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Abstract Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is characterized by poor responsiveness to immune evasion and immunotherapy. RNA 7-methylguanine (m7G) modification plays a key role in tumorigenesis. However, the mechanisms by which m7G-modified RNA metabolism affects tumor progression are not fully understood, nor is the contribution of m7G-modified RNA to the CRC immune microenvironment. Methods The expression levels of Methyltransferase-like 1 (METTL1) and m7G in human tissues were determined. In this study, the effect of METTL1 on RNA m7G levels was evaluated, the effect of METTL1 on PKM mRNA modification was confirmed, the expression level of the PKM2 protein was detected, and the mechanism involved RT‒qPCR, Western blot, RNA stability analysis and RIP analysis. Lactate and H3K9 lactylation (H3K9la) induced by METTL1/PKM2 were analyzed via the extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) and lactic acid assays. Cut&Run was used to detect METTL1/PKM2-induced CD155 (PVR) transcription. In addition, METTL1 knockout mice were studied in vivo with CD155 blockers. Results We demonstrated that m7G RNA METTL1 enhances PKM2 expression by acting on PKM mRNA, leading to tumor progression and increased glycolysis. Specifically, METTL1 mediates m7G methylation of PKM mRNA and enhances the expression of its encoded PKM2, which in turn enhances glycolysis, promotes H3K9la, and activates METTL1 transcription, creating a positive feedback loop. Moreover, increased PKM2 dimer expression and nuclear translocation activated CD155 expression and induced CRC immune evasion. Conclusions Our findings reveal a general mechanism by which METTL1/PKM2/H3K9la signaling regulates RNA metabolism and highlight METTL1 targeting as a potential strategy for CRC immunotherapy.

Abstract Prostate cancer (PCa) is a highly heterogeneous disease, encompassing various molecular and clinical pathological subtypes. Fusion genes play a facilitating role in the occurrence and progression of PCa. We categorized PCa samples into the ETS family of transcription factors fusion positive and fusion negative subtypes based on fusion genes. This subtyping method is closely related to the epigenomic DNA methylation profiles of PCa, with each sample cluster including more than 85% of the patients. We conducted an analysis of the distribution of the ETS family fusion genes on chromosomes, fusion modes within reading frames, and predictions of structural domains. Among these, the highest frequency of the ETS family related fusion genes occurred on chromosome 21. Compared to the parental genes, fusion genes exhibited new structural domains, such as IG_like, and the most common fusion mode was out-of-frame fusion. The correlation between the methylation levels of hypermethylated CpG sites and the expression levels of their corresponding mRNAs indicates that CD8A and B3GNT5 (with correlations of − 0.388 and − 0.253, respectively) could serve as potential prognostic markers for PCa.

Total factor productivity is an important symbol of high-quality economic development. At present, the question of whether the digital economy can infuse fresh impetus into enhancing total factor productivity has emerged as a prominent concern in China. This paper constructs a new undesirable output to measure comprehensive total factor productivity (CTFP) with the slack-based measure (SBM) undesirable Malmquist-Luenberger index by using 2011-2020 Chinese provincial panel data. Then, this paper explores the impact of the digital economy (DIG) on CTFP with a fixed effects (FE) panel model and a mediating effect model. The results show that CTFP increases by an average of 3.9%, technical efficiency contributes -1.1%, and the contribution rate of technological progress is 5.0%. Technological progress is the main source of CTFP growth. The empirical findings show that the DIG has a positive and significant impact on CTFP. This paper conducts various robustness tests, and the results remain consistent with the previous conclusion. Moreover, mechanism tests suggest that the promoting effect of the DIG on CTFP can be attributed to three main effects: technological innovation, the factor endowment structure and the educational level. Furthermore, the results of heterogeneity analysis demonstrate that the promoting effect of the DIG on CTFP exists in China’s eastern, central and western regions. The findings of this research can serve as a valuable reference for informing decision-making processes related to environmental governance and high-quality economic development in China.

We experimentally demonstrate the use of a multi-plane light converter (MPLC) as a non-mode selective (de)multiplexer for converting Hermite-Gaussian (HG) modes into a Hadamard matrix of fundamental Gaussian spots and vice versa. We interferometrically measure and characterize the complex output of the device and successfully demonstrate the conversion between HG modes and Hadamard matrices of Gaussian spots. The MPLC non-mode selective (de)multiplexers can be useful for versatile control of spatial properties of light beams with potential applications in beam shaping, coherent beam combining, and wavefront synthesis.

Summary: Background: Chemoresistance is a critical factor contributing to poor prognosis in clinical patients with cancer undergoing postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. The role of gut microbiota in mediating resistance to tumour chemotherapy remains to be investigated. Methods: Patients with CRC were categorised into clinical benefit responders (CBR) and no clinical benefit responders (NCB) based on chemotherapy efficacy. Differential bacterial analysis using 16S rRNA sequencing revealed Desulfovibrio as a distinct microbe between the two groups. Employing a syngeneic transplantation model, we assessed the effect of Desulfovibrio on chemotherapy by measuring tumour burden, weight, and Ki-67 expression. We further explored the mechanisms underlying the compromised chemotherapeutic efficacy of Desulfovibrio using metabolomics, western blotting, colony formation, and cell apoptosis assays. Findings: In comparison, Desulfovibrio was more abundant in the NCB group. In vivo experiments revealed that Desulfovibrio colonisation in the gut weakened the efficacy of FOLFOX. Treatment with Desulfovibrio desulfuricans elevates serum S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) levels. Interestingly, SAM reduced the sensitivity of CRC cells to FOLFOX, thereby promoting the growth of CRC tumours. These experiments suggest that SAM promotes the growth and metastasis of CRC by driving the expression of methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3). Interpretation: A high abundance of Desulfovibrio in the intestines indicates poor therapeutic outcomes for postoperative neoadjuvant FOLFOX chemotherapy in CRC. Desulfovibrio drives the manifestation of METTL3 in CRC, promoting resistance to FOLFOX chemotherapy by increasing the concentration of SAM. Funding: This study is supported by Wuxi City Social Development Science and Technology Demonstration Project (N20201005).

IntroductionFerula is a traditional, edible, and important medicinal plant with high economic value. The distinction between edible and non-edible Ferula remains unclear.MethodsIn this study, headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS) and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) non-targeted metabolomics techniques were used to systematically and comprehensively analyse secondary metabolites in the leaves and roots of four species of Ferula, considering their edibility.ResultsA total of 166 leaf volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and 1,079 root metabolites were identified. Additionally, 42 potential VOCs and 62 differential root metabolites were screened to distinguish between edible and non-edible Ferula. Twelve volatile metabolites were specific to F. feurlaeoides, and eight compounds were specific to the three edible Ferula species. The results showed that compounds containing sulphur, aldehydes, and ketones, which produce pungent odours, were the primary sources of the strong odour of Ferula. The root differential metabolites include 13 categories, among which the high concentration group is organic acids, amino acids, terpenoids and fatty acids. The bioactive metabolites and VOCs in the roots exhibited species-specific characteristics. VOCs with various odors were linked to the distribution of root metabolites in both edible and non-edible Ferula plants. The screened root markers may contribute to the formation of characteristic VOCs.DiscussionThis study identified the difference in flavour between edible and non-edible Ferula plants and, for the first time, demonstrated the contribution of the efficacy of Ferula root to the unique flavour of the above-ground parts of Ferula. These results provide a theoretical basis for selecting Ferula for consumption and help evaluate the quality of different species of Ferula. Our findings may facilitate food processing and the further development of Ferula.

Abstract Solving linear systems, often accomplished by iterative algorithms, is a ubiquitous task in science and engineering. To accommodate the dynamic range and precision requirements, these iterative solvers are carried out on floating-point processing units, which are not efficient in handling large-scale matrix multiplications and inversions. Low-precision, fixed-point digital or analog processors consume only a fraction of the energy per operation than their floating-point counterparts, yet their current usages exclude iterative solvers due to the cumulative computational errors arising from fixed-point arithmetic. In this work, we show that for a simple iterative algorithm, such as Richardson iteration, using a fixed-point processor can provide the same convergence rate and achieve solutions beyond its native precision when combined with residual iteration. These results indicate that power-efficient computing platforms consisting of analog computing devices can be used to solve a broad range of problems without compromising the speed or precision.

[Objective] The effects of sugarcane planting methods 〔ratoon sugarcane (RS) and newly planting sugarcane (NS)〕 on soil erosion and nitrogen loss characteristics of slope land under natural rainfall were determined in order to provide a theoretical basis for regional water and soil loss prevention, and for determining reasonable planting practices for sugarcane. [Methods] In-situ observations were made of natural rainfall processes, runoff, sediment yield, and nitrate nitrogen and ammonium nitrogen losses under individual rainfall events for different sugarcane planting patterns 〔ratoon sugarcane (RS) and newly planting sugarcane (NS)〕 on lateritic soil from May to October in 2021. [Results] ① The numbers of individual erosive rainfall events in the NS and RS treatments were 40 and 43, respectively, and the erosive rainfall amounts were 981.8 mm and 1 013.0 mm, respectively, from May to October in 2021. Runoff, sediment, and nitrogen losses of sugarcane land mainly occurred in June. Nitrogen losses were mainly lost through surface runoff, accounting for more than 96.0% of the total nitrogen loss in runoff and sediment. Nitrate nitrogen loss accounted for more than 70% of total dissolved nitrogen in runoff, while ammonium nitrogen was the main nitrogen loss type in sediment (> 80%). Compared with the NS treatment, the total runoff and soil erosion of the RS treatment decreased by 31.8% and 83.5%, respectively, the loss of nitrate nitrogen and ammonium nitrogen in runoff decreased by 56.7% and 51.9%, and the sediment loss decreased by 85.4% and 60.2%. ② Runoff, sediment yield, and nitrogen losses of sugarcane land under the different treatments fluctuated with individual rainfall events among sugarcane growing treatments, and losses mainly arose from the rainfall occurring from June 3 to 24, 2021. The losses of nitrate and ammonium nitrogen in runoff and erosion sediment for the RS treatment were generally lower than for the NS treatment. Additionally, runoff, sediment, and the nitrogen losses in runoff erosion gradually decreased with the growth of sugarcane. ③ The maximum 30-minute rainfall intensity (I30) and rainfall were the main factors affecting nitrogen loss in sugarcane field runoff and sediment. The maximum 60-minute rainfall intensity (I60) and I30 were the main rainfall factors affecting the slope runoff erosion of the RS and NS treatments, respectively. [Conclusion] Losses of nitrate nitrogen and ammonium nitrogen in runoff and sediment in sugarcane land were mainly in the form of nitrate nitrogen occurring with surface runoff. Compared with the NS treatment, the RS treatment could effectively reduce runoff, erosion, and nitrogen losses during the sugarcane seedling stage and tillering stage. Differences between the two treatments gradually decreased in the later stage of elongation.

BackgroundImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) therapy can be complicated by their potential cardiovascular toxicities, including myocarditis. Nowadays, no prospective trials have focused on ICI-associated myocarditis optimized management. Available evidence only come from case reports or series. A systematic case reports analysis was conducted to collect and evaluate emerging evidence of ICI-associated myocarditis to provide more information to clinicians.MethodsWe performed a literature search for eligible case reports or series published between January 2018 and May 2023 using the PubMed database. Then, we extracted interesting information via table form. Finally, this study included 113 publications on 106 patients with ICI-associated myocarditis.ResultsMyocarditis was found to be a highly life-threatening disease, with 53.8% of cases. Over half of cases were life-threatening (G4, 23.6%) or severe (G3, 35.8%) and required glucocorticoids. Higher rates of improvement were associated with the best response to ICI for complete response/partial response (72.7% vs. 53.9%), glucocorticoid administration (30% vs. 22%), and discontinuation of ICI (58.8% vs. 32.1%). Consequently, ICI-associated G3–G4 myocarditis should be treated with a combination of discontinuation of ICIs, high-dose glucocorticoids, other drugs, chemical drugs, plasma exchange, and life support. For moderate G1 or G2 cases, discontinuation of ICIs and regular-dose glucocorticoids should be considered.ConclusionOnce full recovery or improvement was achieved; glucocorticoids can be administered at low doses or stopped. Notably, re-challenge with ICIs appears feasible after resolution or meaningful improvement of myocarditis.

Background Drought stress is a major prevalent environmental factor impairing growth. Melatonin mitigates the impacts of drought stress on plants. However, melatonin’s role in Phoebe sheareri (Hemsl.) Gamble (P. sheareri) is unknown. We aimed to reveal the protective effects of melatonin on P. sheareri seedlings under drought conditions. Methods Melatonin was sprayed under drought or normal water conditions. The parameters, including growth, physiological factors, and phytohormones of P. sheareri, were examined. Results Compared to the normal control group, drought stress inhibited the growth of seedlings and significantly reduced the content of carotenoids, SOD, POD, APX, PPO, CAT, GR, and soluble sugars, and increased the contents of MDA, O2•−, proline, soluble proteins, ABA, and JA-Me in P. sheareri seedlings. However, melatonin treatment significantly reversed the adverse drought-induced responses and promoted the P. sheareri seedling’s growth. Moreover, the heatmap and principal component analysis suggested a high similarity in the behavior patterns of the six measured antioxidant enzymes in P. sheareri seedlings. Conclusion Our study reported for the first time that melatonin has a protective role in P. sheareri seedlings under drought-stress conditions. This role is related to ROS scavenging, activation of antioxidant enzymes, and crosstalk of phytohormones. This study provided a theoretical basis for improving the ability of P. sheareri adapted to arid environments.

Increased pollution caused by socio-economic development has led to compound-contaminated high-hardness water pollution. In this study, laboratory-scale nanofiltration (NF) treatment of such water was investigated. Response-surface methodology was used to optimize the NF operating parameters, and a regression model with desalination rate and transmembrane pressure changes as response values was established. The NF membrane efficiencies in contaminant removal from groundwater and surface water with compound-contaminated high hardness and the membrane-fouling characteristics during long-term operation were investigated. The results show that the optimal operating parameters for the NF membrane in the removal of inorganic salts from groundwater are as follows: influent pH 8, influent pressure 1 MPa, and water yield 27.976%. The removal rates for groundwater total hardness, total alkalinity, total soluble solids, K+, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, , Cl−, , and were 99.4, 90.3, 84.7, 63.2, 56.8, 99.6, 95.2, 99.6, 68.3, 86.1, and 65.9%, respectively. Surface water contains more complex components; therefore, membrane fouling during surface water is more serious. The NF membrane was operated continuously for more than 35 days under the optimal operating conditions with no serious membrane fouling. HIGHLIGHTS Response-surface methodology was used to optimize the NF operating parameters.; NF membrane was operated continuously for more than 35 days under the optimal operating conditions with no serious membrane fouling.; The membrane fouling by hardness ion was analyzed by SEM-EDS.;

Halobenzoquinones are disinfection by-products with cytotoxicity, carcinogenicity, and genotoxicity. In this study, we investigated the removal of the HBQ 2,6-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone (DCBQ) from water using advanced oxidation processes. The removal of DCBQ from water using UV, H2O2, and O3 advanced oxidation processes individually was not ideal with removal rates of 36.1% with a UV dose of 180 mJ/cm2, 32.0% with 2 mg/L H2O2, and 57.9% with 2 mg/L O3. Next, we investigated using the combined UV/H2O2/O3 advanced oxidation process to treat water containing DCBQ. A Box–Behnken design was used to optimize the parameters of the UV/H2O2/O3 process, which gave the following optimum DCBQ removal conditions: UV dose of 180 mJ/cm2, O3 concentration of 0.51 mg/L, and H2O2 concentration of 1.76 mg/L. The DCBQ removal rate under the optimum conditions was 94.3%. We also found that lower humic acid concentrations promoted DCBQ degradation, while higher humic acid concentrations inhibited DCBQ degradation. HIGHLIGHTS Box–Behnken design (BBD) was used to optimize the parameters of UV/H2O2/O3 process for the degradation of 2,6-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone (DCBQ). A secondary model was developed to eliminate DCBQ to the maximum extent.; The combined UV/H2O2/O3 process proposed in this study can be used to control the by-products of halogenated benzoquinone disinfection in water plant.;

Background and Objectives: We aimed to investigate the role of Wnt2 expression in colorectal cancer (CRC) prognosis and evaluate its potential as a therapeutic target in BRAF-mutated CRC. Materials and Methods: Exactly 136 samples of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded CRC tissue specimens were obtained from patients who underwent surgical resection for CRC. The gene mutation status of the samples was detected using fluorescence PCR. Wnt2 expression was detected using immunohistochemistry. Survival curves with high Wnt2 expression and BRAF mutations were compared using the Kaplan–Meier method. A nomogram was constructed to determine the estimated overall survival probability. We also predicted the 3-year and 5-year survival rates for patients with high Wnt2 expression and BRAF mutations. In total, 50 samples of BRAF-mutated CRC were collected and detected Wnt2 expression by immunohistochemistry. The Chi-squared test was used to analyze the association between Wnt2 expression and BRAF-mutated CRC. Results: High Wnt2 expression and BRAF mutations are associated with poor prognosis of CRC. Multivariate survival analyses indicated that high Wnt2 expression and BRAF mutations are significant independent predictors of CRC prognosis. Furthermore, high Wnt2 expression was significantly associated with BRAF-mutated CRC, and Wnt2 may be a potential therapeutic target for BRAF-mutated CRC. Conclusions: High Wnt2 expression confers poor prognosis in colorectal cancer and represents a novel therapeutic target in BRAF-mutated CRC.

Abstract Objective In this work, we investigated the effects of gambogic acid (GA) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced apoptosis and inflammation in a cell model of neonatal pneumonia. Method Human WI-38 cells were maintained in vitro and incubated with various concentrations of GA to examine WI-38 survival. GA-preincubated WI-38 cells were then treated with LPS to investigate the protective effects of GA on LPS-induced death, apoptosis and inflammation. Western blot assay was utilized to analyze the effect of GA on tropomyosin receptor kinase A (TrkA) signaling pathway in LPS-treated WI-38 cells. In addition, human AKT serine/threonine kinase 1 (Akt) gene was knocked down in WI-38 cells to further investigate the associated genetic mechanisms of GA in protecting LPS-induced inflammation and apoptosis. Results Pre-incubating WI-38 cells with low and medium concentrations GA protected LPS-induced cell death, apoptosis and inflammatory protein productions of IL-6 and MCP-1. Using western blot assay, it was demonstrated that GA promoted TrkA phosphorylation and Akt activation in LPS-treated WI-38 cells. Knocking down Akt gene in WI-38 cells showed that GA-associated protections against LPS-induced apoptosis and inflammation were significantly reduced. Conclusions GA protected LPS-induced apoptosis and inflammation, possibly through the activations of TrkA and Akt signaling pathway. This work may broaden our understanding on the molecular mechanisms of human neonatal pneumonia.

Abstract Background To decipher the root and microbial interaction, secondary metabolite accumulation in roots and the microbial community’s succession model during the plant’s growth period demands an in-depth investigation. However, till now, no comprehensive study is available on the succession of endophytic fungi and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) with roots of medicinal licorice plants and the effects of endophytic fungi and AMF on the secondary metabolite accumulation in licorice plant’s root. Results In the current study, interaction between root and microbes in 1–3 years old medicinal licorice plant’s root and rhizospheric soil was investigated. Secondary metabolites content in licorice root was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The composition and diversity of endophytic and AMF in the root and soil were deciphered using high-throughput sequencing technology. During the plant’s growth period, as compared to AMF, time and species significantly affected the diversity and richness of endophytic fungi, such as Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Fusarium, Cladosporium, Sarocladium. The growth period also influenced the AMF diversity, evident by the significant increase in the relative abundance of Glomus and the significant decrease in the relative abundance of Diversispora. It indicated a different succession pattern between the endophytic fungal and AMF communities. Meanwhile, distance-based redundancy analysis and Mantel tests revealed root’s water content and secondary metabolites (glycyrrhizic acid, liquiritin, and total flavonoids), which conferred endophytic fungi and AMF diversity. Additionally, plant growth significantly altered soil’s physicochemical properties, which influenced the distribution of endophytic fungal and AMF communities. Conclusions This study indicated a different succession pattern between the endophytic fungal and AMF communities. During the plant’s growth period, the contents of three secondary metabolites in roots increased per year, which contributed to the overall differences in composition and distribution of endophytic fungal and AMF communities. The endophytic fungal communities were more sensitive to secondary metabolites than AMF communities. The current study provides novel insights into the interaction between rhizospheric microbes and root exudates.

Analog computing paradigms are promising solutions to the growing computational demands of machine learning applications. Despite being susceptible to errors, analog and mixed-signal platforms have the potential to achieve higher speed and power efficiency for artificial neural network (ANN) applications than digital computers. Driven by the development of digital fixed-point ANN accelerators, low-precision ANN models have proven to be successful in compressing the size of ANNs and conforming the models to the data format of digital accelerators. While the inputs and weights of these digital, fixed-point ANN models can have low bit widths, the intermediate results (e.g., activations) must be preserved in high precision. As a result, these digital fixed-point models and training algorithms cannot be migrated easily to analog accelerators, because the analog intermediate results typically suffer from reduced precision due to noises and device imperfections. Here, we report on a training method for mixed-signal ANNs that considers two types of analog impairments, namely, random noise and distortion (deterministic in nature). The results show that mixed-signal ANN trained with our method can achieve the same classification accuracy as the digital fixed-point model with noise levels up to 50% of the ideal quantization step size. We demonstrate our training method on a mixed-signal, convolutional neural network based on diffractive optics.

We propose and experimentally demonstrate high-speed operation of random-channel cryptography (RCC) in multimode fibers. RCC is a key generation and distribution method based on the random channel state of a multimode fiber and multi-dimension to single-dimension projection. The reciprocal intensity transmittance of the channel shared between the two legitimate users is used to generate and distribute correlated keys. In previous work, RCC's key rate-distance product was limited by the speed of light. In this work, we show that adding a fast modulator at one end of the channel decouples the key rate and distance, resulting in a significant improvement in the key rate-distance product, limited only by the fiber's modal dispersion. Error-free transmission at a key rate-distance product of 64.7 Mbps × 12 km, which is seven orders of magnitude higher than the previous demonstration, was achieved. The proposed method's security arises from a fundamental asymmetry between the eavesdroppers' and legitimate users' measurement complexity.

Objective: To compare the difference between full-term infants and very low birth weight (VLBW) premature infants at term equivalent for cerebellum development by cranial ultrasound in order to provide reference for monitoring the extrauterine development of cerebellum in VLBW premature infants. Methods: With a study of 88 cases which were VLBW premature infants with gestational age less than 32 weeks were examined by cranial ultrasound at 40 weeks of corrected gestational age and 65 full-term infants at 40 weeks of gestational age were examined by cranial ultrasound at the day of birth. Comparing the difference between the two groups for transverse cerebellar diameter, cerebellar vermis height, anteroposterior vermis diameter, cerebellar vermis circumference and cerebellar vermis area . The difference of the above cerebellar indexes between 32 extremely premature infants with gestational age of less than 28 weeks and 56 premature infants with gestational age of greater than or equal to 28 weeks were compared as well. Results: Compared to the premature infants at term equivalent age group and full-term infants group, the transverse cerebellar diameter in the premature infants at term equivalent age group was smaller than that in the full-term infants group (P 0.05). The transverse cerebellar diameter in the extremely premature infants group was smaller than that in VLBW premature infants group (P 0.05). Conclusion: The growth of midline structure of the cerebellum was preserved in the premature infants at term equivalent age without supratentorial brain injury probably, and the growth of lateral structure of the cerebellum will be decreased, which is most vulnerable to insult following the factor of premature birth.

Abstract Background Ferula sinkiangensis is an increasingly endangered medicinal plant. Arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMF) are symbiotic microorganisms that live in the soil wherein they enhance nutrient uptake, stress resistance, and pathogen defense in host plants. While such AMF have the potential to contribute to the cultivation of Ferula sinkiangensis, the composition of AMF communities associated with Ferula sinkiangensis and the relationship between these fungi and other pertinent abiotic factors still remains to be clarified. Results Herein, we collected rhizosphere and surrounding soil samples at a range of depths (0–20, 20–40, and 40–60 cm) and a range of slope positions (bottom, middle, top). These samples were then subjected to analyses of soil physicochemical properties and high-throughput sequencing (Illumina MiSeq). We determined that Glomus and Diversispora species were highly enriched in all samples. We further found that AMF diversity and richness varied significantly as a function of slope position, with this variation primarily being tied to differences in relative Glomus and Diversispora abundance. In contrast, no significant relationship was observed between soil depth and overall AMF composition, although some AMF species were found to be sensitive to soil depth. Many factors significantly affected AMF community composition, including organic matter content, total nitrogen, total potassium, ammonium nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, available potassium, total dissolvable salt levels, pH, soil water content, and slope position. We further determined that Shannon diversity index values in these communities were positively correlated with total phosphorus, nitrate-nitrogen levels, and pH values (P

Abstract Background The dried roots and rhizomes of medicinal licorices are widely used worldwide as a traditional medicinal herb, which are mainly attributed to a variety of bioactive compounds that can be extracted from licorice root. Endophytes and plants form a symbiotic relationship, which is an important source of host secondary metabolites. Results In this study, we used high-throughput sequencing technology and high-performance liquid chromatography to explore the composition and structure of the endophytic bacterial community and the content of bioactive compounds (glycyrrhizic acid, liquiritin and total flavonoids) in different species of medicinal licorices (Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Glycyrrhiza glabra, and Glycyrrhiza inflata) and in different planting years (1–3 years). Our results showed that the contents of the bioactive compounds in the roots of medicinal licorices were not affected by the species, but were significantly affected by the main effect growing year (1–3) (P

With the development of high-performance electrode materials, sodium-ion batteries have been extensively studied and could potentially be applied in various fields to replace the lithium-ion cells, owing to the low cost and natural abundance. As the key anode materials of sodium-ion batteries, hard carbons still face problems, such as poor cycling performance and low initial Coulombic efficiency. Owning to the low synthesis cost and the natural presence of heteroatoms of biomasses, biomasses have positive implications for synthesizing the hard carbons for sodium-ion batteries. This minireview mainly explains the research progress of biomasses used as the precursors to prepare the hard-carbon materials. The storage mechanism of hard carbons, comparisons of the structural properties of hard carbons prepared from different biomasses, and the influence of the preparation conditions on the electrochemical properties of hard carbons are introduced. In addition, the effect of doping atoms is also summarized to provide an in-depth understanding and guidance for the design of high-performance hard carbons for sodium-ion batteries.

BackgroundMetabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) has become a worldwide epidemic. Prolactin (PRL), a pituitary hormone, has been linked to MAFLD. As a result, we set out to look into the relationship between serum PRL and the risk of MAFLD in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).MethodsA total of 724 adults with T2DM were enrolled and categorized as MAFLD and non-MAFLD groups. Anthropometric data, biochemical parameters, and serum PRL levels were collected. Liver steatosis and fibrosis were assessed using FibroScan. Patients were stratified into normal PRL (NP) and high PRL (HP) groups and divided into four groups based on serum PRL quartiles. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association between serum PRL and MAFLD risk.ResultsFemale but not male patients with MAFLD, liver steatosis, and fibrosis had significantly lower PRL levels in the NP group but higher PRL levels in the HP group than their counterparts. The proportions of MAFLD, liver steatosis, and fibrosis were significantly decreased in the NP group but increased in the HP group across the PRL quartiles in females but not in males. After multivariate adjustment, the adjusted ORs (AORs) and 95% CI for MAFLD among females were 18.165 (3.425–96.336), 1.784 (0.658–5.002), 1.744 (0.608–4.832), and 1.00 (reference) in the NP group (Q1–Q4, P-trend < 0.001) and 1.00 (reference), 11.098 (1.819–110.356), 15.225 (1.996–116.112), and 18.211 (2.579–128.568) in the HP group (Q1–Q4, P-trend = 0.020). Such associations were also found between serum PRL and liver fibrosis in females but not in males.ConclusionWe observed a J-shaped association between serum PRL and the risk of MAFLD and liver fibrosis in females but not in males with T2DM, indicating that PRL may be relevant to MAFLD and its progression in a gender-specific manner.Clinical Trial RegistrationChinese Clinical Trial Registry, number ChiCTR-OCS-12002381.

Glycyrrhiza uralensis is a valuable medicinal legume, which occurs widely in arid and semi-arid regions. G. uralensis demand has risen steeply due to its high medical and commercial value. Interpret genome-wide information can stimulate the G. uralensis development as far as its increased bioactive compound levels, and plant yield are concerned. In this study, leaf nutrient concentration and photosynthetic chlorophyll index of G. uralensis were evaluated to determine the G. uralensis growth physiology in three habitats. We observed that G. uralensis nutrient levels and photosynthesis differed significantly in three regions (p < 0.05). Whole-genome re-sequencing of the sixty G. uralensis populations samples from different habitats was performed using an Illumina HiSeq sequencing platform to elucidate the distribution patterns, population evolution, and genetic diversity of G. uralensis. 150.06 Gb high-quality clean data was obtained after strict filtering. The 895237686 reads were mapped against the reference genome, with an average 89.7% mapping rate and 87.02% average sample coverage rate. A total of 6985987 SNPs were identified, and 117970 high-quality SNPs were obtained after filtering, which were subjected to subsequent analysis. Principal component analysis (PCA) based on interindividual SNPs and phylogenetic analysis based on interindividual SNPs showed that the G. uralensis samples could be categorized into central, southern, and eastern populations, which reflected strong genetic differentiation due to long periods of geographic isolation. In this study, a total of 131 candidate regions were screened, and 145 candidate genes (such as Glyur001802s00036258, Glyur003702s00044485, Glyur001802s00036257, Glyur007364s00047495, Glyur000028s00003476, and Glyur000398s00034457) were identified by selective clearance analysis based on Fst and θπ values. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed significant enrichment of 110 GO terms including carbohydrate metabolic process, carbohydrate biosynthetic process, carbohydrate derivative biosynthetic process, and glucose catabolic process (p < 0.05). Alpha-linolenic acid metabolism, biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, and fatty acid degradation pathways were significantly enriched (p < 0.05). This study provides information on the genetic diversity, genetic structure, and population adaptability of the medicinal legumes, G. uralensis. The data obtained in this study provide valuable information for plant development and future optimization of breeding programs for functional genes.

Tamarix is a dominant species in the Tarim River Basin, the longest inland river in China. Tamarix plays an important role in the ecological restoration of this region. In this study, to investigate the soil bacterial community diversity in Tamarix shrubs, we collected soil samples from the inside and edge of the canopy and the edge of nebkhas and non-nebkhas Tamarix shrubs located near the Yingsu section in the lower reaches of Tarim River. High throughput sequencing technology was employed to discern the composition and function of soil bacterial communities in nebkhas and non-nebkhas Tamarix shrubs. Besides, the physicochemical properties of soil and the spatial distribution characteristics of soil bacteria and their correlation were analyzed. The outcomes of this analysis demonstrated that different parts of Tamarix shrubs had significantly different effects on soil pH, total K (TK), available K (AK), ammonium N (NH4+), and available P (AP) values (P < 0.05), but not on soil moisture (SWC), total salt (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), organic matter (OM), total N (TN), total P (TP), and nitrate N (NO3−) values. The soil bacterial communities identified in Tamarix shrubs were categorized into two kingdoms, 71 phyla, 161 classes, 345 orders, 473 families, and 702 genera. Halobacterota, unidentified bacteria, and Proteobacteria were found to be dominant phyla. The correlation between the soil physicochemical factors and soil bacterial community was analyzed, and as per the outcomes OM, AK, AP, EC, and NH4+ were found to primarily affect the structure of the soil bacterial community. SWC, TK and pH were positively correlated with each other, but negatively correlated with other soil factors. At the phyla level, a significantly positive correlation was observed between the Halobacterota and AP, OM as well as Bacteroidota and AK (P < 0.01), but a significantly negative correlation was observed between the Chloroflexi and AK, EC (P < 0.01). The PICRUSt software was employed to predict the functional genes. A total of 6,195 KEGG ortholog genes were obtained. The function of soil bacteria was annotated, and six metabolic pathways in level 1, 41 metabolic pathways in level 2, and 307 metabolic pathways in level 3 were enriched, among which the functional gene related to metabolism, genetic information processing, and environmental information processing was found to have the dominant advantage. The results showed that the nebkhas and canopy of Tamarix shrubs had a certain enrichment effect on soil nutrients content, and bacterial abundance and significant effects on the structure and function of the soil bacterial community.

Metasurfaces become increasingly important for wavefront shaping and beam steering with high efficiency. We propose a wide-angle beam steering device based on all-dielectric metasurfaces consisting of two symmetrical blazed gratings for optical trapping of particles, which can convert the input Gaussian beam to a special beam with intensity gradient along the propagation direction. Two major types of metasurfaces (Pancharatnam-Berry phase and nanoposts) are compared, and dramatic difference is found between them, especially at oblique incidence. We show that the Pancharatnam-Berry phase-based metasurface is more tolerant to the incident angle and that significant optical gradient force can be generated over a large angle range of -50° to 50°, and the maximum attractive force is up to tens of pN/W, with a trapping range of 14 gym for particles of 2.5 μym in diameter. The proposed scheme exhibits great potential to trap a large fraction of particles floating in a microfluidic channel when the beam is dynamically steered.

Using principal modes (PMs) can avoid the inter-mode crosstalk in fiber-optic communication and reduce the complexity of digital signal processing. In this paper, a new detection method for PMs based on spatially and spectrally resolved imaging (S2) is used to recover their intensity distributions and inter-mode dispersion parameters. This method collects the optical interference information on a two-dimensional plane at different frequencies. The collected data can be used to characterize the principal modes, including their patterns and differential mode group delays. Due to the frequency invariance of PMs even in mode coupling state, which is studied carefully, this proposed method is shown to be robust. Analyses based on a four-mode fiber show that the distributed fluctuation of the coupling coefficients break the frequency invariance of PMs. We experimentally measure the mode characteristics of a four-mode fiber with S2 method. The results show that the mode group delays of degenerate modes can be separated in mode coupling state, which is exactly appropriate for the modified measurement method.

This paper is concerned with the control design for a class of stochastic nonlinear systems. Three uncertainties are considered; that is, nonlinear parameter uncertainty, matched uncertainty and stochastic disturbance. The nonlinear uncertainty contains some uncertain parameter and satisfies bound condition. Neither the exact value of the matched uncertainty nor its possible bound is known; its upper bound function satisfies certain concave condition. The stochastic disturbance is a standard Wiener process. Based on stochastic Lyapunov stability theory, the adaptive robust controller is designed, which renders the state variables of the closed-loop system bounded in probability, regardless of all uncertainties. The desired controller is constructed by the upper bound function and the saturation function, in which the upper bound function represents the magnitude of the control, while the saturation function indicates the control direction. The design of the adaptive robust controller is based on the minimum information of uncertainty, which is simple and can be easily realized in practical systems. Finally, a two-tank water level control example is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of our control design.

Lung adenocarcinoma (LAD) is a human malignancy successfully treated with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) gefitinib; however, the enrichment of therapy resistant cancer stem cells (CSCs) in such patients is assumed to be a source of treatment failure. Evaluation of LAD cell populations treated with the TKI inhibitor gefitinib identified unique aspects of a subpopulation of tumor cells exhibiting stem-like properties and mitochondria-specific metabolic features along with their reliance on sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) for survival advantage. This addiction to bioenergetic metabolism in LAD treated with EGFR-targeted therapy suggests that mitochondrial targeting should be synthetically lethal using established cytotoxic therapies. Accordingly, loss of the phenotype present in resistant CSC clones either by targeting the energy metabolism with tigecycline, a mitochondrial DNA-translation inhibitor, or tenovin-6 (TV-6), a SIRT1 inhibitor, inhibited their dependency on mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (mtOXPHOS) and sensitized them for a more pronounced and long-lasting TKI therapeutic effect. The results specifically demonstrated that combined therapy with TV-6 and gefitinib resulted in tumor regression in xenograft mouse models, whereas administration of a single agent showed no such efficacy. Importantly, combined treatment with TV-6 also decreased the effective dose of gefitinib necessary for treatment response. Clinical analysis demonstrated that high-profile SIRT1 and mtOXPHOS proteins were associated with recurrence and poor prognosis in LAD patients. These observations support the CSC hypothesis for cancer relapse and advocate use of mitochondria-targeting inhibitors as part of combinatorial therapy in a variety of clinical settings, as well as for reducing first-line TKI dosage in LAD patients.

Background Endophytic fungi influence the quality and quantity of the medicinal plant’s bioactive compounds through specific fungus-host interactions. Nevertheless, due to the paucity of information, the composition of endophytic fungal communities and the mechanism by which effective ingredients regulate endophytic fungal communities in roots remains unclear. Methods In this study, we collected root and soil samples (depth range: 0–20, 20–40, and 40–60 cm) of three Glycyrrhiza species (Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Glycyrrhiza inflata, and Glycyrrhiza glabra). Glycyrrhizic acid and liquiritin content were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and total flavonoid content was determined using ultraviolet spectrophotometry. High-throughput sequencing technology was employed to explore the composition and diversity of the endophytic fungal community in different root segments of three Glycyrrhiza species. Furthermore, soil samples were subjected to physicochemical analyses. Results We observed that the liquiritin content was not affected by the root depth (0–20 cm, 20–40 cm, and 40–60 cm). Still, it was significantly affected by the Glycyrrhiza species (Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Glycyrrhiza inflata, Glycyrrhiza glabra) (P

AimsTo investigate the predictive value of baseline serum triglyceride (TG) levels for improvements of metabolism after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG).Methods112 obese patients [body mass index (BMI) ≥ 35 kg/m2] underwent LSG and with complete information of anthropometric and metabolic parameters were divided into normal TG group (group A) and high TG group (group B), while group A had TG levels ≤ 1.7 mmol/L, and group B had TG levels > 1.7 mmol/L. The post-operative changes (Δ) in metabolic parameters between the two groups were compared.ResultsIn the whole cohort, the metabolic parameters were significantly improved at 6 months after LSG. BMI and waist circumference (WC) decreased significantly in the two groups. The ΔBMI among group A and group B were 11.42±3.23 vs 9.13±2.77 kg/m2 (p

Few-mode receivers exploiting parallelism of free space for space-division multiplexed (SDM) transmission, in which one free-space 90° optical hybrid can be shared among multiple SDM channels, are proposed and experimentally demonstrated. A 2 × 20 Gb/s quadrature phase-shift keying two-mode mode-division multiplexed receiver has been demonstrated experimentally.

Phased antenna arrays have been used extensively for massive MIMO-based multiuser beamforming to improve both the throughput and power efficiency of wireless communication systems. Beamforming can be realized by the Butler matrix, which has been demonstrated in the electric domain. With wireless systems migration toward simplified remote radio units through radio-over-fiber and sharing of signal processing functions located in the central office, it is desirable to implement this beamforming technique in the optical domain. In this paper, we propose an optical implementation of the Butler matrix using purely passive optical components such as directional couplers and delay lines. With the additional use of optical routing elements, the number of signal streams connected to the baseband unit equals the number of the actual users rather than the number of antenna elements, thereby achieving hardware efficiency for multiuser beamforming. Moreover, the proposed optical Butler matrix acts on the optical intensity rather than the optical field, and therefore, low-cost intensity-modulation direct-detection (IMDD) optical transceivers can be used. A proof-of-concept experiment is conducted to demonstrate the optical 2 × 2 Butler matrix. Scaling the optical Butler matrix to high port counts is also discussed.

We show that quasi-single-mode transmission in few-mode fibers (FMFs) can reduce the number of spans for a fixed transmission distance and, consequently, the cost per bit for terrestrial transmission systems by minimizing both the Capex and Opex. The Gaussian-noise model is employed to estimate the nonlinear noise power spectral density both, which depends on the effective area of the FMF and span length, for Er-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) and hybrid Raman/EDFA systems. Together with amplified spontaneous emission noise, an optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) for a fixed transmission distance as a function of the effective area of the FMF and span length can be obtained. Given a target OSNR for a particular modulation format, we determine the maximum span length or the minimum number of spans as the effective area of the FMF varies both analytically and through numerical simulations. The effect of multipath interference in the FMF on the minimum number of span has also been investigated.

Microresonator-based frequency combs have potential to achieve on-chip frequency metrology. To obtain high-power comb lines at f and 2f for self-referenced stabilization, we evaluate the feasibility of building a fully integrated comb generator with spectral broadening. Comparing two types of nonlinear waveguides based on Si and chalcogenides, we find that the system feasibility relies on integrated waveguide amplifiers. If with a high-gain amplifier, a dispersion-engineered chalcogenide waveguide is preferred. Otherwise, an Si waveguide performs better. Considering the immaturity of both on-chip amplification technologies for ultrafast pulses and hybrid integration of multiple nonlinear materials, it could be concluded that in near future it is not practical to achieve fully on-chip f-2f self-referenced comb stabilization via subsequent spectral broadening of a Kerr frequency comb. Alternatively, direct generation of octave-spanning Kerr combs via dispersion engineering still remains attractive.

A microwave-photonic technique for measuring dispersion characteristics of few-mode fibers is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. We extract these dispersion parameters by sweeping the frequency of microwave signals modulated on an optical carrier. For the first time, simultaneous high-precision measurement of chromatic dispersion and modal dispersion are made possible. Experimental results obtained on a two-mode group fiber match well with simulation results, as well as those obtained using time-domain methods. The proposed scheme is scalable to measuring fibers with a large number of modes.

We propose and experimentally demonstrate an effective and highly flexible polarization demultiplexing scheme based on a Stokes analyzer, which could be also applied to the nonorthogonal polarization division multiplexing (NPDM) schemes. Compared with the conventional direct detection, the proposed method has better tolerance to the polarization-dependent loss. Furthermore, such an approach can significantly enhance system flexibility without increasing cost and complexity since the transmitted signals are not required to maintain strict orthogonality, and no additional polarization-tracking feedback circuit is needed. Experimental results show that any polarization multiplexing degree that is larger than 23° can be adaptively demultiplexed after 10-km transmission using optical orthogonality monitoring and digital-signal-processing (DSP) algorithms.

Valsa mali var. mali (Vmm), the causal agent of apple tree canker disease, produces various toxic compounds, including protocatechuic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, p-hydroxyacetophenone, 3-(p-hydroxyphenyl)propanoic acid and phloroglucinol. Here, we examined the relationship between toxin production and the pathogenicity of Vmm strains and determined their bioactivities in several assays, for further elucidating the pathogenesis mechanisms of Vmm and for developing new procedures to control this disease. The toxins were quantified with the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method, and the results showed that the strain with attenuated virulence produced low levels of toxins with only three to four kinds of compounds being detectable. In contrast, higher amounts of toxins were produced by the more aggressive strain, and all five compounds were detected. This indicated a significant correlation between the pathogenicity of Vmm strains and their ability to produce toxins. However, this correlation only existed in planta, but not in vitro. During the infection of Vmm, protocatechuic acid was first detected at three days post inoculation (dpi), and the others at seven or 11 dpi. In addition, all compounds produced noticeable symptoms on host plants at concentrations of 2.5 to 40 mmol/L, with protocatechuic acid being the most effective compound, whereas 3-(p-hydroxyphenyl)propanoic acid or p-hydroxybenzoic acid were the most active compounds on non-host plants.

We demonstrate the first few-mode semiconductor optical amplifier (FM SOA) that supports up to four waveguide modes. We show that each of the modes are confined to the waveguide, overlapping the quantum wells with approximately the same amount, leading to equalized gain for each of the four waveguide modes.

This paper proposes a simple and practical method to amplify signals for space-multiplexed optical transmission. In this amplification technique, the output facet of the multicore or multimode fiber is mapped back to the same type of fiber after passing through an imaging and bulk amplifying region. Simulations are carried out for a seven-core multicore fiber with the signal lasers amplified by a bulk erbium-ytterbium-doped phosphate glass amplifier. Amplifier gain of ~20 dB is achieved at an input power of 6 mW for each individual core with an optical power conversion efficiency of 32.5%. The proposed amplifier technique does not have a core or mode count limit for multicore and multimode fibers.

A comprehensive treatment of digital backward propagation (DBP) accounting for the vectorial nature of optical transmission is presented. Experimental results show that self-phase and cross-phase modulation are the major sources of nonlinear impairments, even for small channel spacings and for transmission in low dispersion fibers. It is verified that compensating only the incoherent nonlinear impairments not only has the advantage of requiring lower computational load but also removes the necessity of using phase-locked carriers for the signal or phase-locked local oscillators. Simulation results show that polarization-mode dispersion has to be taken into account for practical wavelength division multiplexing systems for DBP to work properly. It is found that to compensate interchannel nonlinear impairments, the changes in the polarization states of channels have to be followed at every span.

An electronic scheme for joint postcompensation of fiber and semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) impairments based on coherent detection and digital backward propagation is proposed and demonstrated. A 10-GBd amplitude-phase-modulated transmission system was demonstrated experimentally using semiconductor optical amplification. The Q-factor of the received signal was improved by 5 dB with simultaneous fiber and SOA impairment compensation in the electrical domain.

It is shown experimentally that impairments induced by dispersion and Kerr nonlinearity can be compensated digitally for polarization-division multiplexed wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) transmission. The method of digital backward propagation based on solving the Manakov equation can be used to efficiently compensate for the nonlinear interactions between orthogonally polarized channels.

To study the induced resistance in apple against Valsa mali var. mali (Vmm), a Vmm–apple callus interaction system was developed to evaluate the induced resistance of an attenuated Vmm strain LXS081501 against further infection by a virulent Vmm strain LXS080601. The infection index was up to 97.32 for apple calli inoculated with LXS080601 alone at 15 days after inoculation whereas it was only 41.84 for calli pretreated with LXS081501 followed by LXS080601 inoculation. In addition, the maximum levels of free proline, soluble sugar, and protein in calli treated with LXS081501 plus LXS080601 were 2.14 to 3.47 times higher than controls and 1.42 to 1.75 times higher than LXS080601 treatment. The activities of defense-related enzymes such as phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) as well as β-1,3-glucanase and chitinase in apple calli inoculated with LXS080601 alone or LXS081501 plus LXS080601 increased significantly 24 hai and peaked from 48 to 120 hpi. However, in the latter treatment, the maximum enzyme activities were much higher and the activities always maintained much higher levels than control during the experimental period. These results suggested the roles of osmotic adjustment substances and defense-related enzymes in induced resistance.

Valsa mali is a causal agent of apple and pear trees canker disease, which is a destructive disease that causes serious economic losses in eastern Asia, especially in China. The lack of an efficient transformation system for Valsa mali retards its investigation, which poses difficulties to control the disease. In this research, a transformation system for this pathogen was established for the first time using A. tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT), with the optimal transformation conditions as follows: 106/mL conidia suspension, cocultivation temperature 22°C, cocultivation time 72 hours, and 200 μM acetosyringone (AS) in the inductive medium. The average transformation efficiency was 1015.00 ± 37.35 transformants per 106 recipient conidia. Thirty transformants were randomly selected for further confirmation and the results showed the presence of T-DNA in all hygromycin B resistant transformants and also revealed random and single gene integration with genetic stability. Compared with wild-type strain, those transformants exhibited various differences in morphology, conidia production, and conidia germination ability. In addition, pathogenicity assays revealed that 14 transformants had mitigated pathogenicity, while one had enhanced infection ability. The results suggest that ATMT of V. mali is a useful tool to gain novel insight into this economically important pathogen at molecular levels.