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Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been recently recognized as playing a role in the pathogenesis of vascular remodeling-related diseases by modulating the functions of miRNAs. However, the interplay between circRNAs and proteins during vascular remodeling remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated a previously identified circRNA, circEsyt2, whose expression is known to be upregulated during vascular remodeling. Loss- and gain-of‑function mutation analyses in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) revealed that circEsyt2 enhanced cell proliferation and migration and inhibited apoptosis and differentiation. Furthermore, the silencing of circEsyt2 in vivo reduced neointima formation, while circEsyt2 overexpression enhanced neointimal hyperplasia in the injured carotid artery, confirming its role in vascular remodeling. Using unbiased protein-RNA screening and molecular validation, circEsyt2 was found to directly interact with polyC-binding protein 1 (PCBP1), an RNA splicing factor, and regulate PCBP1 intracellular localization. Additionally, circEsyt2 silencing substantially enhanced p53β splicing via the PCBP1-U2AF65 interaction, leading to the altered expression of p53 target genes (cyclin D1, p21, PUMA, and NOXA) and the decreased proliferation of VSMCs. Thus, we identified a potentially novel circRNA that regulated vascular remodeling, via altered RNA splicing, in atherosclerotic mouse models.

Abstract Subspace outlier detection has emerged as a practical approach for outlier detection. Classical full space outlier detection methods become ineffective in high dimensional data due to the “curse of dimensionality”. Subspace outlier detection methods have great potential to overcome the problem. However, the challenge becomes how to determine which subspaces to be used for outlier detection among a huge number of all subspaces. In this paper, firstly, we propose an intuitive definition of outliers in subspaces. We study the desirable properties of subspaces for outlier detection and investigate the metrics for those properties. Then, a novel subspace outlier detection algorithm with a statistical foundation is proposed. Our method selectively leverages a limited set of the most interesting subspaces for outlier detection. Through experimental validation, we demonstrate that identifying outliers within this reduced set of highly interesting subspaces yields significantly higher accuracy compared to analyzing the entire feature space. We show by experiments that the proposed method outperforms competing subspace outlier detection approaches on real world data sets.

Abstract Electrochemical CO2 reduction in acidic electrolytes is a promising strategy to achieve high utilization efficiency of CO2. Although alkali cations in acidic electrolytes play a vital role in suppressing hydrogen evolution and promoting CO2 reduction, they also cause precipitation of bicarbonate on the gas diffusion electrode (GDE), flooding of electrolyte through the GDE, and drift of the electrolyte pH. In this work, we realize the electroreduction of CO2 in a metal cation-free acidic electrolyte by covering the catalyst with cross-linked poly-diallyldimethylammonium chloride. This polyelectrolyte provides a high density of cationic sites immobilized on the surface of the catalyst, which suppresses the mass transport of H+ and modulates the interfacial field strength. By adopting this strategy, the Faradaic efficiency (FE) of CO reaches 95 ± 3% with the Ag catalyst and the FE of formic acid reaches 76 ± 3% with the In catalyst in a 1.0 pH electrolyte in a flow cell. More importantly, with the metal cation-free acidic electrolyte the amount of electrolyte flooding through the GDE is decreased to 2.5 ± 0.6% of that with alkali cation-containing acidic electrolyte, and the FE of CO maintains above 80% over 36 h of operation at −200 mA·cm−2.

Abstract Background Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) can be used to treat heart diseases; however, the optimal maturity of hiPSC-CMs for effective regenerative medicine remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the benefits of long-term cultured mature hiPSC-CMs in injured rat hearts. Methods Cardiomyocytes were differentiated from hiPSCs via monolayer culturing, and the cells were harvested on day 28 or 56 (D28-CMs or D56-CMs, respectively) after differentiation. We transplanted D28-CMs or D56-CMs into the hearts of rat myocardial infarction models and examined cell retention and engraftment via in vivo bioluminescence imaging and histological analysis. We performed transcriptomic sequencing analysis to elucidate the genetic profiles before and after hiPSC-CM transplantation. Results Upregulated expression of mature sarcomere genes in vitro was observed in D56-CMs compared with D28-CMs. In vivo bioluminescence imaging studies revealed increased bioluminescence intensity of D56-CMs at 8 and 12 weeks post-transplantation. Histological and immunohistochemical analyses showed that D56-CMs promoted engraftment and maturation in the graft area at 12 weeks post-transplantation. Notably, D56-CMs consistently promoted microvessel formation in the graft area from 1 to 12 weeks post-transplantation. Transcriptomic sequencing analysis revealed that compared with the engrafted D28-CMs, the engrafted D56-CMs enriched genes related to blood vessel regulation at 12 weeks post-transplantation. As shown by transcriptomic and western blot analyses, the expression of a small heat shock protein, alpha-B crystallin (CRYAB), was significantly upregulated in D56-CMs compared with D28-CMs. Endothelial cell migration was inhibited by small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of CRYAB when co-cultured with D56-CMs in vitro. Furthermore, CRYAB overexpression enhanced angiogenesis in the D28-CM grafts at 4 weeks post-transplantation. Conclusions Long-term cultured mature hiPSC-CMs promoted engraftment, maturation and angiogenesis post-transplantation in infarcted rat hearts. CRYAB, which was highly expressed in D56-CMs, was identified as an angiogenic factor from mature hiPSC-CMs. This study revealed the benefits of long-term culture, which may enhance the therapeutic potential of hiPSC-CMs.

Abstract Background To examine the relationships between polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) dietary intake and asthma in children. Methods In this cross-sectional study, a total of 14,727 participants from the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database in 1999–2018 were included, and the baseline characteristics of all participants were gathered. The description analysis was used to explore the possible covariates. Weighted multivariate logistic regression models were adopted to assessed the association between PUFAs dietary intake and asthma in children. In addition, we also performed subgroup analysis based on gender, age, and maternal smoking during pregnancy to investigate this relationship. Results The prevalence of asthma approximately was 15.38% in the present study. The result of weighted multivariate logistic regression indicated that, docosahexaenoic [weighted odds ratio (OR) = 0.37, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.19–0.74], total n − 3 PUFAs (weighted OR = 0.63, 95%CI 0.43–0.91), and eicosapentaenoic (weighted OR = 0.35, 95%CI 0.13–0.95) dietary intake were negatively associated with asthma in children. The subgroup analysis described that when children were male (weighted OR = 0.28, 95%CI 0.10–0.84), or were 5–7 years (weighted OR = 0.04, 95%CI 0.01–0.37), were 7–12 years (weighted OR = 0.46, 95%CI 0.24–0.90), or their maternal smoking during pregnancy (weighted OR = 0.16, 95%CI 0.03–0.90), docosahexaenoic dietary intake was negatively related to childhood asthma. Conclusion Docosahexaenoic dietary intake was negatively associated with the asthma in children, especially if children were male, or were 5–12 years, or their maternal smoking during pregnancy.

The postmortem interval （PMI） estimation is a key and difficult point in the practice of forensic medicine, and forensic scientists at home and abroad have been searching for objective, quantifiable and accurate methods of PMI estimation. With the development and combination of high-throughput sequencing technology and artificial intelligence technology, the establishment of PMI model based on the succession of the microbial community on corpses has become a research focus in the field of forensic medicine. This paper reviews the technical methods, research applications and influencing factors of microbial community in PMI estimation explored by using high-throughput sequencing technology, to provide a reference for the related research on the use of microbial community to estimate PMI.

Carallia brachiata (Lour.) Merr. (1919) is an important medical resource distributed across subtropical Asia. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome of C. brachiata was sequenced, revealing a total length of 162,460 bp, including four regions – a large single copy (89,814 bp), a small single copy (18,804 bp), and a pair of inverted repeats (26,921 bp each). The overall guanine + cytosine content was 35.76%. In total, 130 genes were annotated within the chloroplast genome, comprising 85 protein-coding, 37 tRNA, and 8 rRNA genes. Subsequent phylogenetic analyses revealed that C. brachiata is closely related to Carallia diplopetala.

Abstract Background Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are the predominant cell type of the aortic middle layer, the abnormal number or function of which has been demonstrated to have a role in thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA). Here, this study aimed to identify the function of circ_0008285 in VSMC apoptosis. Methods Human VSMCs were treated with angiotensin II (Ang II) for functional experiments. Cell counting kit‐8, 5‐ethynyl‐2′‐deoxyuridine (EdU), and flow cytometry were applied for function analysis. The interaction between miR‐150‐5p and circ_0008285 or brain acid‐soluble protein 1 (BASP1) was also evaluated by dual‐luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation assay. Exosomes were isolated by the commercial kit. Results A highly expressed circ_0008285 was observed in the aortic tissues of TAA patients and Ang‐II‐induced VSMCs. Circ_0008285 deficiency dramatically reversed Ang‐II‐induced proliferation arrest and apoptosis promotion in VSMCs. Circ_0008285 functionally targeted miR‐150‐5p. MiR‐150‐5p inhibition attenuated the inhibitory effects of circ_0008285 silencing on Ang‐II‐evoked apoptosis in VSMCs. BASP1 was verified to be a target of miR‐150‐5p, and was proved to attenuate miR‐150‐5p‐triggered apoptosis arrest in Ang‐II‐stimulated VSMCs. Additionally, extracellular circ_0008285 was packaged into exosomes, which could be transferred into the recipient cells. Conclusion Circ_0008285 silencing could suppress Ang‐II‐induced VSMCs apoptosis via miR‐150‐5p/BASP1 axis, adding further understanding of the pathogenesis of TAA.

Abstract There is increasing attention to the production of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) from lignocellulosic biomass by enzymatic hydrolysis with cellulase. In this study, the feasibility of the application of a cellulase system from engineered strain Penicillium oxalicum cEES in the production of CNCs was assessed. Using commercial eucalyptus dissolving pulp (EDP) as substrate, the CNCs were successfully obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis with the cellulase cEES, and the total yields of CNCs reached 15.7% through three-step enzymatic hydrolysis of total 72 h (24 h for each step). The prepared CNCs were characterized and found that their crystallinity and thermal stability were higher than that of EDP. In the later stage of enzymatic hydrolysis, the process efficiency of enzymatic preparation of CNCs greatly decreased because of the high crystallinity of cellulosic substrate, and a simple homogenization treatment can promote the enzymatic hydrolysis, as well as produce fusiform CNCs with more uniform size and more fermentable sugar that could be further converted into fuels and bulk chemicals through fermentation. This study provides a feasible enzymatic preparation process for CNCs with engineered cellulase and commercial cellulosic materials. Graphical Abstract

RNA editing plays an extensive role in the initiation and progression of cancer. However, the overall profile and molecular functions of RNA editing in different ovarian cancer subtypes have not been fully characterized and elucidated. Here, we conducted a study on RNA editing in four cohorts of ovarian cancer subtypes through large-scale parallel reporting and bioinformatics analysis. Our findings revealed that RNA editing patterns exhibit subtype-specific characteristics within cancer subtypes. The expression pattern of ADAR and the number of differential editing sites varied under different conditions. CCOC and EOC exhibited significant editing deficiency, whereas HGSC and MOC displayed significant editing excess. The sites within the turquoise module of the coedited network also revealed their correlation with ovarian cancer. In addition, we identified an average of over 40,000 cis-edQTLs in the four subtypes. Finally, we explored the association between RNA editing and drug response, uncovering several potentially effective editing-drug pairs (EDP) and suggesting the conceivable utility of RNA editing sites as therapeutic targets for cancer treatment. Overall, our comprehensive study has identified and characterized RNA editing events in various subtypes of ovarian cancer, providing a new perspective for ovarian cancer research and facilitating the development of medical interventions and treatments.

The effect of underwater noise environment generated by equipment in industrial recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) on fish is evident. However, different equipment generate noise in various frequency ranges. Understanding the effects of different frequency ranges noise on cultured species is important for optimizing the underwater acoustic environment in RAS. Given this, the effects of underwater noise across various frequency bands in RAS on the growth, physiology, and collective behavior of juvenile largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) were comprehensively evaluated here. In this study, three control groups were established: low-frequency noise group (80–1000 Hz, 117 dB re 1μPa RMS), high-frequency noise group (1–19 kHz, 117 dB re 1μPa RMS), and ambient group. During a 30-day experiment, it was found that: 1) industrial RAS noise with different frequency bands all had a certain inhibitory effect on the growth of fish, which the weight gain rate and product of length and depth of caudal peduncle in the ambient group were significantly higher than those of the two noise groups, with the low-frequency noise group showing significantly lower values than the high-frequency noise group; 2) industrial RAS noise had a certain degree of adverse effect on the digestive ability of fish, with the low-frequency noise group being more affected; 3) industrial RAS noise affected the collective feeding behavior of fish, with the collective feeding signal propagation efficiency and feeding intensity of the noise groups being significantly lower than those of the ambient group, and the high-frequency noise group performing better than the low-frequency noise group as a whole therein. From the above, the underwater noise across different frequency bands generated by equipment operation in industrial RAS both had an impact on juvenile largemouth bass, with the low-frequency noise group being more severely affected.

Background: Influenced by socio-cultural and world events, Chinese society has significant intergenerational differences. With rapid economic and cultural development, the unique characteristics of Generation Z nursing students in China may influence the clinical education environment. However, the research on Generation Z in China is still in its infancy. Objectives: This study aimed to explore the experiences and perceptions of Generation Z nursing students during their practicum in an intensive care unit (ICU) in the context of China's unique cultural and historical background. Methods: A phenomenological approach was used in this qualitative study. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted with fifteen Generation Z nursing students doing practicum in the ICU in a third-level hospital in Shanghai, China. The data were analyzed using Colaizzi's seven-step method. Result: Three themes emerged: intelligent medical services empowering critical care, perception of multiple challenges, and affirmation of the teaching work in the ICU. Conclusions and implications: The clinical instructors should use a combination of online and offline pedagogy, give positive guidance through role modeling, and develop the self-learning skills of Generation Z nursing students. This might help Generation Z nursing students relieve the stress of practicum in the ICU, more quickly adapt to the clinical environment, and enter nursing positions. The result of this research provided valuable information to help clinical practicum programs in China effectively educate Generation Z nursing students. Good education ensures that health care is safe and effective, making it easier for patients to get better.

Abstract Background With the increasing incidence of diabetes worldwide, patients diagnosed with diabetes has been getting younger. Previous studies have shown that high remnant cholesterol (RC) level leads to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease events. However, the relationship between RC levels and newly diagnosed early‐onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is unknown. This study aimed to explore the association between RC and newly diagnosed early‐onset T2DM. Methods A total of 606 patients newly diagnosed with early‐onset T2DM and 619 gender‐matched subjects with normal blood glucose levels were retrospectively enrolled in this study. All T2DM patients showed onset age of 18–40 years. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze independent risk factors and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to explore the predictive value of RC and other unconventional lipids. Moreover, the correlation between RC and insulin resistance in patients with newly diagnosed early‐onset T2DM was also examined with binary logistic regression analysis and Spearman correlation analysis. Results Increased RC level was an independent risk factor for early‐onset T2DM (p .05). RC was still correlated with insulin resistance after adjusting the conventional lipid parameters (TG, TC, HDL‐C, and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol) using partial correlation analysis. Conclusion RC level was higher in patients with early‐onset T2DM and was correlated to the degree of insulin resistance as well. Patients aged 18–40 years with RC >0.32 mmol/L showed an increased risk of developing T2DM.

This paper proposed a lightweight design method for orthotropic steel bridge deck U-ribs. Firstly, the U-rib is analyzed in static structural properties. An analytic hierarchy model was constructed to maximize the stiffness for multi-objective topology optimization. Secondly, a parametric reconfiguration model of the topologically optimized U-rib was established. Finally, static tests are carried out and the performance of the 3D printing scale model was tested. The test results show that the method is effective. Weight of the original model with U-rib is 99.8 kg, and the weight of its optimized model is 76.8 kg. The method achieved a weight reduction of 23% for the U-ribs, and the stiffness still met the permitted conditions. The orthotropic steel bridge deck composed of the optimized U-ribs effectively reduced the weight by 150 kg on the basis of basically unchanged stiffness. The method provides an important reference for the lightweight transformation of assembled bridge structures.

To evaluate the effects of dietary protein on reproductive performance, egg quality and larval health of the blotched snakehead Channa maculata, three groups were designed: a high protein group (HP) with 48% protein content, a low protein group (LP) with 44% protein content, and a control group (C) fed with commercial feed containing 40% protein. The results demonstrated that the HP diet significantly enhanced maternal absolute fecundity, egg size and offspring health; however, it had no impact on fertilization rate and hatching rate. The maternal plasma levels of 11-ketotestosterone, 17β-estradiol, and vitellogenin in the HP group were found to be significantly higher compared to those in the C group. Plasma SOD activity and T-AOC capacity in the HP group were significantly higher than those in the C group, while MDA content showed an opposite trend. The trend of T-AOC in 7 days post-hatching larvae exhibited a consistent pattern with that observed in the maternal. Metabolomics and transcriptomics results indirectly indicated that the differences in reproductive and egg quality of the broodstock were associated with the regulation of arachidonic acid metabolism, steroid hormone biosynthesis, cholesterol metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, and glycerolipid metabolism. The expression levels of star, zp3, foxo3, tgf-β, ghr, igf, cyp17a1, and cyp19a1 genes associated with reproduction and were significantly upregulated in the HP group. By depleting the abundance of metabolites in key pathway such as the pentose phosphate pathway, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism, vitamin B6 metabolism within the ovary, there is an elevation in arachidonic acid metabolite abundance, thereby facilitating ovarian maturation and regulating egg quality. In conclusion, the high protein diet may affect the reproductive process and egg quality by inducing an upregulation of TGF-beta signaling pathway and ovarian steroidogenesis and arachidonic acid metabolism, leading to increased plasma cholesterol levels and enhanced steroid hormone synthesis.

This paper introduced a new nonexplosive roadway excavation method, combining the reserved free space technology and the static expansion mechanical fracturing technology, where the former is implemented by the gasbag, while the piston splitter is for the latter. The numerical model of roadway excavation was set up via PFC3D to investigate the mechanical fracturing performance, including the single-hole fracturing and the hole network fracturing. The results show that the reasonable hole margin is about 1.0–1.5 m, and the optimal column spacing of the hole network pattern is 1.0 m, after comprehensively analyzing the fracturing performance and the splitting force evolution. Moreover, the mechanical fracturing excavation method was applied to construct a parking chamber in the Kalatongke Mine, to preliminarily verify the feasibility of the static expansion mechanical fracturing technology. The in situ investigation results indicate that the excavation footage is about 0.8 m with the piston splitter when adopting a hole margin of 1.0–1.5 m. To sum up, the preliminary field application and the numerical simulation result both support the feasibility of mechanical fracturing, and the reasonable fracturing hole margin is about 1.0 m.

In recent decades, climate change has significantly affected water quality and algal blooms in lakes worldwide. Studying the temporal dynamics patterns of algal production efficiency and its drivers in individual lakes is useful for analyzing the evolutionary trajectory of Chla-TP changes, and identifying the main controlling factors of eutrophication to guide lake management. In this study, we used a dataset for the Lake Gehu (1986–2020) to analyze the drivers of the ETP variability on interannual and seasonal time scales and to quantify the relative impacts and contributions of nutrient and climatic factors on the ETP. The results showed a negative correlation of the Chla-TP relationship appeared in years with very high ETP. The effects of nutritional and climatic factors on the ETP at different time scales were quantified using a generalized additive model. The results showed that the total phosphorus (TP) concentration had a significant effect on the interannual ETP variation, explaining up to 28.9 %. At the intra-annual scale, climatic variables had a much greater effect on the ETP than the nutrient concentration, and the explanatory effect was ranked as temperature > wind speed > rainfall > total nitrogen (TN). Based on the characteristics of seasonal ETP variations, the TPa of Lake Gehu were 50 μg/L, 33 μg/L, 20 μg/L with ETP levels of 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, respectively. This research highlights the significance of nutrient and climatic factors in interannual and seasonal scale, respectively. In addition, ETP influenced by the coupling of nutrient and climate provides a criterion for establishing the seasonal nutrient threshold of lakes.

Abstract Optical fiber communication networks play an important role in the global telecommunication network. However, nonlinear effects in the optical fiber and transceiver noise greatly limit the performance of fiber communication systems. In this paper, the product of mutual information (MI) and communication bandwidth is used as the metric of the achievable information rate (AIR). The MI loss caused by the transceiver is also considered in this work, and the bit-wise MI, generalized mutual information (GMI), is used to calculate the AIR. This loss is more significant in the use of higher-order modulation formats. The AIR analysis is carried out in the QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM and 256QAM modulation formats for the communication systems with different communication bandwidths and transmission distances based on the enhanced Gaussian noise (EGN) model. The paper provides suggestions for the selection of the optimal modulation format in different transmission scenarios. Graphical Abstract

Abstract The mechanism of how interfacial wettability impacts the CO2 electroreduction pathways to ethylene and ethanol remains unclear. This paper describes the design and realization of controllable equilibrium of kinetic-controlled *CO and *H via modifying alkanethiols with different alkyl chain lengths to reveal its contribution to ethylene and ethanol pathways. Characterization and simulation reveal that the mass transport of CO2 and H2O is related with interfacial wettability, which may result in the variation of kinetic-controlled *CO and *H ratio, which affects ethylene and ethanol pathways. Through modulating the hydrophilic interface to superhydrophobic interface, the reaction limitation shifts from insufficient supply of kinetic-controlled *CO to that of *H. The ethanol to ethylene ratio can be continuously tailored in a wide range from 0.9 to 1.92, with remarkable Faradaic efficiencies toward ethanol and multi-carbon (C2+) products up to 53.7% and 86.1%, respectively. A C2+ Faradaic efficiency of 80.3% can be achieved with a high C2+ partial current density of 321 mA cm−2, which is among the highest selectivity at such current densities.

Abstract Amyloid proteins are associated with a broad spectrum of neurodegenerative diseases. However, it remains a grand challenge to extract molecular structure information from intracellular amyloid proteins in their native cellular environment. To address this challenge, we developed a computational chemical microscope integrating 3D mid-infrared photothermal imaging with fluorescence imaging, termed Fluorescence-guided Bond-Selective Intensity Diffraction Tomography (FBS-IDT). Based on a low-cost and simple optical design, FBS-IDT enables chemical-specific volumetric imaging and 3D site-specific mid-IR fingerprint spectroscopic analysis of tau fibrils, an important type of amyloid protein aggregates, in their intracellular environment. Label-free volumetric chemical imaging of human cells with/without seeded tau fibrils is demonstrated to show the potential correlation between lipid accumulation and tau aggregate formation. Depth-resolved mid-infrared fingerprint spectroscopy is performed to reveal the protein secondary structure of the intracellular tau fibrils. 3D visualization of the β-sheet for tau fibril structure is achieved.

Ammonia (NH3) emissions should be mitigated to improve environmental quality. Croplands are one of the largest NH3 sources, they must be managed properly to reduce their emissions while achieving the target yields. Herein, we report the NH3 emissions, crop yield and changes in soil fertility in a long-term trial with various fertilization regimes, to explore whether NH3 emissions can be significantly reduced using the 4R nutrient stewardship (4Rs), and its interaction with the organic amendments (i.e., manure and straw) in a wheat–maize rotation. Implementing the 4Rs significantly reduced NH3 emissions to 6 kg N ha–1 yr–1 and the emission factor to 1.72%, without compromising grain yield (12.37 Mg ha–1 yr–1) and soil fertility (soil organic carbon of 7.58 g kg–1) compared to the conventional chemical N management. When using the 4R plus manure, NH3 emissions (7 kg N ha–1 yr–1) and the emission factor (1.74%) were as low as 4Rs, and grain yield and soil organic carbon increased to 14.79 Mg ha–1 yr–1 and 10.09 g kg–1, respectively. Partial manure substitution not only significantly reduced NH3 emissions but also increased crop yields and improved soil fertility, compared to conventional chemical N management. Straw return exerted a minor effect on NH3 emissions. These results highlight that 4R plus manure, which couples nitrogen and carbon management can help achieve both high yields and low environmental costs.

Abstract While exploring the process of CO/CO2 electroreduction (COxRR) is of great significance to achieve carbon recycling, deciphering reaction mechanisms so as to further design catalytic systems able to overcome sluggish kinetics remains challenging. In this work, a model single-Co-atom catalyst with well-defined coordination structure is developed and employed as a platform to unravel the underlying reaction mechanism of COxRR. The as-prepared single-Co-atom catalyst exhibits a maximum methanol Faradaic efficiency as high as 65% at 30 mA/cm2 in a membrane electrode assembly electrolyzer, while on the contrary, the reduction pathway of CO2 to methanol is strongly decreased in CO2RR. In-situ X-ray absorption and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopies point to a different adsorption configuration of *CO intermediate in CORR as compared to that in CO2RR, with a weaker stretching vibration of the C–O bond in the former case. Theoretical calculations further evidence the low energy barrier for the formation of a H-CoPc-CO– species, which is a critical factor in promoting the electrochemical reduction of CO to methanol.

Protein is an important nutrient for the human body. Long-term lack of proteins will directly or indirectly lead to increased incidence of low immunity, muscle attenuation, osteoporosis and other diseases. This phenomenon is more prominent in the elderly, which reduces their exercise and metabolic capacity, directly affects their quality of life. This in turn increases the burden on the public health and medical system in China, which hinders the steady advancement of the ‘Healthy China’ strategy. At present, the major ways to improve inadequate protein intake and deficiency in the elderly include improving food properties (changing protein structure) and physical function (adding ingredients that can promote the secretion of protein-digesting enzymes), and changing the diet structure (increasing oligopeptide intake) and habits (increasing protein intake and types). The effects of aging on protein digestion and absorption capacity are discussed, the existing methods to promote protein digestion and absorption are summarized, and future directions for improving the protein digestion and absorption capacity of the elderly are discussed in order to provide a reference for future research to promote nutrition especially protein absorption in the elderly.

Abstract Background With the difficulties in choosing colistin sulfate and polymyxin B sulfate (PBS) for carbapenem-resistant gram-negative bacteria (CR-GNB), we compared the efficacy and safety of these two old polymyxins in treatment of critically ill patients infected with CR-GNB infection. Methods One hundred four patients infected with CR-GNB in ICU were retrospectively grouped by PBS (68 patients) or colistin sulfate (36 patients). Clinical efficacy including symptoms, inflammatory parameters, defervescence, prognosis and microbial efficacy were analyzed. Hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, and hematotoxicity were evaluated by TBiL, ALT, AST, creatinine, and thrombocytes. Results Demographic characteristics between colistin sulfate and PBS were not significantly different. Most of the CR-GNB were cultured in respiratory tract (91.7% vs 86.8%), and almost all were polymyxin-sensitive (98.2% vs 100%, MIC ≤ 2 μg/ml). The microbial efficacy in colistin sulfate (57.1%) was significantly higher than PBS (30.8%) (p = 0.022), however, no significant difference in clinical success was seen in both groups (33.8% vs 41.7%), as well as mortality, defervescence, imaging remission, days in the hospital, microbial reinfections, and prognosis, and almost all patients defervesce within 7 days (95.6% vs 89.5%). Conclusions Both polymyxins can be administrated in critically ill patients infected with CR-GNB and colistin sulfate is superior to PBS in microbial clearance. These results highlight the necessity of identifying CR-GNB patients who may benefit from polymyxin and who are at higher risk of mortality.

Abstract Recent years have witnessed the tremendous development of fusing fiber-optic imaging with supervised deep learning to enable high-quality imaging of hard-to-reach areas. Nevertheless, the supervised deep learning method imposes strict constraints on fiber-optic imaging systems, where the input objects and the fiber outputs have to be collected in pairs. To unleash the full potential of fiber-optic imaging, unsupervised image reconstruction is in demand. Unfortunately, neither optical fiber bundles nor multimode fibers can achieve a point-to-point transmission of the object with a high sampling density, as is a prerequisite for unsupervised image reconstruction. The recently proposed disordered fibers offer a new solution based on the transverse Anderson localization. Here, we demonstrate unsupervised full-color imaging with a cellular resolution through a meter-long disordered fiber in both transmission and reflection modes. The unsupervised image reconstruction consists of two stages. In the first stage, we perform a pixel-wise standardization on the fiber outputs using the statistics of the objects. In the second stage, we recover the fine details of the reconstructions through a generative adversarial network. Unsupervised image reconstruction does not need paired images, enabling a much more flexible calibration under various conditions. Our new solution achieves full-color high-fidelity cell imaging within a working distance of at least 4 mm by only collecting the fiber outputs after an initial calibration. High imaging robustness is also demonstrated when the disordered fiber is bent with a central angle of 60°. Moreover, the cross-domain generality on unseen objects is shown to be enhanced with a diversified object set.

Abstract Background Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is currently the main challenge for prostate cancer (PCa) treatment, and there is an urgent need to find novel therapeutic targets and drugs. Prohibitin (PHB1) is a multifunctional chaperone/scaffold protein that is upregulated in various cancers and plays a pro-cancer role. FL3 is a synthetic flavagline drug that inhibits cancer cell proliferation by targeting PHB1. However, the biological functions of PHB1 in CRPC and the effect of FL3 on CRPC cells remain to be explored. Methods Several public datasets were used to analyze the association between the expression level of PHB1 and PCa progression as well as outcome in PCa patients. The expression of PHB1 in human PCa specimens and PCa cell lines was examined by immunohistochemistry (IHC), qRT-PCR, and Western blot. The biological roles of PHB1 in castration resistance and underlying mechanisms were investigated by gain/loss-of-function analyses. Next, in vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted to investigate the anti-cancer effects of FL3 on CRPC cells as well as the underlying mechanisms. Results PHB1 expression was significantly upregulated in CRPC and was associated with poor prognosis. PHB1 promoted castration resistance of PCa cells under androgen deprivation condition. PHB1 is an androgen receptor (AR) suppressive gene, and androgen deprivation promoted the PHB1 expression and its nucleus-cytoplasmic translocation. FL3, alone or combined with the second-generation anti-androgen Enzalutamide (ENZ), suppressed CRPC cells especially ENZ-sensitive CRPC cells both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanically, we demonstrated that FL3 promoted trafficking of PHB1 from plasma membrane and mitochondria to nucleus, which in turn inhibited AR signaling as well as MAPK signaling, yet promoted apoptosis in CRPC cells. Conclusion Our data indicated that PHB1 is aberrantly upregulated in CRPC and is involved in castration resistance, as well as providing a novel rational approach for treating ENZ-sensitive CRPC.

Abstract Background Understanding nutritional status among women of childbearing age (WCA) is of increasing concern, as nutrient intakes may affect the health of WCA and well-being of their offspring. This study aimed to investigate secular trends of dietary energy and macronutrients intakes and access longitudinally the urban-rural and geographic disparities among Chinese WCA. Methods A total of 10,219 participants were involved in three rounds of the Chinese Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS:1991, 2004, and 2015). Average macronutrients intakes were compared against the Chinese Dietary Reference Intakes Standard (DRIs) to better assess adequacy. Mixed effect models were used to estimate the secular trends of dietary intake. Results A total of 10,219 participants were involved. Dietary fat, the percentage of energy (%E) from fat, and the proportion with more than 30% of energy from fat and less than 50% from carbohydrates increased notably over time (p

Abstract Background Lung cross-section is one of the emphases and challenges in sectional anatomy. Identification of the complex arrangement of intrapulmonary tubes such as bronchi, arteries, and veins in the lungs requires the spatial imagination of students. Three-dimensional (3D) printing has become increasingly used in anatomy education. This study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of 3D-printed specimens used for the experimental teaching of sectional anatomy. Methods A digital thoracic dataset was obtained and input into a 3D printer to print multicolor specimens of the pulmonary segment after software processing. As research subjects, 119 undergraduate students majoring in medical imaging from classes 5–8 in the second-year were chosen. In the lung cross-section experiment course, 59 students utilized 3D printed specimens in conjunction with traditional instruction as the study group, while 60 students received traditional teaching as the control group. Preclass and postclass tests, course grading, and questionnaire surveys were used to assess instructional efficacy. Results We obtained a set of pulmonary segment specimens for teaching. The students in the study group scored better in the postclass test than those in the control group (P

Abstract Propane dehydrogenation (PDH) is an industrial technology for direct propylene production which has received extensive attention in recent years. Nevertheless, existing non-oxidative dehydrogenation technologies still suffer from the thermodynamic equilibrium limitations and severe coking. Here, we develop the intensified propane dehydrogenation to propylene by the chemical looping engineering on nanoscale core-shell redox catalysts. The core-shell redox catalyst combines dehydrogenation catalyst and solid oxygen carrier at one particle, preferably compose of two to three atomic layer-type vanadia coating ceria nanodomains. The highest 93.5% propylene selectivity is obtained, sustaining 43.6% propylene yield under 300 long-term dehydrogenation-oxidation cycles, which outperforms an analog of industrially relevant K-CrOx/Al2O3 catalysts and exhibits 45% energy savings in the scale-up of chemical looping scheme. Combining in situ spectroscopies, kinetics, and theoretical calculation, an intrinsically dynamic lattice oxygen “donator-acceptor” process is proposed that O2- generated from the ceria oxygen carrier is boosted to diffuse and transfer to vanadia dehydrogenation sites via a concerted hopping pathway at the interface, stabilizing surface vanadia with moderate oxygen coverage at pseudo steady state for selective dehydrogenation without significant overoxidation or cracking.

Abstract Background The dose‒response relationship-based relative risk (RR) of smoking exposure could better predict the risk of lung cancer than the dichotomous RR. To date, there is a lack of large-scale representative studies illustrating the dose‒response relationship between smoking exposure and lung cancer deaths, and no study has systematically pooled the current evidence in the Chinese population. Objectives To elucidate the dose‒response relationship of smoking and the risk of lung cancer mortality in the Chinese population. Methods Data were derived from studies on dose‒response relationships of smoking exposure and the risk of lung cancer among Chinese adults published before June 30th, 2021. Based on smoking exposure indicators and RR of lung cancer mortality, a series of dose‒response relationship models were developed. For smokers, 10 models were built to fit the dose‒response relationships between pack-years and RR of lung cancer deaths. For quitters, quit-years and corresponding RRs were used, and the pooled dichotomous RR value was used as the starting point to avoid overestimation. Finally, the results were compared with the estimates from 2019 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study. Results A total of 12 studies were included. Among 10 dose‒response relationship models of pack-years with the RR of lung cancer mortality, the integrated-exposure–response (IER) model achieved the best fit. In all models, less than 60 pack-years presented RRs below 10. For former smokers, the RR decreased to 1 when quit-years reached up to 7 years. Both smokers and quitters had much lower RRs than that of the global level estimated by GBD. Conclusion The risk of lung cancer mortality rose with pack-years and decreased with quit-years among Chinese adults, and both values were far below global level. The results suggested that the dose–response RR of lung cancer deaths associated with smoking in China should be estimated separately.

Abstract Redox catalysts play a vital role in chemical looping oxidative dehydrogenation processes, which have recently been considered to be a promising prospect for propylene production. This work describes the coupling of surface acid catalysis and selective oxidation from lattice oxygen over MoO3-Fe2O3 redox catalysts for promoted propylene production. Atomically dispersed Mo species over γ-Fe2O3 introduce effective acid sites for the promotion of propane conversion. In addition, Mo could also regulate the lattice oxygen activity, which makes the oxygen species from the reduction of γ-Fe2O3 to Fe3O4 contribute to selectively oxidative dehydrogenation instead of over-oxidation in pristine γ-Fe2O3. The enhanced surface acidity, coupled with proper lattice oxygen activity, leads to a higher surface reaction rate and moderate oxygen diffusion rate. Consequently, this coupling strategy achieves a robust performance with 49% of propane conversion and 90% of propylene selectivity for at least 300 redox cycles and ultimately demonstrates a potential design strategy for more advanced redox catalysts.

Abstract Background Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion has been considered standard management for cervical myelopathy and radiculopathy. However, the option of using self-locking stand-alone cages or cage-with-plate in three-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion still remains controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and imaging outcomes of the two procedures in multilevel anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. Methods Sixty-seven patients who underwent three-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion were enrolled in this study, of which 31 patients underwent surgery using self-locking stand-alone cages (group cage) and 36 patients using cage-with-plate (group plate). For the evaluation of clinical outcomes, modified Japanese Orthopedic Association scores, visual analogue scale for neck pain, neck disability index, Odom’s criteria and dysphagia status were measured. Imaging outcomes were evaluated by cervical sagittal angle, fusion segmental Cobb’s angle, fusion segmental height, range of motion, cage subsidence rate, fusion rate and adjacent segment degeneration. Statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS software (version 19.0). Results Both groups showed improvement in modified Japanese Orthopedic Association scores, visual analogue scale for neck pain and neck disability index, after surgery, and there was no significant difference between the groups. The occurrence rate of dysphagia is significantly lower in the group cage compared with the group plate (p 0.05). Conclusions The self-locking stand-alone cages are effective, reliable and safe in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion for the treatment of cervical myelopathy and radiculopathy. Self-locking stand-alone cages showed a significantly lower rate of dysphagia and adjacent segment degeneration, while anterior cervical cage-with-plate could provide stronger postoperative stability and maintain better cervical spine alignment.

Abstract To improve phone screen surface detection efficiency, an optimized YOLOv5s model (OYm) based on GhostNet(YOLOv5GHOSTs) and BottleneckCSP is proposed. For a given target sample, OYm could effectively reduce the computation of GFLOPS and detection time by optimizing the network structure. The detection results show that the mean average precision_0.5 (mAP_0.5) exceeds 95%, and the average detection rate is 16 ms. Compared with the traditional YOLOv5s model, the loss of average accuracy is ensured to be controlled within 3%, the detection frame rate of OYm is risen by 56.25%, and GFLOPS is decreased by 64.2%. The principle of OYm is explained in detail, and the proposed model is then experimentally validated.

Objective: To study the sleep-improving effect of Ziziphi spinosae Semen Poria cocos powder and soybean peptide powder on insomnia model mice induced by p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA). Methods: One hundred eighty SPF male BALB/c mice were purchased. First, ninety of them were randomly divided into six groups (normal control group, model control group, low, medium and high dose groups of Ziziphi spinosae Semen Poria cocos powder, soybean peptide powder group) for the pentobarbital sodium-induced sleep test. The remaining 90 mice were randomly divided into six groups (same group as above) for the open field test, the contents of hypothalamic 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and norepinephrine (NE) in the hypothalamus were measured and the contents of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamic acid (Glu) in the hippocampus were measured. The normal control group and the model control group were administered with sterile water while the low, medium and high dose groups of Ziziphi spinosae Semen Poria cocos powder were administered with 0.67, 1.33, 4.00 g/kg BW solution and the soybean peptide powder groupwas administered with 1.15 g/kg BW solution. The gavage volume of rats was 20 mL/kg BW. The sleep test lasted for 36 days and the open field test lasted for 37 days. On the 29th and 30th day, except the normal control group, the other mice were given intraperitoneal injection of PCPA (350 mg/kg BW) to construct an insomnia model and then continued to be administered for 6, 7 d. Results: Compared with the model control group, Ziziphi spinosae Semen Poria cocos powder could significantly shorten the sleep latency induced by pentobarbital sodium, prolong sleep time, reduce horizontal score, vertical score and modified score, significantly increase the contents of 5-HT and 5-HIAA in the hypothalamus, reducing NE content, reduce Glu content in the hippocampus, improve the hippocampal GABA content, regulate the Glu/GABA ratio and maintain Glu/GABA balance in the hippocampus. Soybean peptide powder could significantly prolong sleep time and maintain Glu/GABA balance. Conclusion: Ziziphi spinosae Semen Poria cocos powder has a certain ameliorative effect on sleep in insomnia model mice by elevating monoamine neurotransmitter 5-HT content and reducing NE content in the hypothalamic of insomnia mice, promoting the sleep wake state of insomnia mice toward normal recovery. It also can regulate Glu and GABA content in the hippocampal and maintain the homeostatic balance of Glu and GABA.

For interconnected system, this paper proposes a control strategy of virtual oscillators with adjustable tie line power. A distributed intra-region control layer is designed based on the dispatchable virtual oscillator-controlled converters. It achieves the distribution of power and maintains frequency stability in different regions. The dispatchable virtual oscillator control improves the transient stability of the system, and the distributed structure enhances the system communication reliability. Further, a centralized inter-region control layer is designed based on the existing scheduling system. It enables power regulation of tie lines and maintains the frequency stability of the whole system. The proposed control strategy is simulated in a high percentage of new energy interconnected system for both sudden load changes and tie line power regulation. The results verify the effectiveness of the method for tie line power regulation and frequency recovery in the interconnected system.