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Abstract GC (Gastric cancer) is one of the most common malignant tumours, with over 95% of gastric cancer patients being adenocarcinoma and most gastric cancer patients having no apparent symptoms in the early stages. Finding biomarkers for early screening of gastric cancer and exploring new targets for gastric cancer treatment are urgent problems to be solved in the treatment of gastric cancer, with significant clinical outcomes for the survival rate of gastric cancer patients. The AAA+ family ATPase thyroid hormone receptor-interacting protein 13 (TRIP13) has been reported to play an essential role in developing various tumours. However, the biological function and molecular mechanism of TRIP13 in gastric cancer remain unclear. This study confirms that TRIP13 is highly expressed in gastric cancer tissue samples and that TRIP13 participates in the proliferation, migration, invasion in vitro, and tumourigenesis and metastasis in vivo of gastric cancer cells. Mechanistically, this study confirms that TRIP13 directly interacts with DDX21 and stabilises its expression by restraining its ubiquitination degradation, thereby promoting gastric cancer progression. Additionally, histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) is an upstream factor of TRIP13, which could target the TRIP13 promoter region to promote the proliferation, migration, and invasion of gastric cancer cells. These results indicate that TRIP13 serve is a promising biomarker for the treating of gastric cancer patients, and the HDAC1-TRIP13/DDX21 axis might provide a solid theoretical basis for clinical treatment of gastric cancer patients.

Abstract Background Rose myrtle (Rhodomyrtus tomentosa (Ait.) Hassk), is an evergreen shrub species belonging to the family Myrtaceae, which is enriched with bioactive volatiles (α-pinene and β-caryophyllene) with medicinal and industrial applications. However, the mechanism underlying the volatile accumulation in the rose myrtle is still unclear. Results Here, we present a chromosome-level genomic assembly of rose myrtle (genome size = 466 Mb, scaffold N50 = 43.7 Mb) with 35,554 protein-coding genes predicted. Through comparative genomic analysis, we found that gene expansion and duplication had a potential contribution to the accumulation of volatile substances. We proposed that the action of positive selection was significantly involved in volatile accumulation. We identified 43 TPS genes in R. tomentosa. Further transcriptomic and TPS gene family analyses demonstrated that the distinct gene subgroups of TPS may contribute greatly to the biosynthesis and accumulation of different volatiles in the Myrtle family of shrubs and trees. The results suggested that the diversity of TPS-a subgroups led to the accumulation of special sesquiterpenes in different plants of the Myrtaceae family. Conclusions The high quality chromosome-level rose myrtle genome and the comparative analysis of TPS gene family open new avenues for obtaining a higher commercial value of essential oils in medical plants.

Abstract Objective This study aims to investigate the role of the triglyceride glucose (TyG) index in differentiating cardiogenic stroke (CE) from large atherosclerotic stroke (LAA). Method In this retrospective study, patients with acute ischemic stroke were recruited from the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Lianyungang Second People’s Hospital and Lianyungang First People’s Hospital. Their general data, medical history and laboratory indicators were collected and TyG index was calculated. Groups were classified by the TyG index quartile to compare the differences between groups. Logistic regression was utilized to assess the relationship between the TyG index and LAA. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of the TyG index in differentiating LAA from CE. Result The study recruited 1149 patients. After adjusting for several identified risk factors, groups TyG-Q2, TyG-Q3, and TyG-Q4 had a higher risk of developing LAA compared to group TyG-Q1(odds ratio (OR) = 1.63,95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.11–2.39, OR = 1.72,95%CI = 1.16–2.55, OR = 2.06,95%CI = 1.36–3.09). TyG has certain diagnostic value in distinguishing LAA from CE(AUC = 0.595, 95%CI0.566–0.623;P

Soil infiltration properties (SIPs) of infiltration rate and saturated hydraulic conductivity significantly affect hydrological and erosion processes, thus, knowledge of SIPs under different land use/cover are vital for land use management to control soil erosion for realizing the sustainable development of the small agricultural watershed. Nevertheless, few studies have been carried out to investigate the differences in SIPs and their dominant influencing factors between different land use/cover in the black soil region of Northeast China. Therefore, eight typical land use/cover were selected to clarify the variations in SIPs between different land use/cover and further identify their dominant influencing factors. SIPs of initial infiltration rate (IIR), steady infiltration rate (SIR), and saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) were determined under eight typical land use/cover (forestland, shrub land, grassland, longitudinal shelterbelt, transverse shelterbelt, agricultural road, and cropland of Zea mays L. and Glycine max (Linn.) Merr) using a tension disc infiltrometer with three pressure heads of −3, −1.5, and 0 cm. The results of one-way ANOVA analysis showed that SIPs varied greatly between different land use/cover. Shelterbelt plant with Populus L. had the maximum IIR, SIR, and Ks, and then followed by shrub land, agricultural road, cropland, grassland, and forestland. Spearman correlation analysis indicated that SIPs were significantly correlated with soil and vegetation properties. Redundancy analysis revealed that differences in SIPs between different land use/cover were dominantly attributed to the differences in soil texture, field capacity, and plant root mass density, which explained 79.36% of the total variation in SIPs. Among these dominant influencing factors, the results of structural equation model indicated that the indirect effects of plant root and soil texture played the most important role in variations of SIPs via affecting soil texture and pore characteristics. These results have significant implications for the precise prediction of watershed hydrological and erosion processes, also provide a scientific basis for guiding the distribution pattern of land use in the cultivated watershed.

Summary: Background: Microplastics are environmental pollutants detected in various human organs and tissues. These particles originate from multiple sources including the degradation of larger plastic items and the intentional inclusion in consumer goods. Potential risks for human health resulting from microplastics exposure have also been reported. However, the distribution in the male reproductive system and its effect remains largely unknown. This study aims to investigate the presence of multiple microplastics in human semen and urine and their association with sperm quality in a multi-site study across China. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 113 male participants from three regions in China. Semen and urine samples were collected and analysed using Raman microscopy to detect eight types of microplastics: polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). Semen quality parameters, including total sperm count, concentration, motility, and morphology, were assessed. Statistical analyses, including single and multi-variable models, were used to evaluate the relationship between microplastic exposure and semen quality, with a focus on PTFE, after adjusting confounding factors of age, body mass index (BMI), smoking, alcohol drinking, and sites. Findings: Microplastics were detected in all semen and urine samples, with participants typically exposed to 3–5 different types. The detection rates of PS, PP and PE were the highest. Notably, PTFE exposure was significantly associated with decreased semen quality. Participants exposed to PTFE showed reductions in total sperm count [188.90 ± 163.71 vs. 207.67 ± 132.36 million, p = 0.091], sperm concentration [52.13 ± 47.47 vs. 58.32 ± 37.26 million/mL, p = 0.041], and progressive motility [40.29% ± 19.06 vs. 34.11% ± 17.02, p = 0.083]. The multi-linear regression analysis indicated that each additional type of microplastic exposure was associated with a significant decrease in total sperm number [β = −15.4 (95% CI: −25.6, −5.2)], sperm concentration [β = −7.2 (95% CI: −12.4, −2.0)], and progressive motility [β = −8.3 (95% CI: −13.5, −3.1)]. Latent category analysis further refined these groups by types of microplastic exposure, highlighting specific types more strongly associated with decreased semen quality (OR = 3.5, 95% CI: 1.8, 6.9, p

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Background: Previous studies reported that lead (Pb) exposure induced adverse health effects at high exposure concentrations, however, there have been limited data on sensitivity comparisons among different health outcomes at low blood Pb levels. Objectives: To compare sensitivity between blood parameters and a genotoxic biomarker among workers exposed to low blood Pb levels (< 20 µg/dl), and to estimate a benchmark dose (BMD). Methods: Pb-exposed workers were recruited from a lead-acid storage battery plant. Their blood lead levels (BLLs) were measured. Blood parameters and micronuclei (MN) frequencies were determined. Multivariate linear or Poisson regression was used to analyze relationships between blood parameters or MN frequencies with BLLs. Two BMD software were used to calculate BMD and its 95 % lower confidence limit (BMDL) for BLLs. Results: The median BLL for 611 workers was 10.44 µg/dl with the 25th and 75th percentile being 7.37 and 14.62 µg/dl among all participants. There were significantly negative correlations between blood parameters and BLLs. However, MN frequencies correlated positively with BLLs (all P

In this paper, we propose a way to partition any constacyclic code over a finite field in its equivalence classes according to the algebraic structure of the code. Such a method gives the generalization of cyclically permutable codes (CPCs), which are called constacyclically permutable codes (CCPCs), and it is useful to derive a CCPC from a given constacyclic code. Moreover, we present an enumerative formula for the code size of such a CCPC, with all of the terms being positive integers, and we provide an algebraic method to produce such a CCPC.

Abstract Immune microenvironment and immunotherapy have become the focus and frontier of tumor research, and the immune checkpoint inhibitors has provided novel strategies for tumor treatment. Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is a common end-stage manifestation of lung cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma and other thoracic malignancies, which is invasive and often accompanied by poor prognosis, affecting the quality of life of affected patients. Currently, clinical therapy for MPE is limited to pleural puncture, pleural fixation, catheter drainage, and other palliative therapies. Immunization is a new direction for rehabilitation and treatment of MPE. The effusion caused by cancer cells establishes its own immune microenvironment during its formation. Immune cells, cytokines, signal pathways of microenvironment affect the MPE progress and prognosis of patients. The interaction between them have been proved. The relevant studies were obtained through a systematic search of PubMed database according to keywords search method. Then through screening and sorting and reading full-text, 300 literatures were screened out. Exclude irrelevant and poor quality articles, 238 literatures were cited in the references. In this study, the mechanism of immune microenvironment affecting malignant pleural effusion was discussed from the perspectives of adaptive immune cells, innate immune cells, cytokines and molecular targets. Meanwhile, this study focused on the clinical value of microenvironmental components in the immunotherapy and prognosis of malignant pleural effusion.

Abstract Background Panax notoginseng (Burk) F. H. Chen is one of the most famous Chinese traditional medicinal plants. The taproot is the main organ producing triterpenoid saponins, and its development is directly linked to the quality and yield of the harvested P. notoginseng. However, the mechanisms underlying the dynamic metabolic changes occurring during taproot development of P. notoginseng are unknown. Results We carried out metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses to investigate metabolites and gene expression during the development of P. notoginseng taproots. The differentially accumulated metabolites included amino acids and derivatives, nucleotides and derivatives, and lipids in 1-year-old taproots, flavonoids and terpenoids in 2- and 3-year-old taproots, and phenolic acids in 3-year-old taproots. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) are related to phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, metabolic pathway and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites at all three developmental stages. Integrative analysis revealed that the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway was involved in not only the development of but also metabolic changes in P. notoginseng taproots. Moreover, significant accumulation of triterpenoid saponins in 2- and 3-year-old taproots was highly correlated with the up-regulated expression of cytochrome P450s and uridine diphosphate-dependent glycosyltransferases genes. Additionally, a gene encoding RNase-like major storage protein was identified to play a dual role in the development of P. notoginseng taproots and their triterpenoid saponins synthesis. Conclusions These results elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying the accumulation of and change relationship between primary and secondary metabolites in P. notoginseng taproots, and provide a basis for the quality control and genetic improvement of P. notoginseng.

Abstract Glioblastoma, IDH-Wild type (GBM, CNS WHO Grade 4) is a highly heterogeneous and aggressive primary malignant brain tumor with high morbidity, high mortality, and poor patient prognosis. The global burden of GBM is increasing notably due to limited treatment options, drug delivery problems, and the lack of characteristic molecular targets. OTU deubiquitinase 4 (OTUD4) is a potential predictive factor for several cancers such as breast cancer, liver cancer, and lung cancer. However, its function in GBM remains unknown. In this study, we found that high expression of OTUD4 is positively associated with poor prognosis in GBM patients. Moreover, we provided in vitro and in vivo evidence that OTUD4 promotes the proliferation and invasion of GBM cells. Mechanism studies showed that, on the one hand, OTUD4 directly interacts with cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) and stabilizes CDK1 by removing its K11, K29, and K33-linked polyubiquitination. On the other hand, OTUD4 binds to fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) and reduces FGFR1’s K6 and K27-linked polyubiquitination, thereby indirectly stabilizing CDK1, ultimately influencing the activation of the downstream MAPK signaling pathway. Collectively, our results revealed that OTUD4 promotes GBM progression via OTUD4-CDK1-MAPK axis, and may be a prospective therapeutic target for GBM treatment.

The transcription factors of WRKY genes play essential roles in plant growth, stress responses, and metabolite biosynthesis. Erigeron breviscapus, a traditional Chinese herb, is abundant in flavonoids and has been used for centuries to treat cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. However, the WRKY transcription factors that regulate flavonoid biosynthesis in E. breviscapus remain unknown. In this study, a total of 75 EbWRKY transcription factors were predicted through comprehensive genome-wide characterization of E. breviscapus and the chromosomal localization of each EbWRKY gene was investigated. RNA sequencing revealed transient responses of 74 predicted EbWRKY genes to exogenous abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid (SA), and gibberellin 3 (GA3) after 4 h of treatment. In contrast, the expression of key structural genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis increased after 4 h in GA3 treatment. However, the content of flavonoid metabolites in leaves significantly increased at 12 h. The qRT-PCR results showed that the expression patterns of EbWRKY11, EbWRKY30, EbWRKY31, EbWRKY36, and EbWRKY44 transcription factors exhibited a high degree of similarity to the 11 structural genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis. Protein-DNA interactions were performed between the key genes involved in scutellarin biosynthesis and candidate WRKYs. The result showed that F7GAT interacts with EbWRKY11, EbWRKY36, and EbWRKY44, while EbF6H has a self-activation function. This study provides comprehensive information on the regulatory control network of flavonoid accumulation mechanisms, offering valuable insights for breeding E. breviscapus varieties with enhanced scutellarin content.

Principal component analysis (PCA) has been widely employed for dimensionality reduction prior to multivariate pattern classification (decoding) in EEG research. The goal of the present study was to provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of PCA on decoding accuracy (using support vector machines) across a broad range of experimental paradigms. We evaluated several different PCA variations, including group-based and subject-based component decomposition and the application of Varimax rotation or no rotation. We also varied the numbers of PCs that were retained for the decoding analysis. We evaluated the resulting decoding accuracy for seven common event-related potential components (N170, mismatch negativity, N2pc, P3b, N400, lateralized readiness potential, and error-related negativity). We also examined more challenging decoding tasks, including decoding of face identity, facial expression, stimulus location, and stimulus orientation. The datasets also varied in the number and density of electrode sites. Our findings indicated that none of the PCA approaches consistently improved decoding performance related to no PCA, and the application of PCA frequently reduced decoding performance. Researchers should therefore be cautious about using PCA prior to decoding EEG data from similar experimental paradigms, populations, and recording setups.

Polygonatum kingianum Coll. et (Hemsl) is a famous Chinese traditional food and medicine analogous plant. The rhizome of P. kingianum showed a decrease in levels of alkaloids, amino acids and derivatives, terpenoids, and an increase in organic acid and saccharides when it was processed by the traditional method of “Nine Cycles of Steaming and Sun-Drying”. The relative content of 341 metabolites were increased (fold change, FC > 2; variable importance in projection, VIP > 1 and P-value, P 1, and P

Abstract Objectives To Investigate the value of 3D printed guide-assisted percutaneous management of minimally displaced scaphoid waist fractures(Herbert’s B2) with delayed diagnosis or presentation. Methods From October 2018 to February 2022, 10 patients with established delayed diagnoses and presentation of minimally displaced scaphoid waist fractures were treated with 3D printed guides assisted with percutaneous internal fixation without bone grafting. This technique was based on the patient’s preoperative CT and imported into the software. Based on Boolean subtraction, the most centralized screw placement position was identified and a customized guide was produced. Intraoperative percutaneous insertion of the guide wire was assisted by the custom guide. Results All 10 patients were successful in one attempt. The fractures healed at a mean of 7.7 weeks postoperatively (range 6–10 weeks). At a mean follow-up of 7.7 months (6–13 months), patients had excellent recovery of wrist function with minimal pain reduction. There were no major postoperative complications and the patients all returned to their previous activities before the injury. Conclusions Percutaneous internal fixation based on 3D printed guides is a safe and effective technique for delayed diagnosis or presentation of patients with minimally displaced fractures of the scaphoid waist. This method allows for easy insertion of screws and avoids multiple attempts.

Abstract. Background:. T-cell immunoreceptor with immunoglobulin and immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibition motif domains (TIGIT), an inhibitory receptor expressed on T cells, plays a dysfunctional role in antiviral infection and antitumor activity. However, it is unknown whether TIGIT expression on T cells influences the immunological effects of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) inactivated vaccines. Methods:. Forty-five people living with HIV (PLWH) on antiretroviral therapy (ART) for more than two years and 31 healthy controls (HCs), all received a third dose of a SARS-CoV-2 inactivated vaccine, were enrolled in this study. The amounts, activation, proportion of cell subsets, and magnitude of the SARS-CoV-2-specific immune response of TIGIT+CD4+ and TIGIT+CD8+ T cells were investigated before the third dose but 6 months after the second vaccine dose (0W), 4 weeks (4W) and 12 weeks (12W) after the third dose. Results:. Compared to that in HCs, the frequency of TIGIT+ CD8+ T cells in the peripheral blood of PLWH increased at 12W after the third dose of the inactivated vaccine, and the immune activation of TIGIT+CD8+ T cells also increased. A decrease in the ratio of both T naïve (TN) and central memory (TCM) cells among TIGIT+CD8+ T cells and an increase in the ratio of the effector memory (TEM) subpopulation were observed at 12W in PLWH. Interestingly, particularly at 12W, a higher proportion of TIGIT+CD8+ T cells expressing CD137 and CD69 simultaneously was observed in HCs than in PLWH based on the activation-induced marker assay. Compared with 0W, SARS-CoV-2-specific TIGIT+CD8+ T-cell responses in PLWH were not enhanced at 12W but were enhanced in HCs. Additionally, at all time points, the SARS-CoV-2-specific responses of TIGIT+CD8+ T cells in PLWH were significantly weaker than those of TIGIT-CD8+ T cells. However, in HCs, the difference in the SARS-CoV-2-specific responses induced between TIGIT+CD8+ T cells and TIGIT-CD8+ T cells was insignificant at 4W and 12W, except at 0W. Conclusions:. TIGIT expression on CD8+ T cells may hinder the T-cell immune response to a booster dose of an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, suggesting weakened resistance to SARS-CoV-2 infection, especially in PLWH. Furthermore, TIGIT may be used as a potential target to increase the production of SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cells, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of vaccination.

Abstract. Background:. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine can induce a potent cellular and humoral immune response to protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, it was unknown whether SARS-CoV-2 vaccination can induce effective natural killer (NK) cell response in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH) and healthy individuals. Methods:. Forty-seven PLWH and thirty healthy controls (HCs) inoculated with SARS-CoV-2 inactivated vaccine were enrolled from Beijing Youan Hospital in this study. The effect of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine on NK cell frequency, phenotype, and function in PLWH and HCs was evaluated by flow cytometry, and the response of NK cells to SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Spike (SARS-2-OS) protein stimulation was also evaluated. Results:. SARS-CoV-2 vaccine inoculation elicited activation and degranulation of NK cells in PLWH, which peaked at 2 weeks and then decreased to a minimum at 12 weeks after the third dose of vaccine. However, in vitro stimulation of the corresponding peripheral blood monocular cells from PLWH with SARS-2-OS protein did not upregulate the expression of the aforementioned markers. Additionally, the frequencies of NK cells expressing the activation markers CD25 and CD69 in PLWH were significantly lower than those in HCs at 0, 4 and 12 weeks, but the percentage of CD16+ NK cells in PLWH was significantly higher than that in HCs at 2, 4 and 12 weeks after the third dose of vaccine. Interestingly, the frequency of CD16+ NK cells was significantly negatively correlated with the proportion of CD107a+ NK cells in PLWH at each time point after the third dose. Similarly, this phenomenon was also observed in HCs at 0, 2, and 4 weeks after the third dose. Finally, regardless of whether NK cells were stimulated with SARS-2-OS or not, we did not observe any differences in the expression of NK cell degranulation markers between PLWH and HCs. Conclusion:. s:SARS-CoV-2 vaccine elicited activation and degranulation of NK cells, indicating that the inoculation of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine enhances NK cell immune response.

A lightweight infrared image denoising method based on adversarial transfer learning is proposed. The method adopts a generative adversarial network (GAN) framework and optimizes the model through a phased transfer learning strategy. In the initial stage, the generator is pre-trained using a large-scale grayscale visible light image dataset. Subsequently, the generator is fine-tuned on an infrared image dataset using feature transfer techniques. This phased transfer strategy helps address the problem of insufficient sample quantity and variety in infrared images. Through the adversarial process of the GAN, the generator is continuously optimized to enhance its feature extraction capabilities in environments with limited data. Moreover, the generator structure incorporates structural reparameterization technology, edge convolution modules, and progressive multi-scale attention block (PMAB), significantly improving the model’s ability to recognize edge and texture features. During the inference stage, structural reparameterization further optimizes the network architecture, significantly reducing model parameters and complexity and thereby improving denoising efficiency. The experimental results of public and real-world datasets demonstrate that this method effectively removes additive white Gaussian noise from infrared images, showing outstanding denoising performance.

This study investigated the application of nanophase change material emulsions (NPCMEs) for thermal management in high-capacity ternary lithium-ion batteries. We formulated an NPCME of n-octadecane (n-OD) and n-eicosane (n-E) with a mass fraction of 10%, whose phase change temperatures are 25.5 °C and 32.5 °C, respectively, with specific heat capacities 2.1 and 2.4 times greater than water. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the thermal control performance and latent heat utilization efficiency of these NPCMEs. The NPCMEs with an n-OD mass fraction of 10% (NPCME-n-OD), particularly reduced the battery pack’s maximum temperature and temperature difference to 41.6 °C and 3.72 °C under a 2 C discharge rate, lower than the water-cooled group by 1.3 °C and 0.3 °C. This suggests that nano emulsions with phase change temperatures close to ambient temperatures exhibit superior cooling performance. Increased flow rates from 50 mL/min to 75 mL/min significantly lowered temperatures, resulting in temperature reductions of 2.73 °C for the NPCME-n-OD group and 3.37 °C for the NPCME-n-E group. However, the latent heat utilization efficiency of the nano emulsions decreased, leading to increased system energy consumption. Also, it was found that the inlet temperature of the NPCMEs was very important for good thermal management. The right inlet temperatures make it easier to use phase change latent heat, while excessively high temperatures may make thermal management less effective.

SBAS-InSAR technology is effective in obtaining surface deformation information and is widely used in monitoring landslides and mining subsidence. However, SBAS-InSAR technology is susceptible to various errors, including atmospheric, orbital, and phase unwrapping errors. These multiple errors pose significant challenges to precise deformation monitoring over large areas. This paper examines the spatial characteristics of these errors and introduces a spatially constrained SBAS-InSAR method, termed SSBAS-InSAR, which enhances the accuracy of wide-area surface deformation monitoring. The method employs multiple stable ground points to create a control network that limits the propagation of multiple types of errors in the interferometric unwrapped data, thereby reducing the impact of long-wavelength signals on local deformation measurements. The proposed method was applied to Sentinel-1 data from parts of Jining, China. The results indicate that, compared to the traditional SBAS-InSAR method, the SSBAS-InSAR method significantly reduced phase closure errors, deformation rate standard deviations, and phase residues, improved temporal coherence, and provided a clearer representation of deformation in time-series curves. This is crucial for studying surface deformation trends and patterns and for preventing related disasters.

Pulsed eddy current thermography can detect surface or subsurface defects in steel, but in the process of combining deep learning, it is expensive and inefficient to build a complete sample of defects due to the complexity of the actual industrial environment. Consequently, this study proposes a transfer learning method based on Twin-NMF and combines it with the SimAM attention mechanism to enhance the detection accuracy of the target domain task. First, to address the domain differences between the target domain task and the source domain samples, this study introduces a Twin-NMF transfer method. This approach reconstructs the feature space of both the source and target domains using twin non-negative matrix factorization and employs cosine similarity to measure the correlation between the features of these two domains. Secondly, this study integrates a parameter-free SimAM into the neck of the YOLOv8 model to enhance its capabilities in extracting and classifying steel surface defects, as well as to alleviate the precision collapse phenomenon associated with multi-scale defect recognition. The experimental results show that the proposed Twin-NMF model with SimAM improves the detection accuracy of steel surface defects. Taking NEU-DET and GC10-DET as source domains, respectively, in the ECTI dataset, mAP@0.5 reaches 99.3% and 99.2%, and the detection accuracy reaches 98% and 98.5%.

BackgroundDistinguishing between prostatic cancer (PCa) and chronic prostatitis (CP) is sometimes challenging, and Gleason grading is strongly associated with prognosis in PCa. The continuous-time random-walk diffusion (CTRW) model has shown potential in distinguishing between PCa and CP as well as predicting Gleason grading.PurposeThis study aimed to quantify the CTRW parameters (α, β & Dm) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of PCa and CP tissues; and then assess the diagnostic value of CTRW and ADC parameters in differentiating CP from PCa and low-grade PCa from high-grade PCa lesions.Study typeRetrospective (retrospective analysis using prospective designed data).PopulationThirty-one PCa patients undergoing prostatectomy (mean age 74 years, range 64–91 years), and thirty CP patients undergoing prostate needle biopsies (mean age 68 years, range 46–79 years).Field strength/SequenceMRI scans on a 3.0T scanner (uMR790, United Imaging Healthcare, Shanghai, China). DWI were acquired with 12 b-values (0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 500, 800, 1200, 1500, 2000, 2500, 3000 s/mm2).AssessmentCTRW parameters and ADC were quantified in PCa and CP lesions.Statistical testsThe Mann-Whitney U test was used to evaluate the differences in CTRW parameters and ADC between PCa and CP, high-grade PCa, and low-grade PCa. Spearman’s correlation of the pathologic grading group (GG) with CTRW parameters and ADC was evaluated. The usefulness of CTRW parameters, ADC, and their combinations (Dm, α and β; Dm, α, β, and ADC) to differentiate PCa from CP and high-grade PCa from low-grade PCa was determined by logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis. Delong test was used to compare the differences among AUCs.ResultsSignificant differences were found for the CTRW parameters (α, Dm) between CP and PCa (all P

After high gas mines coal mining reaches deep, the issue of rockburst has become increasingly prominent. Aiming at solving the problem of rock burst in high gas mines, the coupling mechanism of anti-rockburst and pressure relief in gas drainage boreholes along seam has been explored. The research results indicate that gas drainage boreholes can reduce the stress environment of coal, making the peak stress transfer to deep coal. The pressure relief effect of gas drainage boreholes is slightly weaker than that of large diameter pressure relief boreholes. Moreover, the presence of gas pressure can weaken the mechanical properties of coal. The compressive strength, elastic modulus, cohesion, and internal friction angle of coal all show varying degrees of attenuation with the increase of gas pressure. Besides, a stress analysis was conducted on borehole surrounding rock, and mathematical derivation was also carried out. The expressions for radial stress and circumferential stress of the coal at the boundary of the plastic zone of the borehole surrounding rock, as well as the analytical solution for the boundary of the plastic zone, are obtained. In addition, the gas in pressure relief borehole act on the coal in the pressure relief zone, causing deterioration of the mechanical properties of the coal around the pressure relief boreholes. The expansion range of the radius of the borehole pressure relief zone will increases, and the borehole pressure relief effect will enhance, promoting the formation of coal weakening zones. The above is the coupling mechanism of anti-rockburst and pressure relief in gas drainage boreholes, which has been confirmed by numerical simulation for reliability.

Changes in soil surface roughness (SSR) are not only closely associated with the characteristics of the underlying surface but also play a vital role in hydrological and soil erosion processes. SSR of degraded croplands is likely affected by the residual of incorporated straw, however, few studies have been focused on this topic. This study was conducted to investigate the changes in SSR of sloping croplands with different land degradation degrees under straw incorporated and without straw incorporated treatments, and determine the dominant factors attributing to these changes in the black soil region of Northeast China. SSR was determined by a photogrammetry technique and the dominant influencing factors were identified by redundancy analysis. The results showed that SSR were decaying by land degradation. Compared to non-degraded croplands, SSR of light, moderate and heavy degraded croplands decreased by 10.4 %, 11.3 %, 23.3 % and 13.8 %, 16.7 %, 31.9 % for straw incorporated and without straw incorporated treatments, respectively. The improvement of SSR was mediated by residual of incorporated straw. Compared to the treatment of without straw incorporation, SSR of straw incorporated treatment increased by 29.4 %, 30.5 %, 32.7 %, and 33.3 % for non, light, moderate and heavy degraded croplands, respectively. Change in SSR was modulated by soil properties, crop characteristics, and residual of incorporated straw. Change of SSR was dominantly controlled by water-stable aggregate (WSA), penetration resistance (PR), soil organic matter (SOM), structure stability index (SSI), mean weight diameter (MWD), root mass density (RMD), litter mass density (LMD) and amount of incorporated straw residual. The increase in SSR was linear with SSI, SOM, RMD and LMD, and logarithmic with MWD and WSA. The measured SSR could be well estimated by WSA, SOM, PR and RMD (R2 = 0.82). SSR could affect hydrological and erosion processes of croplands by reducing sediment connectivity and increasing land surface storage of runoff. The results of this study are helpful in understanding the spatial heterogeneity of SSR at the hillslope scale.

BackgroundThe human body is usually exposed to a variety of heavy metals at the same time, and different types and concentrations of heavy metals may have complex interactions during their absorption and metabolism in the human body. Seminal fructose is an important energy source for sperm movement. A large number of studies have shown that metal exposure may impair semen quality, and seminal fructose is an important factor affecting male reproduction, so it is necessary to investigate the relationship between mixed heavy metal exposure and seminal fructose to explore the mechanism of semen quality damage caused by metal exposure. ObjectiveTo understand the status of common heavy metal exposure in men of childbearing age in Puyang City, Henan Province, and to study the relationship between mixed exposure to heavy metals and seminal fructose, as well as potential interactions among heavy metals. MethodsVolunteers were recruited from the Puyang Maternal and Child Health Hospital Reproductive Center for a cross-sectional survey on general demographic characteristics, smoking, alcohol consumption, and other information. Semen samples were collected to detect 12 metals such as vanadium (V), manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), silver (Ag), cadmium (Cd), barium (Ba), thallium (Tl), iron (Fe), and lead (Pb) in seminal plasma and seminal fructose. After correcting for selected confounding factors, a Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) model was used to evaluate the impact of seminal plasma heavy metal mixed exposure and its interactions on seminal fructose. ResultsA total of 825 adult males were enrolled. The concentrations in M (P25, P75) of V, Mn, Co, Ni, Zn, Se, Ag, Cd, Ba, Tl, Fe, and Pb in seminal plasma were 0.39 (0.28, 0.54), 12.31 (8.92, 17.52), 0.26 (0.18, 0.38), 5.15 (3.32, 8.64), 182159.80 (121847.80, 199144.50), 13.61 (10.55, 17.68), 0.03 (0.02, 0.04), 0.34 (0.27, 0.46), 8.64 (5.94, 13.43), 0.06 (0.05, 0.08), 168.74 (114.17, 259.45), and 1.69 (1.15, 2.36) μg·L−1 respectively. The Spearman correlation results indicated that there was a negative correlation between V, Mn, Co, Zn, Se, Ba, Tl, or Fe in seminal plasma and seminal fructose (P

Abstract Pyroelectric energy harvesting has received increasing attention due to its ability to convert low-grade waste heat into electricity. However, the low output energy density driven by low-grade temperature limits its practical applications. Here, we show a high-performance hybrid BNT-BZT-xGaN thermal energy harvesting system with environmentally friendly lead-free BNT-BZT pyroelectric matrix and high thermal conductivity GaN as dopant. The theoretical analysis of BNT-BZT and BNT-BZT-xGaN with x = 0.1 wt% suggests that the introduction of GaN facilitates the resonance vibration between Ga and Ti, O atoms, which not only contributes to the enhancement of the lattice heat conduction, but also improves the vibration of TiO6 octahedra, resulting in simultaneous improvement of thermal conductivity and pyroelectric coefficient. Therefore, a thermoelectric coupling enhanced energy harvesting density of 80 μJ cm−3 has been achieved in BNT-BZT-xGaN ceramics with x = 0.1 wt% driven by a temperature variation of 2 oC, at the optical load resistance of 600 MΩ.

In order to prevent and control the disaster of large deformation and strong ore pressure in the heading roadway under the arrangement of retaining small coal pillars in double roadway heading, the pressure relief technology of deep and shallow hole combined blasting was put forward based on the engineering background of Zhaozhuang coal industry.Through the research on the mechanical structure of the roof of the small pillar roadway and the mechanism of deep and shallow hole combined blasting, the correlation between the deflection of the gob roadway and the roof L of the goaf is revealed, and the location of the roof dip fracture is determined, so as to clarify the mechanism of the deep and shallow hole combined double-layer blasting to eliminate scour and protect the roadway and the mechanism of the deep and shallow hole combined guiding mechanics;The parameters of blasting scheme are determined by theoretical calculation and field test of articulated block.Engineering practice shows that:The pressure relief technology of deep and shallow hole combined blasting can weaken the energy storage attribute of hard composite roof media, optimize the triangle block structure of the goaf boundary roof, and reduce the accumulated energy density of the roof by about 4000 J at the same scale;The boundary roof of the goaf in 1313 working face collapsed in time after mining to reduce the squeezing effect of the roof on the coal pillar. The stress concentration coefficients at the measuring points at different depths of the coal pillar were 1.38 and 1.29, respectively, and the stress concentration degree was significantly reduced;The fan-shaped peaking results show that the fractures in the lower strata are obviously developed, and the upper strata are gradually damaged and fractured. Combined blasting in the roof inclination can reduce the length of the hanging roof of block B, destroy the articulated structure of the old roof, and weaken the slewing and sinking effect of the block.The maximum displacement of 13163 roadway roof and floor and two sides is 440 mm and 205 mm respectively. The blasting measures effectively restrain the roadway deformation, and no dynamic phenomena such as wall caving occur, achieving the goal of deep and shallow hole combined blasting.

In order to improve the leaf color and optimize the facility of cultivation system of Aglaonema commutatum ‘Big apple’, its hydroponic seedlings were used as the test material in this study, six light qualities (white light, R∶B = 1∶1, R∶B = 1∶2, R∶B = 2∶1, R∶B = 1∶3, R∶B = 3∶1, in which R and B represent red light and blue light, respectively) and two photoperiods (8 h·d-1, 12 h·d-1) were cross cultured to determine the growth amount, biomass, soil and plant analyzer development (SPAD) value, anthocyanin content and leaf color parameters（hue value a*, hue value b*, luminosity L* and hue angle h*）, and to investigate its response to red and blue light qualities and photoperiodic interactions. The results were as follows: (1) The dry weight and fresh weight of A. commutatum seedlings treated with LP11 (R∶B=1∶3×12 h·d-1) were the highest, which was most conducive to plant growth and biomass accumulation; followed by LP5 (R∶B=1∶3×8 h·d-1) treatment. (2) Under the same light quality condition, the SPAD value of 8 h·d-1 photoperiod was higher than that of 12 h·d-1 photoperiod, the anthocyanin content of 12 h·d-1 photoperiod was higher than that of 8 h·d-1 photoperiod, the SPAD value of LP11 treatment was the lowest and the anthocyanin content was the highest. The leaf color parameters a* and b* of A. commutatum cultured in 12 h·d-1 photoperiod were higher than those in 8 h·d-1 photoperiod, and the value of h* was lower than that in 8 h·d-1 photoperiod. (3) The principal component analysis showed that the LP11 treatment was the most effective in promoting the growth and leaf color improvement of A. commutatum. In conclusion, 12 h·d-1 photoperiod is more conducive to the growth and leaf color change of A. commutatum, and LP11 treatment is the best combination of light quality and photoperiod.

Abstract Medicinal plants represent a huge reservoir of secondary metabolites (SMs), substances with significant pharmaceutical and industrial potential. However, obtaining secondary metabolites remains a challenge due to their low-yield accumulation in medicinal plants; moreover, these secondary metabolites are produced through tightly coordinated pathways involving many spatiotemporally and environmentally regulated steps. The first regulatory layer involves a complex network of transcription factors; a second, more recently discovered layer of complexity in the regulation of SMs is epigenetic modification, such as DNA methylation, histone modification and small RNA-based mechanisms, which can jointly or separately influence secondary metabolites by regulating gene expression. Here, we summarize the findings in the fields of genetic and epigenetic regulation with a special emphasis on SMs in medicinal plants, providing a new perspective on the multiple layers of regulation of gene expression. Graphical Abstract

Abstract Glioma is a common primary tumor of the central nervous system (CNS), with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) being the most malignant, aggressive, and drug resistant. Most drugs are designed to induce cancer cell death, either directly or indirectly, but malignant tumor cells can always evade death and continue to proliferate, resulting in a poor prognosis for patients. This reflects our limited understanding of the complex regulatory network that cancer cells utilize to avoid death. In addition to classical apoptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, and autophagy are recognized as key cell death modalities that play significant roles in tumor progression. Various inducers or inhibitors have been discovered to target the related molecules in these pathways, and some of them have already been translated into clinical treatment. In this review, we summarized recent advances in the molecular mechanisms of inducing or inhibiting pyroptosis, ferroptosis, or autophagy in GBM, which are important for treatment or drug tolerance. We also discussed their links with apoptosis to better understand the mutual regulatory network among different cell death processes. Video Abstract

Wearable healthcare systems have captured the interest of researchers because they enable smarter and more personalized healthcare. However, these systems are limited by a separation between biosensors and therapeutic units that results in interrupted treatment and compromised patient recovery. It is therefore imperative to develop wearable closed‐loop medical devices that fully integrate physiological/pathological monitoring, signal feedback detection, diagnostics, and on‐demand therapeutic administration. Such systems require safe, sustainable, and continuously operating power sources, and bioenergy has gained attention in this regard because it can be sourced continuously from the human body without requiring substantial rigid energy storage space. The effective utilization of bioenergy would enable the realization of a self‐driven closed‐loop medical system with treatment‐monitoring feedback.

Steep gully slope is the primary geomorphic composition on the Loess Plateau with serious soil erosion. The impact of plant (leaf, litter and root) on soil nutrients and their stoichiometric characteristics, and the correlations between them are not yet fully understood on steep gully slopes. This study was conducted to identify the correlations of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) contents and their stoichiometry between soil, and leaf, litter and root under typical plant communities on Chinese Loess Plateau's steep gully slopes. Total six communities (two shrubs and four grasses) and one farmland planted with Zea mays (control) were tested. Within the selected quadrat (shrub of 2 m × 2 m, grass of 1 m × 1 m), the fresh and mature leaves were firstly taken in different positions of the plant, and then all the surface litters were gathered. Root and soil were taken from the 0–120 cm depth, which was divided into seven soil layers (0–10, 10–20, 20–30, 30–40, 40–60, 60–80 and 80–120 cm). Our results revealed that significant differences were detected in C, N, P contents and stoichiometry of plant (leaf, litter and root) and soil among most of plant communities. For various plant communities, shrub communities had higher contents of C, N and P in leaves, litter and roots. Soil organic carbon and total nitrogen contents declined with soil depth by 61% to 87% and 45% to 77%, respectively. Total contents of soil P and root C, N, P varied irregularly along with soil. It was proved that shrub communities were relatively P-deficient, while farmland and grass communities were N-limited. Besides, partial N and P nutrients were released to soil from litter on steep gully slopes. Significant correlations between soil C, N, P contents and that of the root and litter were examined. Furthermore, the correlations became more significant when C, N and P nutrients of root and litter were quantified by their storages. This study offers a deep understanding of the interactions between soil and plant nutrients, which is conducive to future ecological environment management and improvement in the semi-arid region.

Statistical size and geometrical size are the main factors affecting the service life of mechanical structure calculation. To explore the reliability of the lifespan of beam structures, a probability lifespan numerical calculation method based on Vector Form Intrinsic Finite Element Method (VFIFEM) was proposed, and the method was verified through full lifespan experiments on I-beam welded structures. First, a fatigue fracture model that considers the coupling of residual stress (RS) and cyclic load variations was established. Based on this fatigue fracture model, a probability lifespan calculation model for beam elements was defined by proposing a cross-sectional shape correction coefficient and a position correction coefficient. The proposed probability lifespan model for beam elements was used to calculate the I-beam welded structure, and the calculated results were compared with the full lifespan experiment results, which were close in statistical results, with all experimental results falling within the [10%, 90%] interval except for one experiment. This method effectively couples the influence of statistical size and geometric size on probability lifespan, providing a new approach for the structure probability lifespan calculation in the future.

This paper proposed a novel distributed memetic evolutionary model, where four modules distributed exploration, intensified exploitation, knowledge transfer, and evolutionary restart are coevolved to maximize their strengths and achieve superior global optimality. Distributed exploration evolves three independent populations by heterogenous operators. Intensified exploitation evolves an external elite archive in parallel with exploration to balance global and local searches. Knowledge transfer is based on a point-ring communication topology to share successful experiences among distinct search agents. Evolutionary restart adopts an adaptive perturbation strategy to control search diversity reasonably. Quantum computation is a newly emerging technique, which has powerful computing power and parallelized ability. Therefore, this paper further fuses quantum mechanisms into the proposed evolutionary model to build a new evolutionary algorithm, referred to as quantum-inspired distributed memetic algorithm (QDMA). In QDMA, individuals are represented by the quantum characteristics and evolved by the quantum-inspired evolutionary optimizers in the quantum hyperspace. The QDMA integrates the superiorities of distributed, memetic, and quantum evolution. Computational experiments are carried out to evaluate the superior performance of QDMA. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of special designs and show that QDMA has greater superiority compared to the compared state-of-the-art algorithms based on Wilcoxon’s rank-sum test. The superiority is attributed not only to good cooperative coevolution of distributed memetic evolutionary model, but also to superior designs of each special component.

Practical applications of perception, communication, computing, etc. in modern energy industry continually generate large scale data from diversified monitoring terminals. Such massive information has the characteristics like heterogeneity, time sequence, low value density, etc. To promptly obtain high quality data served for safe operation of power network, this paper developed a simultaneous prediction algorithm for multiple source–loads combing sliding time window with convolutional neural network (CNN). The contributions lie in such aspects as extraction of high-value training samples, construction of CNN catered for multiple source–loads and prediction efficiency. Firstly, after the incomplete and abnormal information of raw samples are processed through median filtering and interpolation, the correlation analysis of time series and sliding time window are employed to extract high-value training samples served for CNN. Also, a simultaneous prediction model suitable for multiple source–loads is constructed by modifying CNN. In addition, integrated with the characteristics of the proposed CNN architecture, the parallel strategies based on task parallel and data parallel are designed to achieve rapidly quality prediction for massive and heterogeneous energy sources and loads. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can obtain the higher predicting accuracy simultaneously satisfying requirements of diversified energy source and loads. Loads of experimental comparisons in multicore chips show that the proposed parallel strategies can offer increased speedup under massive prediction.

The natural vegetation in the lower reaches in the inland basins of northwest China is strongly dependent on the groundwater ecological function, and the lithology and structure of the vadose zone has a significant impact on the groundwater ecological function. However, there is a lack of systematic and specific research on how to quantitatively analyze and evaluate the degree of influence. The natural oasis area in the lower reaches of the Shiyang River Basin in Gansu Province is taken as the research area, and field investigation, soil column test and numerical simulation with Hydrus1-D are carried out to study the ecological effect of the coupling effect between the vadose zone and groundwater. The difference of water supply ability and water holding ability of the vadose zone with different lithologic structure is analyzed, and the influences of lithology and structure of the vadose zone on the groundwater ecological function is quantitatively compared. The results show that (1) the lithological structure of different vadose zones has different effects on the groundwater ecological function when the groundwater depth increases or decreases. (2) When the groundwater depth decreases gradually, under the same vegetation condition, the finer the lithologic particles in the vadose zone, the higher the height and speed of the supporting capillary water rises, and the faster the soil obtains groundwater recharge, and the more beneficial it is to the growth of the surface vegetation. (3) The effective water holding capacity of the vadose zone in the arid area has ecological effect of maintaining the survival of land surface vegetation after the local groundwater depth increases greatly. The effective water holding capacity of the medium lithologic particles is the largest, which has the most obvious ecological effect on maintaining vegetation. Compared with a single lithology, the combination of multiple lithologies is more conducive to hold larger effective water capacity and stronger ecological effect. The results will be helpful to strengthen the understanding of the regulation of the vadose zone in groundwater ecological function, and can provide a scientific basis for the fine management of water resources and ecological protection in arid regions.

The plain areas of northwest inland basins have few precipitation and strong evaporation. In recent 50 years, the area of natural oases in the lower reaches of each basin has been shrinking. The Shiyang River Basin and the Aiding Lake Basin are taken as the research areas, and the main causes and mechanism for natural oasis degeneration in the downstream areas are examined in this paper. Based on the investigation of farmland areas, surface runoff from the mountains and its irrigation reference water, groundwater exploitation and surface runoff flowing into the downstream areas, in-situ monitoring of shallow groundwater level depth and soil moisture physical indexes in the vadose zone, unified measurement of groundwater levels, and the type and distribution range of natural vegetation based on the data obtained from remote sensing interpretation such as coverage and NDVI index, the above problems are studied by using the theory of watershed water cycle and water balance, time series analysis and geoscience multiple correlation analysis methods. The results show that (1) the root cause of the serious degradation of the natural oases in the lower reaches of northwest inland watersheds in recent 50 years is the lack of natural water resources, the main reason are the continuous increase of population and the large-scale diversion of surface runoff from mountains in the middle reaches. (2) The continuous expansion of irrigated cultivated land is the main driving factor for the shrinkage of the natural oasis area in the lower reaches. Every increase of 1.0 km2 of irrigated cultivated land leads to the reduction of the natural oasis area in the lower reaches of the Shiyang River Basin and the plain area of the Aiding Lake Basin, which are 1.35−2.07 km2 and 1.57−3.83 km2, respectively. The drier the climate is, the less the annual runoff from the mountains in the upstream is, the greater the ratio of the runoff from the mountains blocked by irrigated farmland to the total runoff in the current year, and the less the surface runoff flowing into the downstream areas, resulting in the greater reduction of the area of natural oases in the downstream areas. (3) The degradation of natural oases in the northwest inland basins is controllable, but it is restricted by the lack of water resources. Under the background of lack of water resources, the scale of farmland water use driven by the current population is difficult to reduce. It is necessary to orderly promote the harmony between the scale of economic and social water use and the scale of natural oasis restoration and water supply. Therefore, the results of this study may provide an important scientific basis for the rational development and utilization of water resources and the restoration of natural oasis degradation in northwest China.

The farmland around wetland in the arid areas in northwest China is easily salinized. Reasonably controlling and reducing groundwater levels in real time is an effective way of protecting wetland and preventing and controlling farmland salinization. The typical demonstration zone is selected in the transitional zone of wetland and farmland near the Dengmaying Lake of the Shiyang River Basin in the arid area. The dynamic characteristics of groundwater depth and the synergic relationship between groundwater depth and salt content of topsoil are analyzed. The threshold value of the ecological water table is confirmed. The Intelligentized dual control technology of water table and its quantity is developed, which is based on groups of radial wells connected by siphons. The key points of the technology are as follows：one well collecting many radial wells by siphons is used for increasing the water yield of the well in the aquitard and contributing to control the water level in the form of a plane. The subsystem consisting of the electricity system, signal system and controllers is used to control the groundwater level and water yield in real time. Demonstration test of the key technology application is carried out and the application effect is remarkable. The results show that when the groundwater depth increases，the risk of salinization and bulrush coverage fraction in wetland decreases. The threshold value of groundwater depth for protecting wetland and preventing and controlling farmland salinization ranges from 1.9 to 3.0 m. The intelligentized regulatory system could make the groundwater depth stay in the suitable ecological range in the stage of evaporation from phreatic water in July and August of each year, when is the critical period of topsoil salification. The regulation not only can decrease the increasing amplitude of soil conductivity caused by irrigation, but also reduce the speed of topsoil salification. The effect of dissolving and controlling salt by the dual control technology of water table and its quantity is more obvious under the condition of fresh water irrigation than under the condition of brackish water. The technology can help realize the accurate regulation and control of groundwater level and it is of realistic significance for wetland protection and preventing and controlling farmland salinization in arid areas.

Scutellarin related drugs have superior therapeutic effects on cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases. Here, an optimal biosynthetic pathway for scutellarin was constructed in Yarrowia lipolytica platform due to its excellent metabolic potential. By integrating multi-copies of core genes from different species, the production of scutellarin was increased from 15.11 mg/L to 94.79 mg/L and the ratio of scutellarin to the main by-product was improved about 110-fold in flask condition. Finally, the production of scutellarin was improved 23-fold and reached to 346 mg/L in fed-batch bioreactor, which was the highest reported titer for de novo production of scutellarin in microbes. Our results represent a solid basis for further production of natural products on unconventional yeasts and have a potential of industrial implementation.

In this study, the function of a non-ribosomal peptide synthetase-like (NRPS-like) encoding gene AOL_s00188g306 (g306) was investigated to reveal the association between NRPS and nematocidal activity in the nematode-trapping fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora. Sequence analysis indicated that the encoded product of g306 is an adenylation domain of non-ribosomal peptide synthetases and extended short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase domain-containing proteins, and displays a wide substrate spectrum. The Δg306 mutants were more sensitive to chemical stressors than the wild type. Disruption of g306 impeded the nematocidal efficiency of A. oligospora. Metabolomics analysis showed that secondary metabolite biosynthesis and lipid metabolism were altered in the mutants. The phenotypic changes in the mutants can be attributed to the down-regulation of various metabolites, including fatty acyls, prenol lipids, steroidsand steroid derivative, and amino acid derivatives, identified in the present study. This study investigated the association between the non-ribosomal polypeptide-encoding gene g306 and nematicidal activity in A. oligospora, providing a reference for resolving the predation mechanism of nematode-trapping fungus.

PurposeMany patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) cannot undergo thrombolysis or thrombectomy because they have missed the time window or do not meet the treatment criteria. In addition, there is a lack of an available tool to predict the prognosis of patients with standardized treatment. This study aimed to develop a dynamic nomogram to predict the 3-month poor outcomes in patients with AIS.MethodsThis was a retrospective multicenter study. We collected the clinical data of patients with AIS who underwent standardized treatment at the First People's Hospital of Lianyungang from 1 October 2019 to 31 December 2021 and at the Second People's Hospital of Lianyungang from 1 January 2022 to 17 July 2022. Baseline demographic, clinical, and laboratory information of patients were recorded. The outcome was the 3-month modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression were used to select the optimal predictive factors. Multiple logistic regression was performed to establish the nomogram. A decision curve analysis (DCA) was applied to assess the clinical benefit of the nomogram. The calibration and discrimination properties of the nomogram were validated by calibration plots and the concordance index.ResultsA total of 823 eligible patients were enrolled. The final model included gender (male; OR 0.555; 95% CI, 0.378–0.813), systolic blood pressure (SBP; OR 1.006; 95% CI, 0.996–1.016), free triiodothyronine (FT3; OR 0.841; 95% CI, 0.629–1.124), National Institutes of Health stroke scale (NIHSS; OR 18.074; 95% CI, 12.264–27.054), Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST; cardioembolic (OR 0.736; 95% CI, 0.396–1.36); and other subtypes (OR 0.398; 95% CI, 0.257–0.609). The nomogram showed good calibration and discrimination (C-index, 0.858; 95% CI, 0.830–0.886). DCA confirmed the clinical usefulness of the model. The dynamic nomogram can be obtained at the website: predict model (90-day prognosis of AIS patients).ConclusionWe established a dynamic nomogram based on gender, SBP, FT3, NIHSS, and TOAST, which calculated the probability of 90-day poor prognosis in AIS patients with standardized treatment.

Orcinol glucoside (OG), mainly found in the rhizome of the traditional Chinese herb Curculigo orchioides Gaertn, is noted for its antidepressant effects. In this study, an efficient screening pipeline was established for identifying the highly active orcinol synthase (ORS) and UDP-dependent glycosyltransferase (UGT) involved in the biosynthesis of OG by combining transcriptome analysis, structure-based virtual screening, and in vitro enzyme activity assays. By enhancing the downstream pathway, metabolic engineering and fermentation optimization, the OG production in Yarrowia lipolytica was improved 100-fold, resulting in a final yield of 43.46 g/L (0.84 g/g DCW), which is almost 6,400-fold higher than the extraction yield from C. orchioides roots. This study provides a reference for rapid identification of functional genes and high-yield production of natural products.

Abstract The E3 ubiquitin ligase HECTD3 is homologous with the E6 related protein carboxyl terminus, which plays a vital role in biological modification, including immunoreactivity, drug resistance and apoptosis. Current research indicates that HECTD3 promotes the malignant proliferation of multiple tumors and increases drug tolerance. Our study primarily explored the important function and effects of HECTD3 in gastric cancer. Here, we discovered that HECTD3 is abnormally activated in gastric cancer, and the clinical prognosis database suggested that HECTD3 was strongly expressed in gastric cancer. Depletion of HECTD3 restrained the proliferative and clone abilities of cells and induced the apoptosis of gastric cancer cells. Mechanistically, our findings revealed that interaction between HECTD3 and c-MYC, and that the DOC domain of HECTD3 interacted with the CP and bHLHZ domains of c-MYC. Furthermore, we discovered that HECTD3 mediates K29-linked polyubiquitination of c-MYC. Then, our research indicated that cysteine mutation at amino acid 823 (ubiquitinase active site) of HECTD3 reduces the polyubiquitination of c-MYC. Our experimental results reveal that HECTD3 facilitates the malignant proliferation of gastric cancer by mediating K29 site-linked polyubiquitination of c-MYC. HECTD3 might become a curative marker.

Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F.H. Chen is a species of the Araliaceae family that inhabits southwestern China, Burma, and Nepal. It is cultivated on a commercial scale in Yunnan province, China, owing to its significance in traditional Chinese medicine. Panax notoginseng roots are usually yellow-white (HS); however, purple roots (ZS) have also been reported. The majority of P. notoginseng research has concentrated on the identification and production of natural chemicals in HS; however, there is little to no information about the composition of ZS. Using UPLC-MS/MS, we investigated the global metabolome profile of both ZS- and HS-type roots and discovered 834 metabolites from 11 chemical groups. There were 123 differentially accumulated metabolites (DAM) in the HS and ZS roots, which were classified as lipids and lipid-like molecules, polyketides, organoheterocyclic chemicals, and organooxygen compounds. We investigated the associated compounds in the DAMs because of the importance of anthocyanins in color and saponins and ginsenosides in health benefits. In general, we discovered that pigment compounds such as petunidin 3-glucoside, delphinidin 3-glucoside, and peonidin-3-O-beta-galactoside were more abundant in ZS. The saponin (eight compounds) and ginsenoside (26 compounds) content of the two varieties of roots differed as well. Transcriptome sequencing revealed that flavonoid and anthocyanin production genes were more abundant in ZS than in HS. Similarly, we found differences in gene expression in genes involved in terpenoid production and related pathways. Overall, these findings suggest that the purple roots of P. notoginseng contain varying amounts of ginsenosides and anthocyanins compared to roots with a creamy yellow color.

The catalytic production of higher alcohols (HAs) is a promising path for converting CO2 into value-added chemical products. The application is still limited by the low selectivity of HAs (less than 10%) on most catalysts. Here, we report a tandem catalyst consisting of Mn-Cu-K modified iron carbide and CuZnAlZr catalyst. The modification of iron carbide with Mn, Cu and K promoters improves the formation of HAs (13.5% Sel.), and the construction of tandem catalysts with CuZnAlZr can further enhance the catalytic performance. By examining different catalyst filling methods and the filling ratio of the tandem catalyst, it was found that the powder mixing resulted in a higher selectivity of HAs with a mass ratio of the two components of 1:1, and a synergistic effect leads to a higher selectivity of HAs (15.5%) with about 40% of propanol and butanol among HAs.

Abstract To investigate the optimal blood pressure (BP) levels and relative importance of BP and BP variability in the early phase of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) for hypertensive patients with carotid artery stenosis (CAS). A single‐center cohort study included 750 AIS patients with hypertension and tests were performed for CAS. Participants were categorized to Group 1 (SBP

IntroductionRadix Notoginseng, one of the most famous Chinese traditional medicines, is the dried root of Panax notoginseng (Araliaceae). Stems and leaves of P. notoginseng (SLPN) are rich in secondary metabolites and nutrients, and authorized as a food resource, however, its utilization needs further research.MethodsA SLPN-instant beverage was manufactured from SLPN through optimization by response surface design with 21-fold of 48.50% ethanol for 39 h, and this extraction was repeated twice; the extraction solution was concentrated to 1/3 volume using a vacuum rotatory evaporator at 45°C, and then spray dried at 110°C. Nutritional components including 14 amino acids, ten mineral elements, 15 vitamins were detected in the SLPN-instant beverage; forty-three triterpenoid saponins, e.g., ginsenoside La, ginsenoside Rb3, notoginsenoside R1, and two flavonoid glycosides, as well as dencichine were identified by UPLC-MS.ResultsThe extraction rate of SLPN-instant beverage was 37.89 ± 0.02%. The majority nutrients were Gly (2.10 ± 0.63 mg/g), His (1.23 ± 0.07 mg/g), α-VE (18.89 ± 1.87 μg/g), β-VE (17.53 ± 1.98 μg/g), potassium (49.26 ± 2.70 mg/g), calcium (6.73 ± 0.27 mg/g). The total saponin of the SLPN-instant beverage was 403.05 ± 34.98 mg/g, majority was notoginsenoside Fd and with contents of 227 ± 2.02 mg/g. In addition, catechin and γ-aminobutyric acid were detected with levels of 24.57 ± 0.21 mg/g and 7.50 ± 1.85 mg/g, respectively. The SLPN-instant beverage showed good antioxidant activities with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) for scavenging hydroxyl (OH–) radicals, superoxide anion (O2–) radicals, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS+) radicals were 0.1954, 0.2314, 0.4083, and 0.3874 mg/mL, respectively.ConclusionWe optimized an analytical method for in depth analysis of the newly authorized food resource SLPN. Together, an instant beverage with antioxidant activity, rich in nutrients and secondary metabolites, was manufactured from SLPN, which may improve the utilization of SLPN.

The “Grain for Green” project (GGP) was launched in 1999 on China’s Loess Plateau to reduce soil erosion, which had far-reaching impacts on the local eco-hydrological processes. In this study, we use monthly runoff depth and precipitation datasets spanning 1961 to 2015 for 16 primary basins of the plateau to reveal changes in runoff generation capacity before and after the GGP. We use a Budyko-based elasticity method to calculate the runoff depth (R1) and runoff coefficient (C1) exclusively attributable to land use/cover change. Results indicate that the mean annual runoff coefficients (C0) decline by 26%–76% from the periods 1961–1999 to 2000–2015. The annual observed runoff depth (R0) and C0 for 75% of basins show significant downward trends during 1961–1999; after the implementation of the GGP, both annual R0 and annual C0 for over 50% of basins show upward trends. The study further finds that the increase of erosive rainfall during the period 2000–2015, whose mean increasing rate reaches 4.6 mm/year, is the main reason for the upward trends of R0 and C0. After removing the effect of precipitation variation during this period, we find that 11 out of 16 basins show decreased trends for C1, with the downward rate between 2.4% and 6.0% per year. The reduction rate in semi-arid areas is about four times the rate in semi-humid areas. The results remind us to consider the carrying capacity of local water resources when implementing soil and water conservation measures across the Loess Plateau.