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Biodiversity in running water ecosystems such as streams and rivers is threatened by chemical pollution derived from anthropogenic activities. Zooplankton are ecologically indicative in aquatic ecosystems, owing to their position of linking the top-down and bottom-up regulators in aquatic food webs, and thus of great potential to assess ecological effects of human-induced pollution. Here we investigated the influence of water pollution on zooplankton communities characterized by metabarcoding in Songhua River Basin in northeast China. Our results clearly showed that varied levels of anthropogenic disturbance significantly influenced water quality, leading to distinct environmental pollution gradients (p 0.001), particularly derived from total nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen and pH. Redundancy analysis showed that such environmental gradients significantly influenced the geographical distribution of zooplankton biodiversity (R = 0.283, p = 0.001). In addition, along with the trend of increasing environmental pollution, habitat-related indicator taxa were shifted in constituents, altering from large-sized species (e.g. arthropods) in lightly disturbed areas to small-sized organisms (e.g. rotifers and ciliates) in highly disturbed areas. All these findings clearly showed that anthropogenic activity-derived water pollution significantly influenced biological communities. Thus, biotic consequences of human-induced environmental pollution in running water ecosystems should be deeply investigated. More importantly, the findings of biotic consequences should be well integrated into existing monitoring programs to further assess impacts of anthropogenic disturbance, as well as to advance the management of running water ecosystems for conservation and ecological restoration.

Monitoring of anaerobic digestion process is essential for achieving efficient and stable performance, thus requiring identification of effective stability indicators. The response of two experimental, continuously stirred tank reactors under mesophilic condition (fed with pig manure) was investigated to analyze the perturbation of organic and hydraulic overloading, and low-temperature shock. The pH was stably maintained in the range of 7.2–7.7, regardless of the presence of most simulated perturbation situations. Monitoring of biogas production and composition is important to reflect the current state of biogas process, but cannot predict the imbalance in the system. Accumulation of total VFAs up to 21,718 mg/L was observed under the organic overloading condition (rapid increase of the organic loading rate of pig manure from 3 g VS/L/d to 9 g VS/L/d), but not for other perturbations. The ratio of propionate to acetate and that of intermediate alkalinity to partial alkalinity are rapidly altered in response to all perturbations, indicating their potential to function as stability indicators. However, the determination of the ratio of intermediate alkalinity to partial alkalinity can be performed by simple titration methods and be easily applied to actual projects without significant investment in advanced equipment and skilled operators.

The oxidation of amines to imines is an important chemical transformation. In this article, we report original data on the synthesis of carbon doped WO3−x ultrathin nanosheets via an acid-assisted one-pot process, which exhibit excellent photocatalytic activity in the aerobic oxidation of amines to corresponding imines under visible light irradiation at room temperature. The composition, microstructure, morphology, photocatalytic activity of the corresponding samples and possible mechanism are included here.The data are related to “Oxide Defect Engineering Enables to Couple Solar Energy into Oxygen Activation” (Zhang et al., 2016). Keywords: Ultrathin nano-sheet, Photocatalytic activity, Aerobic oxidation

Background Adaptive evolution is one of the crucial mechanisms for organisms to survive and thrive in new environments. Recent studies suggest that adaptive evolution could rapidly occur in species to respond to novel environments or environmental challenges during range expansion. However, for environmental adaptation, many studies successfully detected phenotypic features associated with local environments, but did not provide ample genetic evidence on microevolutionary dynamics. It is therefore crucial to thoroughly investigate the genetic basis of rapid microevolution in response to environmental changes, in particular on what genes and associated variation are responsible for environmental challenges. Here, we genotyped genome-wide gene-associated microsatellites to detect genetic signatures of rapid microevolution of a marine tunicate invader, Ciona robusta, during recent range expansion to the harsh environment in the Red Sea. Results The Red Sea population was significantly differentiated from the other global populations. The genome-wide scan, as well as multiple analytical methods, successfully identified a set of adaptive genes. Interestingly, the allele frequency largely varied at several adaptive loci in the Red Sea population, and we found significant correlations between allele frequency and local environmental factors at these adaptive loci. Furthermore, a set of genes were annotated to get involved in local temperature and salinity adaptation, and the identified adaptive genes may largely contribute to the invasion success to harsh environments. Conclusions All the evidence obtained in this study clearly showed that environment-driven selection had left detectable signatures in the genome of Ciona robusta within a few generations. Such a rapid microevolutionary process is largely responsible for the harsh environmental adaptation and therefore contributes to invasion success in different aquatic ecosystems with largely varied environmental factors. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12862-018-1311-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The annual, seasonal, monthly and daily distribution characteristics, as well as the occurrence and duration of air temperature at Yan Liang Airport were statistical analysis by Matlab software using surface meteorological observation air temperature data from May 2014 to May 2019. It is discussed that the average temperature threshold distribution ranges from 10-25°C in spring, 25-35°C in summer, 15-25°C in autumn and 0-15°C in winter. It showed a good negative correlation with the temperature and relative humidity and it passed the significance test. The daily difference of temperature is positively correlated with the cloud amount. When the total cloud cover is 8-10 amounts, the daily difference of temperature is about 4°C. When the total cloud cover is less than 7 amounts, the daily difference of temperature is 9-10°C. When the total cloud cover is 0-3 amounts, the daily difference of temperature is 9-10°C. Statistics founds that the lowest temperature of Yan Liang Airport in the past 5 years was -13.2 °C, and the highest temperature was 41.8 °C. The minimum temperature occurred in January and the maximum temperature occurred in July. The daily minimum temperature occurred from 05:00 to 07:00 and the daily maximum temperature occurred from 15:00 to 16:00. The corresponding conclusions can provide a scientific basis for the decision of the “window” for a certain subject of flight test. Improve the utilization of meteorological resources and the efficiency that also ensure the progress of the test flight.

Based on the demand of the aircraft flight test of wet braking distance, wiper function and high temperature subject flight test on the meteorological conditions. The surface meteorological observations of Yan Liang Airport were used to statistically analysis the characteristics of summer precipitation and high temperature weather. Based on the demand of the flight test management, organization and command department to implement the airborne meteorological radar detection performance flight test, formulate the risk prevention plan of thunderstorm and other strong convective weather to ensure the safety of flight test. The surface meteorological observations of Yan Liang Airport and Doppler weather radar detection data of Xi’an Jing Yang Station were used to statistically analysis the characteristics of summer thunderstorm weather at Yan Liang Airport and airspace. In recent years, it has provided strong technical support to ensure the quality, efficiency, progress and safety of the flight test.

Tantalum has physical and chemical properties that are well suited for use in medical implants. However, a lack of bone induction prevents this biologically inert material from combining well with bone tissue. This study reports the successful preparation of a micro-arc oxidation (MAO) coating on tantalum in phosphate solution. The porous surface of the coating includes uniformly distributed craters. Its constituent elements are evenly dispersed. Tantalum is present in the coating as tantalum pentoxide. In vitro testing of the coating with MG63 osteoblasts showed it has good biocompatibility and can promote cellular adhesion and proliferation. MAO coating on tantalum represents a new and potentially useful method to improve the clinical applicability of tantalum.

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is one of the major platforms for analyzing volatile compounds in complex samples. However, automatic and accurate extraction of qualitative and quantitative information is still challenging when analyzing complex GC-MS data, especially for the components incompletely separated by chromatography. Deep-Learning-Assisted Multivariate Curve Resolution (DeepResolution) was proposed in this study. It essentially consists of convolutional neural networks (CNN) models to determine the number of components of each overlapped peak and the elution region of each compound. With the assistance of the predicted elution regions, the informative regions (such as selective region and zero-concentration region) of each compound can be located precisely. Then, full rank resolution (FRR), multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) or iterative target transformation factor analysis (ITTFA) can be chosen adaptively to resolve the overlapped components without manual intervention. The results showed that DeepResolution has superior compound identification capability and better quantitative performances when comparing with MS-DIAL, ADAP-GC and AMDIS. It was also found that baseline levels, interferents, component concentrations and peak tailing have little influences on resolution result. Besides, DeepResolution can be extended easily when encountering unknown component(s), due to the independence of each CNN model. All procedures of DeepResolution can be performed automatically, and adaptive selection of resolution methods ensures the balance between resolution power and consumed time. It is implemented in Python and available at https://github.com/XiaqiongFan/DeepResolution.

Rejection sensitivity online was prevalent among adolescents that was potential risk factor for affect. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between rejection sensitivity on networking sites and sentimental responses through self-assesion and self-esteem respectively and the sequential mediated effect both of them, the research also tested the moderated role of gender. There were 823 adolescents included in this research. They completed a questionnaire packages consisting of 4 scales. The findings indicated that adolescents’ emotional responses to rejection sensitivity on networking sites was significant, the mediating model was remarkable through self-assesion and significant sequential mediated effect both of self-assesion and self-esteem for affect among girls but not boys, however, rejection sensitivity on social networking sites was directly related to negative affect among boys, gender played a moderating role in the relationship between rejection sensitivity on social networking sites and positive affect/negative affect respectively, boys were sensitive to negative affect but girls were sensitive to both of positive and negative affect and boys responsed to stimulus slightly than girls. The findings provided a new insight to the prevention and intervention for the negative affect and improvement for positive affect among adolescents. The implication of the conclusions for understanding and counteracting rejection sensitivity on networking sites were discussed.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) is an important heterogeneous cell population that regulates innate and adaptive immune. The immunosuppressive potentiality is widely known. However, more and more data indicated that the heterogeneous cell population had immunostimulatory activities rather than immunosuppression in some microenvironments. Chronic inflammatory conditions contribute to accumulation of MDSCs. These pathologically activated cells played critical roles in cancer and inflammatory diseases. In this review, we mainly discuss the immunoregulation potentiality of MDSCs in cancer and inflammatory diseases.

Using the pendent organic ligand 1-butyl-1H-(1,3,4)triazole (btz), two new polyoxometalate (POM)-based compounds, [Cu3(btz)6(H2O)4(H3P2W18O62)2]·6H2O (1) and [Cu2(btz)(tz)(H2O)2(SiMo12O40)]·5H2O (2) (tz=1H-(1,3,4)triazole), have been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions. In compound 1, three CuII ions are fused by six btz ligands to form a linear tri-nuclear CuII cluster, with water as bridging molecules. Two Wells-Dawson anions offer two terminal O atoms to link two apical CuII atoms of this tri-nuclear cluster. In compound 2, the btz and tz molecules connect CuII ions to construct an infinite CuII chain still with water molecules as bridges. The adjacent chains are linked by one type of POM anions to build a 2D grid-like layer. Considering the long-range coordinative Cu–O bonds, the other types of POM anions connect adjacent layers to form a 3D framework. The electrochemical and photocatalytic properties of compounds 1 and 2 were also studied.

Two new compounds based on mono copper(II)-substituted phosphomolybdate, [Cu4(tea)6(H4PMo11CuO39)(PMo12O40)]2·33H2O (1) and [Cu3(tea)6(H2O)2(H2PMo11CuO39)2]2·30H2O (2) (tea = 2- [1,2,4]triazol-4-yl-ethylamine), have been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions. Compound 1 owns tetra-nuclear clusters [Cu4(tea)6], linking a pair mono copper(II)-substituted and saturated Keggin anions to form a 2D structure. Compound 2 contains tri-nuclear clusters [Cu3(tea)6], fusing four mono copper(II)-substituted anions to construct a discrete four-membered cycle structure.

The first spin-crossover cluster helicate [{Fe(II)(μ-bpt)3}2Fe(II)3(μ3-O)][Fe(II)2(μ-Cl)(μ-bpt)(NCS)4(H2O)]·2H2O·C2H5OH [Hbpt = 3,5-bis(pyridin-2-yl)-1,2,4-triazole] was reported, in which one spin-crossover unit and one low-spin triple-stranded [Fe(II)(bpt)3](-) unit wrapped a rare planar [Fe(II)3(μ3-O)](4+) core to form a bis(triple-helical) cation with trigonal-bipyramidal topology. The origin of different magnetic behaviors of two [Fe(II)(bpt)3](-) units could be ascribed to their different intermolecular interactions.

An effective boron removal method was developed through a process of combining Si–Sn alloy with slag treatment. Boron content in refined silicon and boron removal fraction by slag containing 5 wt% CaO, 25 wt% SiO2 and 70 wt% Na2SiO3 and was investigated under varied Si–Sn alloy composition, slag/Si–Sn alloy mass ratio and refining time. Boron was effectively removed by adding tin to metallurgical grade silicon. In particular, the boron content in metallurgical grade silicon decreased from 12.92 ppmw to 0.79 ppmw by adding 50 at% tin under a mass ratio of 2:1 (slag:alloy) at 1723 K. The amount of boron removed increased with increasing amount of tin added, mass ratio and refining time.

Autophagy is a tightly regulated process activated in response to metabolic stress and other microenvironmental changes. Astrocyte elevated gene 1 (AEG-1) reportedly induces protective autophagy. Our results indicate that AEG-1 also enhances the susceptibility of malignant glioma cells to TGF-β1-triggered epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) through induction of autophagy. TGF-β1 induced autophagy and activated AEG-1 via Smad2/3 phosphorylation in malignant glioma cells. Also increased was oncogene cyclin D1 and EMT markers, which promoted tumor progression. Inhibition of autophagy using siRNA-BECN1 and siRNA-AEG-1 suppressed EMT. In tumor samples from patients with malignant glioma, immunohistochemical assays showed that expression levels of TGF-β1, AEG-1, and markers of autophagy and EMT, all gradually increase with glioblastoma progression. In vivo siRNA-AEG-1 administration to rats implanted with C6 glioma cells inhibited tumor growth and increased the incidence of apoptosis among tumor cells. These findings shed light on the mechanisms underlying the invasiveness and progression of malignant gliomas.

Single-molecule magnets (SMMs) that can be trapped in one of the bistable magnetic states separated by an energy barrier are among the most promising candidates for high-density information storage, quantum processing, and spintronics. To date, a considerable series of achievements have been made. However, the presence of fast quantum tunnelling of magnetization (QTM) in most SMMs, especially in single-ion magnets (SIMs), provides a rapid relaxation route and often sets up a limit for the relaxation time. Here, we pursue the pentagonal bipyramidal symmetry to suppress the QTM and present pentagonal bipyramidal Dy(III) SIMs [Dy(Cy3PO)2(H2O)5]Cl3·(Cy3PO)·H2O·EtOH (1) and [Dy(Cy3PO)2(H2O)5]Br3·2(Cy3PO)·2H2O·2EtOH (2), (Cy3PO = tricyclohexyl phosphine oxide). Magnetic characterizations reveal their fascinating SMM properties with high energy barriers as 472(7) K for 1 and 543(2) K for 2, along with a record magnetic hysteresis temperature up to 20 K for 2. These results, combined with the ab initio calculations, offer an illuminating insight into the vast possibility and potential of what the symmetry rules can achieve in molecular magnetism.

Through the use of conjugate ring-rich pyrazine and quinoxaline derivatives, five new Keggin polymolybdate based compounds, [Ag(I)3L(1)2(H2O)2(PMo12O40)] (1), [Ag(I)4L(1)5(SiMo12O40)] (2), [Ag(I)6L(2)6(PMo12O40)2] (3), [Ag(I)2L(2)2(C16H36N)2](SiMo12O40)] (4), [Cu(I)3L(2)3(PMo12O40)] (5) (L(1) = 2,3-diphenylpyrazine, L(2) = 2,3-diphenylquinoxaline, C16H36N = tetrabutylammonium), were synthesized under hydrothermal conditions and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. In compound 1, three Ag(I) ions are fused by two L(1) molecules to form a [Ag3L(1)2](3+) subunit, and these subunits link the PMo12 anions to construct two kinds of 1D chains (I and II). Chains I and II connect to each other by sharing the same PMo12 anions and a 2D grid-like layer is built. The asymmetric unit of compound 2 is linked to form a dimer by sharing Ag ions, and a 1D double strand is formed. The SiMo12 anions connect adjacent 1D double strands through Ag3-O23 bonds and a 2D network is built. In compound 3, there exists a 1D ladder-like double chain with PMo12 anions as linking bars. A 2D layer is formed by linkage Ag2-O24 between adjacent chains. In compound 4, the PMo12 anions act as inorganic linkages to connect adjacent zigzag chains through Ag1-O3 bonds to construct a 2D grid-like layer. In compound 5 two Cu(I)-L(2) lines are fused by PMo12 anions to build a 1D ladder-like chain. Additionally, the electrochemical and photocatalytic properties of the title compounds have been studied.

An area of rapid advancement in abdominal MRI is diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). By measuring diffusion properties of water molecules, DWI is capable of non-invasively probing tissue properties and physiology at cellular and macromolecular level. The integration of DWI as part of abdominal MRI exam allows better lesion characterization and therefore more accurate initial diagnosis and treatment monitoring. One of the most technical challenging, but also most useful abdominal DWI applications is in liver and therefore requires special attention and careful optimization. In this article, the latest technical developments of DWI and its liver applications are reviewed with the explanations of the technical principles, recommendations of the imaging parameters, and examples of clinical applications. More advanced DWI techniques, including Intra-Voxel Incoherent Motion (IVIM) diffusion imaging, anomalous diffusion imaging, and Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging (DKI) are discussed.

IFN-γ-producing Th17 cells have been implicated in autoimmune disorders, but their properties in humans are known only partially. The molecular mechanisms and external factors that govern IFN-γ-producing Th17-cell bias are incompletely understood. The present work was to clarify whether (i) IFN-γ-producing Th17 cells are present in the peripheral circulation of patients with coronary atherosclerosis (CA); (ii) high mobility group box (HMGB)1 in circulation is associated with IFN-γ-producing Th17-cell bias.Thirty-six patients (17 females and 19 males; 45-84 years) diagnosed as having atherosclerosis after coronary angiography for suspected or known CA were included the study cohort. Samples of peripheral blood were collected from healthy volunteers and patients, and classical tests (flow cytometry, RT-qPCR) were used to measure blood components.Our results clearly demonstrated that HMGB1 were up-regulated in different progressive CA patients: 5.38 ± 1.48 ng/ml, 6.30 ± 1.53 ng/ml and 5.86 ± 1.12 ng/ml vs1.45 ± 0.65 ng/ml for only atherosclerotic plaque (AP), atherosclerotic plaque and some plaque rupture, no thrombosis (PR), plaque rupture and accompanying thrombosis (TH) and volunteers, respectively, p 0.05. The frequency of IFN-γ-producing Th17 cells was 2.33 ± 0.58%, 1.93 ± 0.2% and 2.21 ± 0.65% vs 0.38 ± 0.21% for AP, PR, TH and volunteers, p 0.05, respectively. Furthermore, HMGB1 contributed to IFN-γ-producing Th17-cell bias by controlling expression of T-bet and RUNX3. We demonstrated, for the first time, that HMGB1 is a potential inducer of IFN-γ-producing Th17-cell bias, and that IFN-γ-producing Th17 cells might be one of the pathogenic factors in atherosclerosis.

Life-sustaining treatments (LSTs) and end-of-life (EOL) care&rsquo, s goal for prolonging one&rsquo, s life are defined as aggressive EOL care among critically ill patients. They have limited effects and add unnecessary financial burden to advanced cancer patients. A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect information on demographics, disease conditions, preference for LSTs, and goal of EOL care among advanced cancer patients of comprehensive grade-A tertiary hospitals in Wuhan, mainland China. Most patients preferred to accept LSTs when they were in a critical condition, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (89.9%), mechanical ventilation support (85.7%), nasogastric tube feeding (84.1%), blood transfusion (89.8%), general surgery (87.5%), and hemodialysis (85.8%). Most (88%) preferred prolonging life as the goal of EOL care. Logistic regression showed common influencing factors were participants who completed junior high/high school or below and were financially adequate had higher reference for aggressive EOL care. Patients whose physician had accurately disclosed prognosis, however, showed a decrease trend for aggressive EOL care. Most advanced cancer patients preferred to accept aggressive EOL care. Discussions about prognosis disclosure among physicians and patients should be improved. Education about LSTs&rsquo, limitations and comfort-oriented care&rsquo, s benefits should be promoted among the advanced cancer patients in mainland China.

In an intelligent manufacturing environment, fierce global market competition has made more and more companies form industrial alliances to gain an advantage. The basic goal of enterprise alliance is achieving high efficiency and a win-win situation. This paper mainly studies the necessity of partner selection, determines the principle of partner selection, and establishes an evaluation index system for dynamic alliance enterprise cooperation. At the same time, multi-attribute decision analysis and BP neural network are used to identify the ultimate partner. Finally, an example is analyzed with MATLAB to verify its feasibility.

Vibrio harveyi is a kind of pathogenic bacteria that occurs widely in the ocean and exhibits multiple drug resistance. V. harveyi hemolysin (VHH) is the essential virulence factor of V. harveyi, and its main function is to promote the entry and spread of V. harveyi by lysing the cell membrane, which plays a critical role in the pathogen infection of the host. In this study, we used VHH as the target protein of novel virulence factor inhibitors and found that resveratrol (RSV) significantly inhibited its hemolytic activity. Furthermore, we investigated the mechanism of action of RSV and evaluated its therapeutic effect in V. harveyi-infected Takifugu rubripes. Remarkably, RSV downregulated the transcription of the vhh gene within a concentration range that did not inhibit bacterial growth. In addition, RSV antagonized its hemolytic activity by directly binding to the active center of VHH. RSV could effectively inhibit the damage caused by VHH and V. harveyi both in vitro and in vivo. These results suggest that RSV is a promising agent for the treatment of V. harveyi infection.

Data on the association between egg consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the Chinese population are scarce. In the present study, we aimed to examine the association between egg consumption and the risk of T2DM in a middle and elderly Chinese population. A total of 3298 subjects (1645 men and 1653 women) from the Nutrition and Health Survey (2015-2017) in Hangzhou city were selected for the final analysis. Egg consumption was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. All biochemical data and anthropometric measurements were collected following standardized procedures. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to assess the association between egg consumption and the risk of T2DM and the results were presented as odds ratios and 95% confidence interval (CI). Restricted cubic spline combined with logistic regression was used to explore the dose-response relationship between egg consumption and T2DM. Among 3298 subjects, 693 (21.0%) people had T2DM. Compared with participants who did not consume egg per week, the multivariable-adjusted odds ratios were 0.97 (95%CI : 0.78-1.21), 1.08 (95%CI : 0.91-1.06), 1.20 (95%CI : 0.94-1.55), 1.27 (95%CI : 0.99-1.68) in men (P > .05); 1.06 (95%CI : 0.81-1.37), 0.97 (95%CI : 0.78-1.21), 1.26 (95%CI : 0.99-1.59), 1.19 (0.92-1.54) in women (P > .05); 0.89 (95%CI : 0.79-1.04), 0.98 (95%CI : 0.91-1.06), 1.06 (95%CI : 0.87-1.30), 1.09 (95%CI : 0.88-1.34) in both men and women for egg consumption 0∼7, 7, 7∼14, and ≥14 eggs/week, respectively (P > .05). The dose-response curve showed that, with the increase of egg consumption, the risk of T2DM first increased and then decreased (P = .027).We found that the association between egg consumption and T2DM was nonlinear, and higher egg consumption was not associated with an elevated risk for T2DM in middle-aged and elderly Chinese. However, future prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) constitute the major cell population that regulates immune responses. They are known to accumulate in tumors, chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Previous data indicate that high mobility group box 1(HMGB1) facilitates MDSC differentiation from bone marrow, suppresses NK cells, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and is involved in cancer development. However, it remains unclear what potential mechanisms of HMGB1 facilitate MDSC differentiation. In the present work, we clearly demonstrate that HMGB1 secreted by cancer cells is N-glycosylated at Asn37, which facilitates monocytic (M)-MDSC differentiation from bone marrow via the p38/NFκB/Erk1/2 pathway and also contributes to conversion of monocytes into MDSC-like cells; HMGB1 blockade by a monoclonal antibody against the HMGB1 B box obviously reduced the accumulation of M-MDSC in tumor-bearing mice, delaying tumor growth and development; additionally, MDSC expansion and HMGB1 up-regulation were also found in breast cancer patients. All these data indicate that HMGB1 might be a potential tumor immunotherapy target.

Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) is a significant immune checkpoint, and the dysfunction of this axis contributes to tumor metastasis and immune escape. PI3K/Akt/mTOR and MAPK signal network induces PD-1/PD-L1 expression and facilitates tumor progression. Transcriptional factors such as hypoxia induced factors, PTEN, p53, CDK5, BRD4, STAT modulate PD-1/PD-L1 expression. PD-1/PD-L1 level is also regulated via epigenetic and post-translational manner. The underlying mechanisms mentioned above may provide potential targets for tumor treatment. At present, the combination therapy of PD-1/PD-L1 monoclonal antibodies plus small molecular inhibitors has achieved good outcomes in tumor treatment.

Background Increased arterial stiffness (iAS) and microalbuminuria (MAU), which may occur simultaneously or separately in the general population and share similar risk factors, are markers of macro- and microvascular injuries. Our research investigated the comorbidity of iAS and MAU in the middle-aged population and examined the heterogeneous effects of metabolic risk factors on iAS and MAU. Methods We selected 11,911 individuals aged 45 to 60 years who underwent a health examination at the 3rd Xiangya Hospital between 2010 and 2014. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) was determined according to IDF/NHLBI/AHA-2009 criteria. Multinomial logistic regression was applied to evaluate the influence of MetS, components of MetS and clusters of MetS on the co-occurrence (MAU(+)/iAS(+)) or non-co-occurrence (MAU(+)/iAS(−) and MAU(−)/iAS(+)) of MAU and iAS. Results Reference group was MAU(−)/iAS(−). A positive effect of MetS on the presence of MAU(+)/iAS(−), MAU(−)/iAS(+), or MAU(+)/iAS(+) is listed in ascending order based on odds ratios (ORs = 2.11, 2.41, 4.61, respectively; P

The research objective was to evaluate the pavement temperature profile from the surface, base, and subbase layers of a test track located in Southern Taiwan. The scope was to install a real-time and multilayered temperature monitoring station along with the weather station that allows both temperature and climate data to be recorded and stored continuously. The real-time and multilayered temperature monitoring station consists of thermocouples that were installed from the surface in-depth 1, 2.5, 5, 10, 15, 20, 32.5, 45, 70, and 90-cm and the weather station comprises of ambient temperature, humidity, pressure, wind, solar radiation, UV, and precipitations sensors to record local climate patterns. Both stations record data in every five minutes since May 1, 2017. It has to be noted that thermocouples were installed when the test tract was under the road widening project and the overall pavement layers were in need of reconstructed. Hence, the process of installing thermocouples was kicked off bottom-up from subbase, base, and surface layers. In mid of July 2017, additional thermocouple was later installed right on the top of the surface, indicating 0-cm, in order to record the most direct and imminent change on the pavement surface. In this paper, we like to present three extreme weather conditions occurring from May to August 2017 including the “Monsoon (Plum) rainfall”, “Typhoons Nesat and Haitang”, and “heat waves”, and what those climate patterns would affect the pavement temperature profile. More details and analysis will be presented in the Conference in Denver.

The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a key event associated with metastasis and dissemination in breast tumor pathogenesis. Promyelocytic leukemia (PML) gene produces several isoforms due to alternative splicing; however, the biological function of each specific isoform has yet to be identified. In this study, we report a previously unknown role for PMLIV, the most intensely studied nuclear isoform, in transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling-associated EMT and migration in breast cancer. This study demonstrates that PMLIV overexpression promotes a more aggressive mesenchymal phenotype and increases the migration of MCF-7 cancer cells. This event is associated with activation of the TGF-β canonical signaling pathway through the induction of Smad2/3 phosphorylation and the translocation of phospho-Smad2/3 to the nucleus. In this study, we report a previously unknown role for PMLIV in TGF-β signaling-induced regulation of breast cancer-associated EMT and migration. Targeting this pathway may be therapeutically beneficial.

To improve bioenergy, methane, production in the anaerobic digestion plant application, the effects of recycled liquid digestate on anaerobic digestion of pig manure were investigated. Two continuous stirred tank reactors were operated for 230 days with varying organic loading rates (OLRs, from 1.5 to 6 g VS L-1 d-1); one reactor was implemented with liquid digestate recirculation and the other was set as the control without recirculation. It was demonstrated that the recirculation operation improved methane production and system fermentation stability, particularly for OLRs below 5 g VS L-1 d-1. The inhibition of methane production was found under an OLR of 6 VS L-1 d-1, which was caused by significantly increased viscosity from 30 to 1000 mPa·s and decreased mass transfer characteristics. The previously reported negative effects of accumulated ammonia and VFA on anaerobic digestion under digestate recirculation were not found in the present investigation of pig manure treatment. However, the heavy metals Pb, Mn, Cu and Zn accumulated in both liquid and solid fractions of the generated digestate in the digestate recycled reactor. The stable carbon isotope analysis of δ13CCO2 and δ13CCH4 produced the biogas may indicate different methanogenic pathways between the anaerobic reactors with and without digestate recirculation.

Previous studies have indicated that complex interactions among viral, environmental and genetic factors lead to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). To identify susceptibility alleles for hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC, the present study conducted a pilot two-phase genome-wide association study (GWAS) in 660 Han Chinese individuals. In phase 1, a total of 500,447 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped in 50 HCC cases and 50 controls using Affymetrix GeneChip 500k Array Set. In phase 2, 1,152 SNPs were selected from phase 1 and genotyped in 282 cases and 278 controls using the Illumina GoldenGate platform. The prior probability of HCC in control subjects was assigned at 0.01, and false-positive report probability (FPRP) was utilized to evaluate the statistical significance. In phase 1, one SNP (rs2212522) showed a significant association with HCC (Pallele=5.23×10−8; ORallele=4.96; 95% CI, 2.72–9.03). In phase 2, among 27 SNPs with unadjusted Pallele

Spherical hierarchical LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 was synthesized by traditional solid-state reaction method using an improved calcination process. The improvement of the process was reflected by adding another calcination step after the traditional continuous one-step calcination and just-to-fine grinding. Compared with the one-step calcined product, the two-step calcined product had more uniform particle size distribution and spherical hierarchical structure. Electrochemical performance tests showed that the improved material exhibited greatly enhanced cycle performance at both normal and high temperatures and a high rate of 5 C. Overall, the cycle performance of the material was more than 50% higher than that of the one-step calcined product. Mn content analysis and EIS measurement of the electrodes further indicated that the improved calcination process optimized the particle size and morphology of the material, which resulted in improved electrochemical stability.

Three new two-dimensional (2D) Hofmann-type coordination polymers with general formula [Fe(3-NH2py)2M(CN)4] (3-NH2py = 3-aminopyridine, M = Ni (1), Pd (2), Pt (3)) have been synthesized. Magnetic susceptibility measurements show that they exhibited cooperative spin crossover (SCO) with remarkable hysteretic behaviors. Their hysteresis widths are 25, 37, and 30 K for 1-3, respectively. The single-crystal structure of 1 suggest that the pseudo-octahedral Fe sites are equatorially bridged by [M(CN)4](2-) to form 2D grids and axially coordinated by 3-NH2py ligands. The intermolecular interactions between layers (the offset face-to-face π···π interactions, hydrogen bonds, and weak N(amino)···Ni(II) contacts) together with the covalent bonds bridged by [M(CN)4](2-) units are responsible to the significant cooperativity.

The outer membrane protein RagB is one of the major virulence factors of Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis). To prevent periodontitis and associated systemic diseases induced by P. gingivalis, we built B cell antigen epitope vaccine characterized by pIRES-ragB'-mGITRL to induce a protective immune responses. The B cell antigen epitope and scrambled peptide of ragB were predicted, cloned into pIRES and constructed pIRES-ragB', pIRES-scrambled epitopes and pIRES-ragB'-mGITRL. pIRES-ragB'-mGITRL was transfected into COS-7 cells. Subsequently, the 6-week-old female BALB/c mice were challenged by P. gingivalis following three time immunization by pIRES, pIRES-ragB', pIRES-scrambled epitopes and pIRES-ragB'-mGITRL. The levels of RagB-specific antibody in the serum and Tfh cells in the spleen were measured by ELISA and flow cytometry, respectively. And higher levels of RagB-specific IgG were produced in the immunized mice with pIRES-ragB'-mGITRL. Additionally, the number of Tfh cells was also expanded and lesions were diminished in pIRES-ragB'-mGITRL mice comparing with control groups. Our results clearly demonstrated that P. gingivalis B cell antigen epitope vaccine, pIRES-ragB'-mGITRL, could induce protective immune responses. Furthermore, our data also indicated that pIRES-ragB'-mGITRL was a potential therapeutic vaccine against P. gingivalis.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the application of histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in characterizing pathologic features of cervical cancer and benign cervical lesions.This prospective study was approved by the institutional review board, and written informed consent was obtained. Seventy-three patients with cervical cancer (33-69 years old; 35 patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage IB cervical cancer) and 38 patients (38-61 years old) with normal cervix or cervical benign lesions (control group) were enrolled. All patients underwent 3-T diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with b values of 0 and 800 s/mm(2). ADC values of the entire tumor in the patient group and the whole cervix volume in the control group were assessed. Mean ADC, median ADC, 25th and 75th percentiles of ADC, skewness, and kurtosis were calculated. Histogram parameters were compared between different pathologic features, as well as between stage IB cervical cancer and control groups.Mean ADC, median ADC, and 25th percentile of ADC were significantly higher for adenocarcinoma (p = 0.021, 0.006, and 0.004, respectively), and skewness was significantly higher for squamous cell carcinoma (p = 0.011). Median ADC was statistically significantly higher for well or moderately differentiated tumors (p = 0.044), and skewness was statistically significantly higher for poorly differentiated tumors (p = 0.004). No statistically significant difference of ADC histogram was observed between lymphovascular space invasion subgroups. All histogram parameters differed significantly between stage IB cervical cancer and control groups (p0.05).Distribution of ADCs characterized by histogram analysis may help to distinguish early-stage cervical cancer from normal cervix or cervical benign lesions and may be useful for evaluating the different pathologic features of cervical cancer.

Although high F− groundwater was observed in the Hengshui of the North China Plain, the depth dependence of groundwater F− and its relation to aquifer sediments remains unknown. Both shallow groundwater and deep groundwater were collected for chemical and isotopic characterization. Sediments were taken from different depths down to 130 m for total element analysis and F− form determination with sequential extraction procedure. Results show that F− concentration ranges from 0.37 to 3.28 mg/L, and from 0.28 to 3.6 mg/L in shallow and deep groundwater, respectively. High F− water from shallow aquifers are of Cl–SO4–Na–Mg, HCO3–Cl–SO4–Na and SO4–Cl–Na–Mg types, while HCO3–SO4–Cl–Na and Cl–SO4–Na types are from deep aquifers. High F− waters are mainly found at the depths of 50, 200 and 300 m. Along the flow path, groundwater shows an increasing trend in F− concentration from the northwest to the southeast. Isotopes of 18O and D in deep groundwater are more depleted in comparison with shallow groundwater, suggesting that shallow and deep groundwater replenish through different ways with longer retention time of deep groundwater. δ13C of dissolved inorganic carbon are between −11.9 and −8.8 ‰ in shallow groundwater and between −10.6 and −7.5 ‰ in deep groundwater, respectively, which indicates that groundwater DIC comes from both rock weathering and biodegradation of organic matter. Fluoride content in the sediment ranges from 140 to 1690 mg/kg, showing a decreasing trend with depth. Good correlations between F− and Al2O3 and Fe2O3 are observed, demonstrating that F− contents in sediments are significantly influenced by the minerals containing Fe2O3 and Al2O3 in terms of adsorption. Sequential extraction procedure shows that exchangeable F− form (F1) and Fe–Mn oxides-bound F− (F3) generally decrease with depths, while organic matter or sulfide-bound F− (F4) keeps relatively stable and carbonate-bound F− (F2) exhibits highly variable. The relationships between F− concentration and Fe or Mn imply that F− in F1 is more inclined to be scavenged by Fe and Mn oxides/hydroxides which have a stronger affinity for F−. Although a variety of hydrogeochemical processes affected F− concentrations, dissolution–precipitation is a vital process in the study area. In comparison with shallow groundwater, cation exchange may exhibit more significantly effect on F− enrichment in deep groundwater. Competitive adsorption of HCO3 − and OH− with F− leads to the release of F− from aquifer matrix into solution, which increases groundwater F− concentration. Evaporation is another control on F− concentration, especially in shallow groundwater.

Two solvent-free two-dimensional (2D) coordination polymers, (2)∞[Fe(ptim)2] (1) and (2)∞[Fe(ptpy)2] (2) (Hptim = 2-(5-(4-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)phenyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)pyridine; Hptpy = 2-(5-(4-(pyridin-3-yl)phenyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)pyridine), have been successfully prepared by solvothermal reactions. Their iron atoms are bridged by the corresponding multidentate anionic ligands into dense neutral structures. The magnetic data reveal that complexes 1 and 2 are rare examples exhibiting reversible one-step high-temperature spin crossover behaviors with spin transition temperatures of 419 and 416 K, respectively. Moreover, these structures also display remarkable thermal stability up to 714 K (for 1) and 690 K (for 2), which are confirmed by thermogravimetric and variable-temperature powder X-ray diffraction analyses.

A flexible heterostructure is reported herein, which elastically couples the volumetric variation during SCO to the electrical conductivity of a strain-sensitive metallic conductor, thereby resulting in synergistic electrical bistability.

A spin-crossover Hoffman-like metal–organic framework, [Fe(dpb){Au(CN)2}2]·nSolv (dpb = 1,4-di(pyridin-4-yl)benzene; nSolv = 1.5DMF·0.3EtOH·0.2C6H12), is prepared and presents appreciable porosity. By introducing different aromatic guest molecules (benzene, naphthalene, anthracene, and ferrocene) and carbon disulfide into this framework, the spin-crossover cooperativity is dramatically modulated. The thermal hysteresis width is tuned from 0 K to 73 K by replacing the original solvents with naphthalene in the 1D channel. DFT calculations are carried out to evaluate the optimized positions of guests and offer an insight into the relationship between spin-crossover cooperativity and host–guest interaction. As a result, significant π⋯π stacking interactions (or S⋯Au contact) between the host framework and aromatic guest molecules (or CS2) are responsible for the strong cooperativity.