measured in different groups. Results: DJ-1 was highly expressed in PIG1 melanocytes. DJ-1 knockdown rendered PIG1 melanocytes more susceptible to oxidative stress. Loss of DJ-1 led to apoptosis of PIG1 cells by impairing the function of mitochondria, including morphological abnormalities, ROS accumulation, depolarization of MMP, less adenosine-triphosphate (ATP) production, and less proton leak. Conclusions: DJ-1 plays a role in maintaining the antioxidative capacity in epidermal melanocytes.

The heat extraction performance of the enhanced geothermal system is simulated by using COMSOL software. The effects of six factors, such as the thermal conductivity of heat reservoir, matrix permeability, fracture width, injection temperature, injection flow rate, and the number of wells, on the heat extraction performance of EGS heat reservoir for 40 years are analyzed. The results show that the matrix permeability and injection flow are the main factors affecting the heat production performance of the EGS geothermal reservoir, while the thermal conductivity, fracture width, and injection temperature have little effect on the heat production performance of the EGS geothermal reservoir. Although increasing the number of production wells can improve the uneven distribution of the flow field to improve the system heat performance, taking into account the existing drilling technology and cost, the cost is higher, and the two-well system is still the basic form of absorbing rock heat.