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Societal Impact Statement Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are essential elements for plant growth and are the primary nutrients in commercial fertilizers. However, the extent to which these nutrients individually limit plant growth is still unclear, as is the influence of their interactions. Using a meta‐analysis approach, plant growth was found to be co‐limited by nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Furthermore, these findings demonstrate that multiple nutrient additions are primarily additive, with the exception of synergistic effects observed with NP additions on plant growth. These findings are important as they provide a timely and valuable reference for assessing the ecosystem‐scale consequences of increasing nutrient deposition caused by human activities. Summary Numerous field studies and a few meta‐analyses have confirmed that terrestrial primary production is individually or jointly limited by nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Meanwhile, a recent synthesis emphasized that potassium (K) limitation in terrestrial ecosystems is more widespread than previously thought. However, it remains unclear whether N, P, and K co‐limit terrestrial production and how their interactions influence plant growth. Therefore, we conducted a globally comprehensive synthesis of a total 2877 observations to explore the individual and interactive effects of N, P, and K additions on plant growth. We found that N, P, K, NP, NK, PK, and NPK additions significantly increased aboveground biomass production (AGP) by 30.8%, 15.3%, 12.3%, 68.4%, 36.5%, 21.1%, and 78.7%, respectively. The combined addition of multiple nutrients resulted in a larger increase in AGP than a single addition of nutrients. These findings suggested that terrestrial production is widely co‐limited by N, P, and K. However, no significant responses of belowground biomass production (BGP) to nutrient additions were observed. Except for synergistic interactions between N and P additions, the responses of AGP to other pairs of nutrient additions were predominantly additive. This meta‐analysis highlights the importance of multiple‐nutrient limitation in regulating terrestrial primary production while pointing out that non‐additive effects (including synergistic and antagonistic) of multiple‐nutrient additions on terrestrial production are relatively rare.

In this study, an ultra-high strength Mg-13Gd-4Y–0Zn-0.5Zr (wt.%) alloy with tensile yield strength (TYS) of 456 MPa and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 486 MPa was prepared by using different pre-heat parameters and subsequent final-heat treatment combined with backward extrusion (BE) deformation process. It was shown that the pre-heat teratment could significantly enhance the UTS and TYS of the secondary backward extruded (BEed) alloy compared with none treatment. The reason was that the pre-heat treatment promoted the particle stimulated nucleation (PSN) mechanism and continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX), significantly increasing the fraction of dynamic recrystallization (DRX). The strengthening of the secondary BEed alloy was attributed to the unique microstructure characteristics: (I) the fine DRXed grains pinned by dynamic precipitates, (II) the dense dynamic precipitation phases, (III) the effect of the fine-grain strengthening. However, the overly densely distributed second phase, which increased the local dislocation density due to the narrower spacing, made it difficult to prevent crack propagation and caused premature fracture of the alloy. In addition, the subsequent final-heat treatment also facilitated the precipitation of the second phases of the secondary BEed alloys and brought in the ultra-high mechanical properties.

Abstract The serine/arginine-rich splicing factors (SRSFs) play an important role in regulating the alternative splicing of precursor RNA (pre-RNA). During this procedure, introns are removed from the pre-RNA, while the exons are accurately joined together to produce mature mRNA. In addition, SRSFs also involved in DNA replication and transcription, mRNA stability and nuclear export, and protein translation. It is reported that SRSFs participate in hematopoiesis, development, and other important biological process. They are also associated with the development of several diseases, particularly cancers. While the basic physiological functions and the important roles of SRSFs in solid cancer have been extensively reviewed, a comprehensive summary of their significant functions in normal hematopoiesis and hematopoietic malignancies is currently absent. Hence, this review presents a summary of their roles in normal hematopoiesis and hematopoietic malignancies. Graphical Abstract

Background Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) has infected approximately 4.4 billion individuals worldwide. The known virulence genes and the existing H. pylori typing methods have not been shown to have a recognized correlation with its infectivity. The aim of this study was to elucidate the relationships among known important virulence genes, coccoid transformation, and cytotoxicity of H. pylori isolated from individuals with different clinical diseases to provide guidance for the development of new virulence typing methods for H. pylori.Methods The known important virulence genes of 35 H. pylori strains were identified by whole-gene next-generation sequencing (WGS) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The chronological changes in the proportion of coccoid forms of H. pylori and their ultramicroscopic structures were observed chronologically using transmission electron microscopy. Human gastric mucosal epithelial cells (GES-1) were infected with H. pylori strains in vitro to evaluate cytotoxicity of H. pylori.Results There were no significant correlations among the known important virulence genes, coccoid transformation and cytotoxicity of H. pylori isolated from patients with different clinical diseases. We developed a new virulence classification based on the defensive and offensive abilities of H. pylori.Conclusions Coccoid transformation and virulence are two independent characteristics of H. pylori that reflect its defensive and offensive abilities, respectively. These two abilities work synergistically, warranting the construction of a new virulence typing method for H. pylori. However, the correlation between the new virulence classification and pathogenic ability still needs to be further verified.

1,4-butanediol (1,4-BDO) is an important building block in the chemical industry that has been mainly produced from fossil fuels, but now biosynthesis of 1,4-BDO has received more and more attention due to environmental issues. The Clostridia C4 pathway produces an intermediate crotonyl-CoA which could be diverted to 1,4-BDO by 4-hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydratase (4HBD). Here, we compared this pathway with other 1,4-BDO biosynthesis pathways and illustrated its potential advantages regarding cellular energy conservation and theoretical yield. Then, the feasibility of 1,4-BDO production in this way was tested by introducing a single 4HBD in Clostridium acetobutylicum that natively produced the C4 intermediate and a variety of aldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenases (AdhE). Five different 4HBD genes were screened and the Cbei-2100 gene from Clostridium beijerinckii was the most effective, producing 0.066 mg/mL of 1,4-BDO. To block the metabolic flux towards the main product butanol, disruption of butyryl-CoA dehydrogenase (Bcd) was tried but failed, while inactivation of its homologue (FAD/FMN-containing dehydrogenase, Fcd) obtained little effect. Alternatively, the electron-transferring flavoprotein EtfA coupled with Bcd was inactivated, and 1,4-BDO production was greatly increased to 0.182 mg/mL. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the feasibility of 1,4-BDO production through the Clostridia C4 pathway. Further blocking of the competing flux towards butanol would be effective to improve the production of in the future.

ABSTRACTMulti-scale landscape functions play a critical role in revealing intricate functional structures within large regions. However, previous studies on landscape functions have predominantly focused on a single macro or micro scale, impeding a holistic multi-scale understanding of the spatial distribution and heterogeneity of landscape functions. To address this gap, this study proposes a framework leveraging the power of big geodata to mine multi-scale landscape functions from parcel to entire urban agglomerations, as well as non-administrative divisions. Our study focuses on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) in China. Firstly, we integrated multi-source big geodata to derive parcel-scale landscape functions. Subsequently, we employed the Normalized Revealed Comparative Advantage index to derive landscape functions at broader scales, including towns, counties and cities. The effectiveness of our approach is validated through in-field investigations and comparisons with established policy planning positions. The outcomes not only offer distinctive planning insights at various scales but also highlight the versatility of big geodata in extracting landscape functions across scales. This study demonstrates that big geodata is adept at uncovering multi-scale landscape functions irrespective of administrative boundaries, providing valuable insights for fostering multi-scale regional coordinated development.

Objective: This study sought to investigate the relationship between burnout, perceived organizational support (POS) and perceived professional benefits (PPB)as well as to explore factors associated with burnout among nurses in Chinese public hospitals. Methods: The purposive sampling method was used to collect data from May 2023 through August 2023. A total of 1058 nurses from 5 public hospitals in Beijing, China, completed the questionnaires. The study used a cross-sectional survey design with data obtained using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI-GS), Perceived Organizational Support Scale, and Perceived Professional Benefits Scale. Pearson correlation was used to examine the association between burnout and perceived organizational support with perceived professional benefits, while multivariate regression was used to investigate the specific factors related to both perceived organizational support and perceived professional benefits influencing burnout. Results: Effective response rate was 1058(93.34 %). The total mean score of burnout was (3.024 ± 0.711), range = (1.59–4.50). Pearson correlation showed that the total mean score of burnout was negatively correlated with the total mean score of POS (r = −0.223, p

Lysine succinylation (Ksu) has recently emerged as a protein modification that regulates diverse functions in various biological processes. However, the systemically and precise role of lysine succinylation in erythropoiesis remains to be fully elucidated. In this study, we noted a prominent increase of succinyl-CoA and lysine succinylation during human erythroid differentiation. To explore the functional significance of succinylation, we inhibited succinylation by either knock downing key succinyltransferases or overexpressing desuccinylases. Succinylation inhibition led to suppressed cell proliferation, increased apoptosis, and disrupted erythroid differentiation. In vivo overexpression of the desuccinylases SIRT5 delayed erythroid differentiation. Furthermore, integrative proteome and succinylome analysis identifies 939 succinylated proteins with 3,562 Ksu sites, distributed across various cellular compartments and involved in multiple cellular processes. Significantly, inconsistencies between protein expression levels and succinylation levels were observed, indicating that the succinylation of certain proteins may function independently of expression. Mechanistically, we implicated KAT2A-mediated succinylation of histone H3 K79, leading to chromatin remodeling and subsequently erythropoiesis regulation. Specially, we identified CYCS as a key regulator of erythropoiesis, which depends on its succinylation sites K28/K40. Taken together, our comprehensive investigation of the succinylation landscape during erythropoiesis provides valuable insights into its regulatory role and offer potential implications for erythroid-related diseases.

BackgroundCoal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) is a serious occupational lung disease and one of the prescript occupational diseases in China. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is involved in the diffuse fibrosis of lung tissue of pneumoconiosis patients, and its mechanism may be related to the polarization of macrophages regulated by let-7c.ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of let-7c on the regulation of macrophage polarization in EMT in rats induced by coal dust exposure with different content of free SiO2.MethodsSD rats were randomly divided into a control group, a 5% SiO2 group, a 30% SiO2 group, and a 99.9% SiO2 group, with 16 rats in each group. The rats in each group were tracheally titrated with 100 μL of 20 mg·mL−1 suspension (5% SiO2, 30% SiO2, and 99.9% SiO2) or normal saline, respectively. Alveolar lavage fluid was collected at the ends of the 1st month and the 3rd month. The relative expression levels of M1 or M2 markers, CD86 or CD206, in alveolar macrophages (AMs) were detected by immunofluorescence. The inflammation and fibrosis of lung tissue were observed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and Masson staining. The expression levels of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), E-cadherin, and vimentin were detected by Western blotting. The expression levels of let-7c and c/EBP-δ genes were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR.ResultsThe HE and Masson staining results showed that compared with the control group, the degree of pulmonary fibrosis in the 5% SiO2 group, the 30% SiO2 group, and the 99.9% SiO2 group gradually increased with the increase of dust exposure time. Compared with the control group, the expressions of CD86 and CD206 in the 5% SiO2 group, the 30% SiO2 group, and the 99.9% SiO2 group gradually increased at the end of the 1st month (F=330.904, 146.801, P

Abstract Background The correlation between metals and hypertension, such as sodium, zinc, potassium, and magnesium, has been confirmed, while the relationship between aluminum and hypertension is not very clear. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between plasma aluminum and hypertension in electrolytic aluminum workers by the Bayesian networks (BN). Methods In 2019, 476 male workers in an aluminum factory were investigated. The plasma aluminum concentration of workers was measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The influencing factors on the prevalence of hypertension were analyzed by the BN. Results The prevalence of hypertension was 23.9% in 476 male workers. The risk of hypertension from plasma aluminum in the Q2, Q3, and Q4 groups was 5.20 (1.90–14.25), 6.92 (2.51–19.08), and 7.33 (2.69–20.01), respectively, compared with that in the Q1 group. The risk of hypertension from the duration of exposure to aluminum of >10 years was 2.23 (1.09–4.57), compared without aluminum exposure. Area under the curve was 0.80 of plasma aluminum and the duration of exposure to aluminum was based on covariates, indicating that aluminum exposure had important predictive value in the prevalence of hypertension in the occupational population. The results of the study using the BN model showed that if the plasma aluminum of all participants was higher than Q4 (≥47.86 µg/L) and the participants were drinking, smoking, diabetes, central obesity, dyslipidemia, and aged >50 years, the proportion of hypertension was 71.2%. Conclusions The prevalence of hypertension increased significantly with the increase of plasma aluminum level.

Abstract Large datasets of carbon dioxide, energy, and water fluxes were measured with the eddy-covariance (EC) technique, such as FLUXNET2015. These datasets are widely used to validate remote-sensing products and benchmark models. One of the major challenges in utilizing EC-flux data is determining the spatial extent to which measurements taken at individual EC towers reflect model-grid or remote sensing pixels. To minimize the potential biases caused by the footprint-to-target area mismatch, it is important to use flux datasets with awareness of the footprint. This study analyze the spatial representativeness of global EC measurements based on the open-source FLUXNET2015 data, using the published flux footprint model (SAFE-f). The calculated annual cumulative footprint climatology (ACFC) was overlaid on land cover and vegetation index maps to create a spatial representativeness dataset of global flux towers. The dataset includes the following components: (1) the ACFC contour (ACFCC) data and areas representing 50%, 60%, 70%, and 80% ACFCC of each site, (2) the proportion of each land cover type weighted by the 80% ACFC (ACFCW), (3) the semivariogram calculated using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) considering the 80% ACFCW, and (4) the sensor location bias (SLB) between the 80% ACFCW and designated areas (e.g. 80% ACFCC and window sizes) proxied by NDVI. Finally, we conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the representativeness of each site from three aspects: (1) the underlying surface cover, (2) the semivariogram, and (3) the SLB between 80% ACFCW and 80% ACFCC, and categorized them into 3 levels. The goal of creating this dataset is to provide data quality guidance for international researchers to effectively utilize the FLUXNET2015 dataset in the future.

Abstract Introduction Incontinentia pigmenti (IP) is a rare neuroectodermal dysplasia caused by a defect in the IKBKG gene. The pathogenesis of central nervous system injury is believed to be related to microvascular ischemia. Currently, few treatment strategies are available for the inflammatory phase. Materials and methods This retrospective descriptive analysis included the clinical data of 41 children with IP collected from 2007 to 2021 in Xi’an, China, comprising clinical characteristics, imaging findings, blood cell analysis, skin histopathology, and genetic data. Results Fourteen children (34%) aged 4 days to 5 months exhibited clinical signs and symptoms, including convulsions, delayed psychomotor development following neurological damage, and revealed significant MRI abnormalities, including ischemia, hypoxia, cerebral hypoperfusion, hemorrhage, encephalomalacia, and cerebral atrophy. Eight of the 24 patients (33%) presented with retinal vascular tortuosity and telangiectasis, accompanied by neovascularization and hemorrhage. Thirty-eight children (93%) had elevated eosinophils (mean: 3.63 ± 4.46 × 109), and 28 children (68%) had significantly elevated platelets (mean: 420.16 ± 179.43 × 109). Histopathology of skin revealed microvascular extravasation and vasodilation with perivascular and intravascular eosinophilic infiltration. Conclusion Brain injury in IP occurs during infancy until 5 months of age, which is also the acute dermatitis phase accompanied by eosinophilia and an increased platelet count. This study provides evidence of microvascular damage to the skin and fundus during the inflammatory phase. The mechanism of microvascular damage may be similar to that in the brain.

Abstract More than 70% of the potash fertilizer globally is produced by the froth flotation process, in which 4-dodecylmorpholine (DMP) serves as a reverse flotation agent. As the potash fertilizer production rapidly rises, the increased DMP levels in discharged brine pose a threat to the production of high-value chemicals. In this paper, composite particles of basic magnesium sulfate@TiO2 (BMS@TiO2) were prepared using a simple and mild loading method. These particles were utilized for the adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of DMP in brine. Compared with normal powdered materials, the granular BMS@TiO2 in this study can be easily separated from liquid, and the degradation intermediates will not enter the brine without causing secondary pollution. BMS@TiO2 consists of 5·1·7 phase (5Mg(OH)2·MgSO4·7H2O) whisker clusters embedding 2.3% TiO2. The adsorption equilibrium of DMP on BMS@TiO2 particles was achieved through hydrogen bonding and pore interception with the adsorption capacity of approximately 5 mg g−1 after 6 h. The photodegradation efficiency of DMP adsorbed on BMS@TiO2 reached about 92% within 16 h, which is compared with that of pure TiO2 nanoparticles. Additionally, excellent stability and recyclability of BMS@TiO2 were also observed in five cycle tests of adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of DMP, and the possible photocatalytic degradation pathways and mechanism of DMP are proposed following molecular electrostatic potential analysis. This work provides a sustainable and environmentally friendly approach for eliminating organic micropollutants from water environments.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a highly heterogeneous myeloid malignancy, remains a challenge in terms of proper risk stratification. In this study, we developed a novel pyroptosis prognostic model based on pyroptosis-related gene pairs, which exhibited excellent prognostic performance across multiple cohorts (N = 1506) and accurately predicted both adult and pediatric AML prognosis. Additionally, we integrated the pyroptosis risk model with other clinical risk factors to construct a highly operational nomogram. Moreover, our findings indicate a significant correlation between elevated pyroptosis risk scores and increased stemness of AML. Using CIBERSORT immune analysis, we found a decreased proportion of resting NK cells and activated mast cells in the high-risk group. Through analyzing the correlation between chemotherapy drug response sensitivity and risk scores, we found that AZD1332 and BPD-0008900 were extremely sensitive in the high-risk group.

BackgroundQingfei Paidu Decoction (QFPDD) has played an important role in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 infection in China. The present study aims to perform an econometric analysis and visualization of the literature on the treatment of COVID-19 with QFPDD in the Chinese databases and English databases.MethodsSix databases including such as Chinese databases CNKI, VIP, CBM, WANFANG as well as English databases PubMed, Web of Science were searched for publications related to the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 with QFPDD. The institutions, authors, keywords of each publication were cisualized using the software of CiteSpace.ResultsA total of 187 literature on the prevention and treatment of novel coronavirus infection with QFPDD were included, of which 145 (77.5%) were in Chinese and 42 (22.5%) were in English. Those publications were written by 926 authors from 383 institutions. There were 78 theoretical studies (41.7%), 63 clinical studies (33.7%), and 46 basic studies (24.6%). The cooperative institutions with the core of “Institute of Basic Research in Clinical Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences” and “Shanghai University of Chinese Medicine Cross Academy of Science” have been formed, and two core teams with “Wang Yanping” and “Zhang Weidong” have been formed. The keyword analysis showed that the research mainly focuses on pathologic pathogenesis, clinical efficacy, adverse reactions, integrated Chinese and western medicine therapy, network pharmacology research.ConclusionQFPDD has attracted worldwide attention, mechanism research and clinical research may become a future development trend. Therefore, in-depth basic research and clinical studies with large samples and multi-center cooperation should be carried out to provide high-level evidence-based evidence for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 with QFPDD.

Background The Minqin Oasis, which is located in Wuwei City, Gansu Province, China, faces a very serious land desertification problem, with about 94.5% of its total area desertified. Accordingly, it is crucial to implement ecological restoration policies such as cropland abandonment in this region. In abandoned croplands, abiotic factors such as soil properties may become more important than biotic factors in driving vegetation succession. However, the connections between soil properties and vegetation succession remain unclear. To fill this knowledge gap, this study investigated these connections to explore major factors that affected vegetation succession, which is meaningful to designing management measures to restore these degraded ecosystems. Methods This study investigated seven 1–29-year-old abandoned croplands using the “space for time” method in Minqin Oasis. Vegetation succession was classified into different stages using a canonical correlation analysis (CCA) and two-way indicator species analysis (Twinspan). The link between soil properties and vegetation succession was analyzed using CCA. The primary factors shaping community patterns of vegetation succession were chosen by the “Forward selection” in CCA. The responses of dominant species to soil properties were analyzed using generalized additive models (GAMs). Results Dominant species turnover occurred obviously after cropland abandonment. Vegetation succession can be classified into three stages (i.e., early, intermediate, and late successional stages) with markedly different community composition and diversity. The main drivers of vegetation succession among soil properties were soil salinity and saturated soil water content and they had led to different responses of the dominant species in early and late successional stages. During the development of vegetation succession, community composition became simpler, and species diversity decreased significantly, which was a type of regressive succession. Therefore, measures should be adopted to manage these degraded, abandoned croplands.

Accurate evapotranspiration (ET) estimation is crucial for understanding ecosystem dynamics and managing water resources. Existing methodologies, including traditional techniques like the Penman–Monteith model, remote sensing approaches utilizing Solar-Induced Fluorescence (SIF), and machine learning algorithms, have demonstrated varying levels of effectiveness in ET estimation. However, these methods often face significant challenges, such as reliance on empirical coefficients, inadequate representation of canopy dynamics, and limitations due to cloud cover and sensor constraints. These issues can lead to inaccuracies in capturing ET’s spatial and temporal variability, highlighting the need for improved estimation techniques. This study introduces a novel approach to enhance ET estimation by integrating SIF partitioning with Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) and leaf area index (LAI) data, utilizing the TL-LUE model (Two-Leaf Light Use Efficiency). Partitioning SIF data into sunlit and shaded components allows for a more detailed representation of the canopy’s functional dynamics, significantly improving ET modelling. Our analysis reveals significant advancements in ET modelling through SIF partitioning. At Xiaotangshan Station, the correlation between modelled ET and SIFsu is 0.71, while the correlation between modelled ET and SIFsh is 0.65. The overall correlation (R2) between the modelled ET and the combined SIF partitioning (SIF(P)) is 0.69, indicating a strong positive relationship at Xiaotangshan Station. The correlations between SIFsh and SIFsu with modelled ET show notable patterns, with R2 values of 0.89 and 0.88 at Heihe Daman, respectively. These findings highlight the effectiveness of SIF partitioning in capturing canopy dynamics and its impact on ET estimation. Comparing modelled ET with observed ET and the Penman–Monteith model (PM model) demonstrates substantial improvements. R2 values for modelled ET against observed ET were 0.68, 0.76, and 0.88 across HuaiLai, Shangqiu, and Yunxiao Stations. Modelled ET correlations to the PM model were 0.75, 0.73, and 0.90, respectively, at three stations. These results underscore the model’s capability to enhance ET estimations by integrating physiological and remote sensing data. This innovative SIF-partitioning approach offers a more nuanced perspective on canopy photosynthesis, providing a more accurate and comprehensive method for understanding and managing ecosystem water dynamics across diverse environments.

BackgroundOccupational commitment (OC) is a multidimensional construct that predicts turnover intentions. The interindividual variability of nurses’ OC merits further exploration. Therefore, this study aims to examine patterns of OC and its relationship with psychological empowerment and job crafting in nurses.MethodsA sample of 1,061 nurses was recruited from February 2022 to April 2022 by using a stratified four-stage cluster sampling procedure. A self-report survey included the Psychological Empowerment Scale, Job Crafting Scale, and Occupational Commitment Scale. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to examine the patterns of OC. Associations of the latent class membership with individual characteristics, psychological empowerment and job crafting were examined using multinomial logistic regression.ResultsThree patterns of OC were identified: (1) “Low OC group” (n = 224, 21.1%); (2) “Moderate OC group” (n = 665, 62.7%); (3) “High OC group” (n = 172, 16.2%). Nurses with higher education, fewer years of service, working in medicine, lower psychological empowerment and lower job crafting had a higher likelihood of belonging to Class 1 (Low OC group). In contrast, nurses working in emergency and with higher psychological empowerment and job crafting were more likely to belong to Class 3 (High OC group).ConclusionThe findings revealed the heterogeneity of occupational commitment among nurses in China and could guide the identification and early intervention of nurses with low level of occupational commitment.

Cysteine-rich receptor-like kinases (CRKs) play many important roles during plant development, including defense responses under both biotic and abiotic stress, reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis, callose deposition and programmed cell death (PCD). However, there are few studies on the involvement of the CRK family in male sterility due to heat stress in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). In this study, a genome-wide characterization of the CRK family was performed to investigate the structural and functional attributes of the wheat CRKs in anther sterility caused by heat stress. A total of 95 CRK genes were unevenly distributed on 18 chromosomes, with the most genes distributed on chromosome 2B. Paralogous homologous genes with Ka/Ks ratios less than 1 may have undergone strong purifying selection during evolution and are more functionally conserved. The collinearity analysis results of CRK genes showed that wheat and Arabidopsis (A. thaliana), foxtail millet, Brachypodium distachyon (B. distachyon), and rice have three, 12, 15, and 11 pairs of orthologous genes, respectively. In addition, the results of the network interactions of genes and miRNAs showed that five miRNAs were in the hub of the interactions map, namely tae-miR9657b-5p, tae-miR9780, tae-miR9676-5p, tae-miR164, and tae-miR531. Furthermore, qRT-PCR validation of the six TaCRK genes showed that they play key roles in the development of the mononuclear stage anthers, as all six genes were expressed at highly significant levels in heat-stressed male sterile mononuclear stage anthers compared to normal anthers. We hypothesized that the TaCRK gene is significant in the process of high-temperature-induced sterility in wheat based on the combination of anther phenotypes, paraffin sections, and qRT-PCR data. These results improve our understanding of their relationship.

BackgroundAluminum activates signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), causing microglial nucleotide-binding and oligomerization domain-like receptors protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation and inflammatory responses and producing neurotoxicity.ObjectiveTo explore the role of STAT3 regulated NLRP3 inflammasomes in the inflammatory response of mouse microglia cell line (BV2) cells induced by maltol aluminum [Al(mal)3].MethodsBV2 cells were assigned to five groups: one control group, three Al(mal)3 exposure groups (low, medium, and high doses at 40, 80, and 160 μmol·L−1 Al(mal)3 respectively), and one C188-9 (STAT3 antagonist) intervention group [10 μmol·L−1 C188-9 +160 μmol·L−1 Al(mal)3]. Cell viability was detected by CCK8. The expression of M1/M2 type markers, i.e. CD68/CD206, STAT3, p-STAT3, NLRP3, cleaved-casepase-1, and apoptosis-associated speck-like protein (ASC) in BV2 cells were detected by Western blotting, and proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18, and anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 were determined by ELISA.ResultsThe results of cell viability assay showed that cell viability gradually decreased with the increase of Al(mal)3 dose. Compared with the control group, the cell viability of the Al(mal)3 high-dose group was decreased by 18% (P0.05). Compared with the control group, the expression level of NLRP3 protein increased by 75% in the Al(mal)3 high-dose group (P0.05).ConclusionAluminum can induce inflammatory responses in BV2 microglia and is predominantly pro-inflammatory, and the mechanism may involve STAT3 regulation of NLRP3 inflammasome secretion of inflammatory factors.

Rubidium and cesium are critical strategic elements, and their development and utilization are of great significance. In this study, a magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) adsorbent was prepared and characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The adsorption performance of the adsorbent for Rb+ and Cs+ in solution was investigated. The results showed that the adsorbent exhibited high adsorption capacities of 2.83 mol/g for Rb+ and 4.37 mol/g for Cs+. In simulated brine, the adsorbent demonstrated excellent selectivity for Cs+. Kinetic and thermodynamic studies indicated that the adsorption process followed a pseudo-second order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model. The primary adsorption mechanism was an ion exchange. The development of this adsorbent holds significant promise for the extraction of rubidium and cesium from liquid resources.

Abstract Background Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is a surgical technique used in patients with chronic intractable pain, and its effectiveness and safety have been validated by multiple studies. However, to maintain an optimal and steady long-term effect is still challenging. Here, we report a new management paradigm integrating smartphone application and remote programming. Chronic pain patients with SCS implants can monitor their pain status on the phone and change stimulation parameters accordingly. The PreMaSy study is a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and safety of this precise management system. Methods Patients with chronic intractable pain will be screened for eligibility, and 82 participants are anticipated to be enrolled in this trial. After the electrode implantation, the stimulation effectiveness will be tested. Participants with a reduction of more than 50% in the visual analog scale (VAS) will receive implantation of an implantable pulse generator and randomized (1:1) into the experimental group or control group. All participants will be asked to take online follow-ups and complete assessments using a smartphone application. Daily pain characteristic assessments and monthly quality of life questionnaires are integrated into the App, and participants will be required to complete these assessments. The daily VAS for pain intensity will be monitored and a threshold will be set based on baseline VAS score. The interventional appointment will be scheduled once the threshold is reached. The primary outcome is the health condition and quality of life assessed by the five-level EuroQol five-dimensional questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L). Utility values of EQ-5D-5L will be assessed at baseline and 1, 3, and 6 months post-operative. Discussion The PreMaSy study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a novel App-based, patient-centered, self-assessment management system for chronic intractable pain. A randomized controlled trial is designed to test the non-inferiority of this precise management system compared to the monthly online follow-ups. It is also expected to yield valuable experiences regarding precision medicine. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05761392. Registered on March 07, 2023.

Abstract Background Breast cancer‐related lymphedema (BCRL) is one of the common postoperative complications that severely affects the functions of the arm and quality of life. Since lymphedema is difficult to treat and prone to recurrence, early prevention of lymphedema is crucial. Methods Patient diagnosed with breast cancer (N = 108) were randomized to the intervention (n = 52) or control group (n = 56). In the intervention group, patients were provided the lymphedema prevention program based on the theory of knowledge–attitude–practice during the perioperative period and the first three chemotherapy sessions (mainly includes health education, seminars, knowledge manuals, sports guidance, peer education, and WeChat group).The limb volume, handgrip strength, arm function, and quality of life were measured in all patients at the baseline, 9 weeks (T1), and 18 weeks (T2) after surgery. Results The incidence of lymphedema in the Intervention group was numerically lower than in the control group after implementing the lymphedema prevention program, but the difference was not statistically significant (T1: 1.9% vs. 3.8%, p = 1.000; T2: 3.6% vs. 7.1%, p = 0.744). However, compared with the control group, the intervention group showed there was less deterioration in handgrip strength (T1 [t = −2.512, p

Abstract Background Biofilm-immobilized continuous fermentation has the potential to enhance cellular environmental tolerance, maintain cell activity and improve production efficiency. Results In this study, different biofilm-forming genes (FLO5, FLO8 and FLO10) were integrated into the genome of S. cerevisiae for overexpression, while FLO5 and FLO10 gave the best results. The biofilm formation of the engineered strains 1308-FLO5 and 1308-FLO10 was improved by 31.3% and 58.7% compared to that of the WT strain, respectively. The counts of cells adhering onto the biofilm carrier were increased. Compared to free-cell fermentation, the average ethanol production of 1308, 1308-FLO5 and 1308-FLO10 was increased by 17.4%, 20.8% and 19.1% in the biofilm-immobilized continuous fermentation, respectively. Due to good adhering ability, the fermentation broth turbidity of 1308-FLO5 and 1308-FLO10 was decreased by 22.3% and 59.1% in the biofilm-immobilized fermentation, respectively. Subsequently, for biofilm-immobilized fermentation coupled with membrane separation, the engineered strain significantly reduced the pollution of cells onto the membrane and the membrane separation flux was increased by 36.3%. Conclusions In conclusion, enhanced biofilm-forming capability of S. cerevisiae could offer multiple benefits in ethanol fermentation. Graphical Abstract

Machine learning has introduced novel solutions for the surface quality inspection of spring plates. Hence, an improved method was proposed based on logistic regression and AdaBoost (LR-RBAdaBoost) for recognizing surface depressions in spring plates. In order to obtain the measured attributes for spring plates, feature construction methods were adopted. Then, logistic regression was used to analyze and rank the attributes of the spring plate and the filter method was used for the feature selection process. To improve the predicted performance of AdaBoost, RBAdaBoost was proposed in this paper, which is used in the issue of recognition of surface defects in spring steel plates. The effectiveness and sophistication of LR-RBAdaBoost are validated on a real spring steel plate sampling dataset. The results show that the accuracy of LR-RBAdaBoost is 0.968 and f1-score is 0.967, which can be better than the results of only using AdaBoost, random forest, and CatBoost. Furthermore, the results prove that the research has a certain reference value for the recognition of spring plate as well.

Evaluating the potential impacts of land use and land cover change (LULCC) and climate change on air pollution is crucial to unravel the driving forces and mechanisms behind changes in air quality. A multi-faceted approach was adopted, including a land change model (LCM) and Mann–Kendall (MK) test, to evaluate the transition of land cover type, changes in climate, and atmospheric pollutants during 2004–2021 in Pakistan. Moreover, a multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) model and a mathematical model were used to assess the potential contribution of LULCC and climate dynamics to atmospheric pollution. It was revealed that during 2004, croplands covered an area of 9.72 × 104 mile2, accounting for 38% of the total area. However, the area of the croplands increased to 10.1 × 104 mile2, accounting for 40% of the total area in 2021. The MK test showed that the north and west–south regions significantly experienced air pollution, with the increasing trend for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) being 0.89× 1015 molecules/cm2 per year and 0.54 DU/year, respectively. For climate variability, mean precipitation (Precp) and mean surface pressure (SP) showed a prominent increasing trend, with a maximum value of 1 mm/year and 0.01 Kpa/year, respectively. The mean temperature maximum (Tmax) showed an increasing and decreasing trend, with the highest value of 0.28°C/year and 0.08°C/year, respectively. In the context of contribution, the conversion of cropland to grasslands increased the trend for SO2 concentrations. The highest increasing trend of 1.5 DU for ozone (O3) was found due to conversion of grasslands to shrublands. Additionally, regional climate played a significant role in making air pollution stagnant across the country. Precp and wind speed (WS) contributed significantly in escalating NO2 concentrations in Pakistan, while Precp contributed most (0.004 DU) to increasing SO2 concentrations. For O3, the most influential climate factor was Precp. These results on a long-term temporal scale demonstrated how maintaining climate variability through comprehensive land use management can help improve ambient air quality in Pakistan.

Abstract Background Determining the grade and molecular marker status of intramedullary gliomas is important for assessing treatment outcomes and prognosis. Invasive biopsy for pathology usually carries a high risk of tissue damage, especially to the spinal cord, and there are currently no non-invasive strategies to identify the pathological type of intramedullary gliomas. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a non-invasive machine learning model to assist doctors in identifying the intramedullary glioma grade and mutation status of molecular markers. Methods A total of 461 patients from two institutions were included, and their sagittal (SAG) and transverse (TRA) T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans and clinical data were acquired preoperatively. We employed a transformer-based deep learning model to automatically segment lesions in the SAG and TRA phases and extract their radiomics features. Different feature representations were fed into the proposed neural networks and compared with those of other mainstream models. Results The dice similarity coefficients of the Swin transformer in the SAG and TRA phases were 0.8697 and 0.8738, respectively. The results demonstrated that the best performance was obtained in our proposed neural networks based on multimodal fusion (SAG-TRA-clinical) features. In the external validation cohort, the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve for graded (WHO I–II or WHO III–IV), alpha thalassemia/mental retardation syndrome X-linked (ATRX) status, and tumor protein p53 (P53) status prediction tasks were 0.8431, 0.7622, and 0.7954, respectively. Conclusions This study reports a novel machine learning strategy that, for the first time, is based on multimodal features to predict the ATRX and P53 mutation status and grades of intramedullary gliomas. The generalized application of these models could non-invasively provide more tumor-specific pathological information for determining the treatment and prognosis of intramedullary gliomas.

ABSTRACTThis study compared the impact of sequence type 5 (ST5) and ST764, on the efficacy of vancomycin treatment in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. From July 2012 to June 2020, a prospective observational study was conducted in five hospitals in China, enrolling 90 patients with MRSA infections, including 44 patients with ST5-MRSA and 46 patients with ST764-MRSA infections. All strains were subjected to minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination, biofilm expression, heterogeneous vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (hVISA) screening, and whole-genome sequencing. Vancomycin therapeutic drug monitoring was conducted, and the 24-hour area under the curve (AUC0-24) and AUC0-24/MIC values were calculated. ST5-MRSA shows elevated hVISA/VISA presence, increased biofilm formation, and higher presence of virulence genes like tst, sec, and sel. ST764-MRSA expresses seb, aiding infection in elderly patients in the community. Additionally, patients with ST764 infections exhibit higher vancomycin AUC0-24/MIC values, and fewer tracheotomies compared to ST5. Clinical signs and symptoms improvement were observed in 27 (61.4%) and 33 (71.7%) patients in the ST5 and ST764 groups, respectively (P = 0.372). On the other hand, 28 (63.6%) and 39 (84.8%) patients had laboratory-confirmed bacterial eradication in two groups, respectively (P = 0.029). Multivariate analysis showed that the virulence genes, such as the tst gene, were a risk factor for bacterial persistence (adjusted odds ratio, 4.509; 95% confidence interval, 1.216 to 16.724; P = 0.024). Our study showed that vancomycin was less effective in treating ST5-MRSA infection compared to ST764-MRSA infection, in part because ST5-MRSA is healthcare-associated MRSA while ST764-MRSA carries genetic characteristics of community-associated MRSA.IMPORTANCEMethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacterium that is resistant to multiple drugs and can cause serious infections. In recent years, one of the most widespread strains of MRSA worldwide has been the clonal complex 5 (CC5) type. Sequence type 5 (ST5) and ST764 are two prevalent CC5 strains. Although ST5 and ST764 are genotypically identical, ST764 is classified as a hybrid variant of ST5 with characteristics of community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA). In contrast to ST5, ST764 lacks the tst and sec genes but carries the staphylococcal enterotoxin B (seb) gene. Vancomycin is commonly used as the first-line treatment for MRSA infections. However, it is currently unclear whether the genetic differences between the ST5 and ST764 strains have any impact on the efficacy of vancomycin in treating MRSA infections. We conducted a prospective observational study comparing the efficacy of vancomycin against ST5-MRSA and ST764-MRSA in five hospitals in China. There were significant differences in bacteriological efficacy between the two groups, with virulence genes, such as the tst gene, being a risk factor for bacterial persistence (adjusted odds ratio, 4.509; 95% confidence interval, 1.216 to 16.724; P = 0.024). In the future, it may be necessary to consider personalized vancomycin treatment strategies based on the genetic characteristics of MRSA isolates.

5-methylcytosine modifications play a significant role in carcinogenesis; however, studies exploring 5-methylcytosine-related genes in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients are lacking. In this study, we aimed to understand the potential role and clinical prognostic impact of 5-methylcytosine regulators in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and identify a prognostic biomarker based on 5-methylcytosine-associated genes. Gene expression profiles and corresponding clinical information of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients and normal controls were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas, Gene Expression Omnibus, and Genotype-Tissue Expression databases. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was divided into three clusters according to the 5-methylcytosine regulators, and differentially expressed genes were screened among the three clusters. Univariate Cox and Lasso-Cox regression analyses were used to screen prognostic genes and construct a prognostic risk model. Kaplan-Meier curve analysis, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses, and time-dependent receiver operator characteristic curve analysis were used to evaluate prognostic factors. GSVA was used to enrich potential pathways associated with 5-methylcytosine modification patterns. SsGSEA and CIBERSORT were used to assess immune cell infiltration. Six 5-methylcytosine-related genes (TUBB4A, CD3E, ZNF681, HAP1, IL22RA2, and POSTN) were used to construct a prognostic risk model, which was proved to have a good predictive effect. In addition, univariate and multivariate Cox regression risk scores were independent prognostic factors for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Further analysis showed that the 5-methylcytosine risk score was significantly correlated with immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoint of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Our study reveals for the first time a potential role for 5-methylcytosine modifications in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, provides novel insights for future studies on diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and offers potential prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Abstract Background We sought to determine whether statin treatment has a protective effect on the outcome of critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation. Methods Patients who underwent mechanical ventilation were selected from the MIMIC-III database. Patients with statin usage were allocated into the statin cohort. Patients without any statin use were matched to the statin cohort in a 1:1 ratio by propensity score. To ensure the robustness of the findings, we utilized the gradient boosted model, propensity score analysis, doubly robust estimation and an inverse probability‐weighting model in the statistical procedure. Results Before matching, 17,452 patients were enrolled in the non-statin group and 3,999 in the statin group. After matching, 3,363 patients were enrolled in each group. Compared with nonusers, the use of statins was associated with improved 28-day survival in the unmatched cohort (HR 0.85 95% CI 0.80–0.90, p

As one of severe plastic deformation (SPD) methods, multi-directional forging (MDF) technology is an effective way to refine grains. The microstructure, texture evolution and mechanical properties of homogenized Mg–13Gd–4Y–2Zn–0.5Zr (wt. %) alloy during isothermal MDF process were synthetically investigated in the paper. The results showed that the mean grain size of the alloy decreased gradually with the MDF passes increased. After 4 passes, the average grain size of the alloy was refined to 2.7 μm, and the microstructure distribution was uniform. On the one hand, with the increasing of the MDF passes, the massive intergranular LPSO phases are gradually broken up and formed a deformation zone. The plate-like Mg5(Gd,Y) precipitates were located interior the grains. On the other hand, the spherical Mg5(Gd,Y) phases were randomly distributed with the increasing of MDF passes. In addition, the maximum texture intensity of the MDFed alloy on (0001) basal plane gradually was weaken from 15.993 of the 1MDFed alloy to 4.245 of the 4MDFed alloy, which was attributed to the increasing of volume fraction of dynamic recrystallized (DRXed) grains via MDF method. And the dynamic recrystallization (DRX) mechanisms were continuous DRX (CDRX), discontinuous DRX (DDRX), particle stimulated nucleation (PSN) and kink induced DRX. The maximum ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and tensile yield strength (TYS) after 4 passes were 385 MPa and 360 MPa respectively. The excellent mechanical properties of the alloy were owing to the grain boundary strengthening, dislocation strengthening, texture strengthening and precipitation strengthening. In addition, the second phase particles such as lamellar LPSO phases, broken block-shaped LPSO phases, spherical Mg5(Gd,Y) phases and plate-like Mg5(Gd,Y) phases were demonstrated to be the strengthening phases.

As one of the severe plastic deformation (SPD) methods, repetitive upsetting-extrusion (RUE) technique was an effective way to refine grains for large-sized billet at blank-making stage. The microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of industrial-scale Mg–9Gd–3Y–2Zn–0.4Zr (wt.%) alloys were comprehensively investigated in this paper. The experimental alloys exhibited heterogeneous microstructure in the different regions and directions due to the uneven deformation temperature and strain during the RUE deformation process. In addition, the texture and mechanical properties of the RUEed samples also exhibited obvious anisotropy. In particular, the RUEed sample in the edge region along extrusion direction (EED) showed a superior tensile strength with ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 357 MPa, tensile yield strength (TYS) of 242 MPa and the failure elongation (FE) of 9.0%, due to the smaller average grain size (12.7 μm) and higher area fraction of the dynamic recrystallized (DRXed) grains (82.2%) than other regions. Furthermore, the results also exhibited that the enhancement of the mechanical properties of the RUEed samples were mainly attributed to Hall–Petch strengthening, Orowan strengthening and texture strengthening.

BackgroundAluminum (Al) can cause irreversible damage to neurons and synapses function, and the mechanism may be connected to mitochondrial damage caused by glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) regulating dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1), resulting in inhibition of the growth of neuronal protrusions.ObjectiveTo investigate the role of GSK-3β regulating DRP1 in the inhibition of primary hippocampal neurite growth induced by Al.MethodsNeurons were extracted from the hippocampus of newborn mice (≤24 h old) for primary culture. On day 6, the purity of neurons was detected by immunofluorescence. On day 10, neurons with good growth state were selected for Al exposure and GSK-3β inhibitor SB216763 (SB) intervention. The experiment design included a blank control group, a dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) group, an Al (20 μmol·L−1) group, a SB (1 μmol·L−1) group, and a SB (1 μmol·L−1) + Al (20 μmol·L−1) group. After primary hippocampal neurons were treated with Al or SB for 48 h, cell viability was detected by CCK-8 assay, the mitochondrial morphology of primary hippocampal neurons was observed by transmission electron microscopy, the total protrusion length of primary hippocampal neurons was scanned and analyzed by laser confocal imaging, and their complexity was analyzed by Sholl analysis. The expression levels of phospho-GSK-3β, GSK-3β, and DRP1 were detected by Western blotting.ResultsThe immunofluorescent results showed that the purity of primary neurons was higher than 90%. After the Al exposure and the SB intervention for 48 h, compared with the blank control group, there was no obvious difference in cell viability in the DMSO group and the SB group (P>0.05), and the Al group showed reduced cell viability (P=0.006); there was no obvious difference in cell viability between the SB+Al group and the Al group (P>0.05). Compared with the blank control group, there was no obvious difference in the average total length of protrusion in the DMSO group and the SB group (P>0.05), and the Al group showed reduced average total length of neurite (P0.05), and that in the Al group was significantly reduced (P0.05). The mitochondrial structure of the blank control group was complete and the crest was clearly visible; there was no apparent variation in the mitochondrial structure in the DMSO group and the SB group; the mitochondria in the Al group were vacuolated and the crista disappeared; the SB+Al group showed clearer crista than the Al group. The difference in GSK-3β phosphorylation level among groups was statistically significant (F=45.841, P0.05), increased in the SB group (P=0.022), and significantly reduced in the Al group (P0.05), and significantly increased in the Al group (P=0.001); the DRP1 protein level in the SB+Al group was significantly lower than that in the Al group (P=0.029).ConclusionAl may increase the level of DRP1 protein by activating GSK-3β, causing mitochondrial damage and inhibiting neuronal protrusions growth.

Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL) is a subtype of peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) strongly correlated with worse clinical outcomes. However, the role of characteristic pathway-related genes in patients with AITL (e.g., subtype typing and pathogenesis) remains unknown. In this study, we intended to understand the potential role and prognostic value of characteristic pathways in AITL and identified a model for subtype identification based on pathway-related functional status. Transcriptomic (RNA-seq) data were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database for three sets of tumor tissues from AITL patients. AITL was divided into three clusters based on the pathway profile of patients and the best clustering k = 3, and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the three clusters were analyzed. The top 45 important variables associated with characteristic pathways, such as Huntington's disease, VEGF signaling pathway, nucleotide excision repair, ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis, purine metabolism, olfactory transduction, etc., were used to construct a subtype identification model. The model was experimentally validated and proved to possess good predictive efficacy. In addition, pathway-related subtype typing was significantly associated with different immune cell infiltration in AITL. Further analysis revealed that the drug IC50 values predicted also differed markedly among the different subtypes, thus further identifying some subtype-specific drugs. Our study indicates a potential role of characteristic pathways in AITL staging for the first time, provides novel insights for future research targeting AITL, and points to potential therapeutic options for patients with different subtypes of AITL.

Candida albicans is a ubiquitous fungus that can cause superficial and systemic infections in humans. Neutrophils play a crucial role in controlling C. albicans infections. When C. albicans enters the bloodstream, it tends to get trapped in capillary vessels. However, the behavior of neutrophils in combating capillary-residing fungi has not been fully characterized. In this study, we used transgenic mice and whole mount imaging to investigate the growth of C. albicans and its interaction with innate immune cells in different organs. We observed that C. albicans rapidly grows hyphae within hours of infection. Following intravenous infection, we observed two waves of neutrophil recruitment, both of which significantly contributed to the elimination of the fungi. The first wave of neutrophils was induced by complement activation and could be prevented by C5aR blockade. Interestingly, we discovered that the fungicidal effect in the lungs was independent of adhesion molecules such as Mac-1, LFA-1, and ICAM-1. However, these molecules played a more significant role in the optimal killing of C. albicans in the kidney. Importantly, the initial difference in killing efficiency resulted in significantly reduced survival in knockout mice lacking these adhesion molecules. We identified a second wave of neutrophil recruitment associated with hyphal growth and tissue damage, which was independent of the aforementioned adhesion molecules. Overall, this study elucidates the dual wave of neutrophil recruitment during C. albicans infection and highlights the importance of early fungal clearance for favorable disease outcomes.

Hydrogen production through water splitting is a promising path to develop renewable green energy. Effective, stable, and low-cost catalysts are the key to water splitting. In the present work, a series of self-supporting nanoporous alloys are prepared by using a dealloying process followed by electrooxidation. Among them, the np-AlFeNiO-4s sample exhibits remarkable activity (10 mA cm−2 at 32 mV for the HER and 278 mV for the OER) and good long-term stability (100 h) in alkaline conditions for both the HER and the OER. It only requires 1.56 V to reach 10 mA cm−2 current density for total water splitting performance. The very short time of electrooxidation can significantly improve the HER performance. Electrooxidation makes the metal and metal oxide sites on the electrode surface effectively coupled, which greatly enhances the kinetic rate of the Volmer and Heyrovsky steps. Appropriate electrooxidation is a rapid and easy way to improve the activity of the electrocatalyst, which has a broad application prospect in electrochemical water splitting.

The detection of Martian polar ice cap change patterns is important for understanding their effects on driving Mars’s global water cycle and for regulating atmospheric circulation. However, current Martian ice cap identification using optical remote sensing data mainly relies on visual interpretation, which makes it difficult to quickly extract ice caps from multiple images and analyze their fine-scale spatiotemporal variation characteristics. Therefore, this study proposes an automatic Martian polar ice cap extraction algorithm for remote sensing data and analyzes the dynamic change characteristics of the Martian North Pole ice cap using time-series data. First, the automatic Martian ice cap segmentation algorithm was developed based on the ice cap features of high reflectance in the blue band and low saturation in the RGB band. Second, the Martian North Pole ice cap was extracted for the three Martian years MY25, 26, and 28 using Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) Mars Daily Global Maps (MDGMs) data, which had better spatiotemporal continuity to analyze its variation characteristics. Lastly, the spatiotemporal variation characteristics of the ice cap and the driving factors of ice cap ablation were explored for the three aforementioned Martian years. The results indicated that the proposed automatic ice cap extraction algorithm had good performance, and the classification accuracy exceeded 93%. The ice cap ablation boundary retreat rates and spatiotemporal distributions were similar for the three years, with approximately 105 km2 of ice cap ablation for every one degree of areocentric longitude of the Sun (Ls). The main driving factor of ice cap ablation was solar radiation, which was mainly related to Ls. In addition, elevation had a different effect on ice cap ablation at different Ls in the same latitude area near the ablation boundary of the ice cap.

The generation of second-order sidebands and its associated group delay is an important subject in optical storage and switch. In this work, the efficiency of second-order sideband generation in a coupled optomechanical cavity system with a cubic nonlinear harmonic oscillator is theoretically investigated. It is found that the efficiency of second-order sideband generation can be effectively enhanced with the decrease in decay rate of optomechanical cavity, the increase in coupling strength between two cavities and the power of probe field. The slow light effect (i.e., positive group delay) is also observed in the proposed optomechanical cavity system, and can be controlled with the power of control field.

Aboveground biomass (AGB) is an important indicator for characterizing crop growth conditions. A rapid and accurate estimation of AGB is critical for guiding the management of farmland and achieving production potential, and it can also provide vital data for ensuring food security. In this study, by applying different water and nitrogen treatments, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a multispectral imaging spectrometer was used to acquire images of winter wheat during critical growth stages. Then, the plant height (Hdsm) extracted from the digital surface model (DSM) information was used to establish and improve the estimation model of AGB, using the backpropagation (BP) neural network, a machine learning method. The results show that (1) the R2, root-mean-square error (RMSE), and relative predictive deviation (RPD) of the AGB estimation model, constructed directly using the Hdsm, are 0.58, 4528.23 kg/hm2, and 1.25, respectively. The estimated mean AGB (16,198.27 kg/hm2) is slightly smaller than the measured mean AGB (16,960.23 kg/hm2). (2) The R2, RMSE, and RPD of the improved AGB estimation model, based on AGB/Hdsm, are 0.88, 2291.90 kg/hm2, and 2.75, respectively, and the estimated mean AGB (17,478.21 kg/hm2) is more similar to the measured mean AGB (17,222.59 kg/hm2). The improved AGB estimation model boosts the accuracy by 51.72% compared with the AGB directly estimated using the Hdsm. Moreover, the improved AGB estimation model shows strong transferability in regard to different water treatments and different year scenarios, but there are differences in the transferability for different N-level scenarios. (3) Differences in the characteristics of the data are the key factors that lead to the different transferability of the AGB estimation model. This study provides an antecedent in regard to model construction and transferability estimation of AGB for winter wheat. We confirm that, when different datasets have similar histogram characteristics, the model is applicable to new scenarios.

This study focused on the nuanced phenomenon of gendered parenting by exploring how maternal son preference is associated with depressive symptoms among Chinese early adolescents. Focusing on 1093 junior high school students from a relatively affluent city in Western China, this study examined the mediating roles of mother–child attachment and father–child attachment as well as the moderating role of school connectedness in the relationship between maternal son preference and depressive symptoms. The results revealed a noteworthy positive correlation between maternal son preference and depressive symptoms among female adolescents, with no significant association observed in males. In addition, mother–child attachment and father–child attachment mediated the relationship between maternal son preference and girls’ depressive symptoms, supporting the “spillover effect” and “crossover effect”. Moreover, a moderation effect analysis indicated that a higher level of school connectedness can buffer the effect of maternal son preference on girls’ depressive symptoms, while a lower level of school connectedness can enhance the effect of maternal son preference on girls’ depressive symptoms. In addition, maternal son preference was negatively correlated with boys’ depressive symptoms in relation to high school connectedness. These insights help enhance people’s understanding of gendered parenting, emphasizing the enduring necessity of addressing son preference within the broader context of promoting gender equality.

BackgroundOccupational aluminum exposure is closely related to cognitive impairment, and alcohol consumption is also closely related to cognitive dysfunction.ObjectiveTo explore the effects of types of alcohol consumption on cognitive function of occupational aluminum exposed workers.MethodsA total of 181 workers aged from 23 to 56 years were selected by cluster sampling method in an electrolytic aluminum workshop of an aluminum plant in a region and in a maintenance workshop of another plant in the same region from July to August, 2019. Venous blood was collected, and plasma aluminum concentration was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The study subjects were divided into low and high exposure groups based on the median blood aluminum level and type of work. Their basic information was collected by occupational health examination. Workers' cognitive function was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale-Beijing Edition. Logistic regression was used to analyze the association between plasma aluminum concentration and cognitive impairment, and between the types of alcohol consumption (including Baijiu, red wine, and beer) and cognitive impairment, Unconditional logistic regression was used to fit multiplicative interaction model as well as additive interaction model of plasma aluminum concentration and the types of alcohol consumption, and to calculate the relative excess relative risk due to interaction (RERI) and attributable proportion due to interaction (AP).ResultsThe M (P25, P75) concentrations of plasma aluminum were 40.01 (25.05, 60.56) µg·L−1 in the total study subjects, 25.16 (17.13, 34.78) µg·L−1 in the low exposure group and 60.56 (47.40, 68.53) µg·L−1 in the high exposure group. After adjusting the type of alcohol consumption, drinking, age, duration of exposure to aluminum, education, marital status, and smoking, the odds ratios for impairments of attention, language expression, and overall cognitive function in the high exposure group were 4.295 (95%CI: 1.912-9.648), 5.687 (95%CI: 1.355-23.867), and 2.720 (95%CI: 1.225-6.040) times of the low exposure group respectively. Besides, after adjusting blood aluminum concentration, total alcohol consumption, age, duration of exposure to aluminum, education, marital status, and smoking, the risk of attention impairment of the Baijiu drinkers was 2.613 (95%CI: 1.054 to 6.837) times of the non-Baijiu drinkers; the risks of impairment of visuospatial abilities and execution functions, language expression, delayed recall, and overall cognitive function of the beer drinkers were 3.165 (95%CI: 1.285-7.797), 17.898 (95%CI: 1.590-201.480), 3.118 (95%CI: 1.215-8.003), and 3.824 (95%CI: 1.736-8.423) times of the non-beer drinkers. There were both additive [RERI (95%CI): 1.745 (1.394-2.097), AP (95%CI): 0.415 (0.201-0.630)] and multiplicative (OR=3.591, 95%CI: 1.393-9.255) interactions between Baijiu intake and plasma aluminum concentration levels on the attention domain. The cognitive impairment attributed to the interactive effects of drinking Baijiu and plasma aluminum concentration in individuals with attention impairment accounted for 41.5%. There were both additive [RERI (95%CI): 5.955 (0.562-11.328), AP (95%CI): 0.829 (0.577-1.081)] and multiplicative (OR=42.174, 95%CI: 5.469-325.252) interactions between beer drinking and plasma aluminum concentration on the overall cognitive function. Among the individuals with overall cognitive impairment, the cognitive impairment caused by the interaction of beer drinking and plasma aluminum concentration accounted for 82.9%.ConclusionOccupation aluminum exposed workers' attention, language expression, and overall cognitive function are closely related to their plasma aluminum concentration. Plasma aluminum concentrations have interactions with Baijiu and beer consumption on cognitive impairment of workers.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to analyze the current status of research on nurses’ turnover intention and to provide suggestions and references for promoting research on turnover intention and for promoting hospital talent development.MethodsWe used the bibliometric method “turnover intention” or “intention to leave” and “nurse*” as subject terms, and 1543 articles from 2017 to 2021 were retrieved from the WoS database using VOSViewer and CiteSpace software. Article based on this descriptive statistical analysis was performed on the year of publication, region, institution, journal of publication, and cited articles.ResultsA total of 1,500 articles met the inclusion criteria. There is an overall upward trend in the number of articles published in the field of nursing in terms of turnover intention from 2017 to 2021. The United States has the highest number of publications and the highest number of institutions, while China ranks second in terms of publications, but there are no Chinese research institutions in the top 10. The top three journals in terms of the number of articles published are the Journal of nursing management, the Journal of advanced nursing, and the Journal of clinical nursing; Oman’s League had the highest number of citations for their article in 2021; the most frequently occurring keywords are burnout, stress, satisfaction, model, work environment, organizational commitment, perception, predictor, mental health, and mediating role.ConclusionThere is a great need for further research on how to develop sound measures to tackle nurse turnover intention. The following improvements should be made, such as to enhance research institutional settings for nurses’ turnover intention in China and to increase attention to nurse burnout and possible mediating influences in future studies.

BackgroundAluminum can cause synaptic plasticity damage in the hippocampus, probably due to blocked interneuronal signal transmission. MicroRNA-29a (miR-29a) can target phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) expression and participate in the generation of neuronal networks, and may be involved in the effect of aluminum on the electrical activity of neuronal networks.ObjectiveTo study the role and mechanism of miR-29a-targeted PTEN in aluminum-induced neuronal network injury in primary hippocampal neurons of ICR mice treated with maltol aluminum [Al(mal)3] in vitro.MethodsPrimary hippocampal neurons of ICR mice born within 24 h were cultured in vitro. The purity of neurons was determined by labeling neuron-specific microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) by immunofluorescence staining on day six of the culture; neurons were treated with different concentrations of Al(mal)3, and divided into a control group, and 10, 20, and 40 μmol·L−1 Al(mal)3 groups, and neuronal cell viability was detected by CCK-8 method. Al(mal)3 at 20 μmol·L−1 was selected for subsequent experiments to establish a neuronal network injury model for intervention. The lentivirus infection method was used to transfect miR-29a into neurons, which were divided into mNG, mNG+20 μmol·L−1 Al(mal)3, miR-29a, and miR-29a+20 μmol·L−1 Al(mal)3 groups, and micro-electrode array (MEA) was used to analyze the firing of neuronal network. The expressions of miR-29a and PTEN mRNA in each group were detected by real-time PCR (RT-PCR), and the expression of PTEN protein in each group was detected by Western blotting.ResultsThe purity of primary mouse hippocampal neurons was greater than 90%, and the viability of the neurons was above 80% in all groups. At 48 h of the designed Al(mal)3 treatments, the changes in spike frequency, burst frequency, network burst frequency, and synchrony index of neurons cultivated on MEA plates in the control group were 207.56%±38.70%, 73.19%±46.43%, 75.42%±33.04%, and 117.13%±15.54%, respectively; the Al(mal)3 groups’ neuronal network electrical activity showed a decreasing trend. Compared with the control group, the spike frequency, burst frequency, network burst frequency, and synchrony index of the 20 and 40 μmol·L−1 Al(mal)3 groups significantly decreased (The changes were 171.70%±28.08%, 49.20%±23.23%, 50.20%±18.18%, and 85.45%±20.30%; 150.68%±26.15%, 43.43%±15.54%, 52.05%±26.31%, and 26.80%±8.29%, respectively, P < 0.05). Compared with the control group (1.00), the miR-29a relative expression levels were significantly decreased in the 20 μmol·L−1 Al(mal)3 group (0.74±0.09) and the 40 μmol·L−1 Al(mal)3 group (0.62±0.12) (P < 0.05); the relative expression levels of PTEN mRNA were significantly increased in the 20 μmol·L−1 Al(mal)3 group (1.32±0.12) and the 40 μmol·L−1 Al(mal)3 group (1.48±0.11) (P < 0.05); the PTEN protein relative expression levels (1.29±0.12 and 1.82±0.10, respectively) were also significantly increased (P < 0.05). By overexpressing miR-29a in mouse primary hippocampal neurons, the spike frequency, burst frequency, and network burst frequency were significantly higher in the miR-29a group compared with the mNG group (The changes were 252.80%±62.03%, 171.65%±56.30%, and 197.75%±27.12%, respectively, P

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the most significant greenhouse gases, and its concentration and distribution in the atmosphere have always been a research hotspot. To study the temporal and spatial characteristics of atmospheric CO2 globally, it is crucial to evaluate the consistency of observation data from different carbon observation satellites. This study utilizes data from the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) to verify the column-averaged dry air mole fractions of atmospheric CO2 (XCO2) retrieved by satellites from October 2014 to May 2016, specifically comparing the XCO2 distributions from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) and Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2). Our analysis indicates a strong correlation between the TCCON and both the GOSAT (correlation coefficient of 0.85) and OCO-2 (correlation coefficient of 0.91). Cross-validation further reveals that the measurements of the GOSAT and OCO-2 are highly consistent, with an average deviation and standard deviation of 0.92 ± 1.16 ppm and a correlation coefficient of 0.92. These differences remain stable over time, indicating that the calibration in the data set is reliable. Moreover, monthly averaged time-series and seasonal climatology comparisons were also performed separately over the six continents, i.e., Asia, North America, Europe, Africa, South America, and Oceania. The investigation of monthly XCO2 values across continents highlights greater consistency in Asia, North America, and Oceania (standard deviation from 0.15 to 0.27 ppm) as compared to Europe, South America, and Africa (standard deviation from 0.45 to 0.84 ppm). A seasonal analysis exhibited a high level of consistency in spring (correlation coefficient of 0.97), but lower agreement in summer (correlation coefficient of 0.78), potentially due to cloud cover and aerosol interference. Although some differences exist among the datasets, the overall findings demonstrate a strong correlation between the satellite measurements of XCO2. These results emphasize the importance of continued monitoring and calibration efforts to ensure the accurate assessment and understanding of atmospheric CO2 levels.

Accurate global monitoring of carbon dioxide (CO2) is essential for understanding climate change and informing policy decisions. This study compares column-averaged dry-air mole fractions of CO2 (XCO2) between ACOS_L2_Lite_FP V9r for Japan’s Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT), OCO-2_L2_Lite_FP V10r for the USA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2), and IAPCAS V2.0 for China’s Carbon Dioxide Observation Satellite (TANSAT) collectively referred to as GOT, with data from the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON). Our findings are as follows: (1) Significant data quantity differences exist between OCO-2 and the other satellites, with OCO-2 boasting a data volume 100 times greater. GOT shows the highest data volume between 30–45°N and 20–30°S, but data availability is notably lower near the equator. (2) XCO2 from GOT exhibits similar seasonal variations, with lower concentrations during June, July, and August (JJA) (402.72–403.74 ppm) and higher concentrations during December, January, and February (DJF) (405.74–407.14 ppm). XCO2 levels are higher in the Northern Hemisphere during March, April, and May (MAM) and DJF, while slightly lower during JJA and September, October, and November (SON). (3) The differences in XCO2 (ΔXCO2) reveal that ΔXCO2 between OCO-2 and TANSAT are minor (−0.47 ± 0.28 ppm), whereas the most significant difference is observed between GOSAT and TANSAT (−1.13 ± 0.15 ppm). Minimal differences are seen in SON (with the biggest difference between GOSAT and TANSAT: −0.84 ± 0.12 ppm), while notable differences occur in DJF (with the biggest difference between GOSAT and TANSAT: −1.43 ± 0.17 ppm). Regarding latitudinal variations, distinctions between OCO-2 and TANSAT are most pronounced in JJA and SON. (4) Compared to TCCON, XCO2 from GOT exhibits relatively high determination coefficients (R2 > 0.8), with GOSAT having the highest root mean square error (RMSE = 1.226 ppm, 2. Furthermore, it offers insights that can inform the analysis of differences in the inversion of carbon sources and sinks within assimilation systems when incorporating XCO2 data from satellite observations.

Based on the Moran Index (MI), which reflects the relationship between pollution status and the geographic and spatial characteristics of pollution. This study further discussed the impact of changes in financial and economic structure, pollution and spatial characteristics on urban sewage discharge. The results showed that when the pollution is highly correlated with spatial characteristics, the scale of urban sewage discharge would be larger, and the overall environmental regulatory status of the city would be worse. In terms of regional differences, the distance between cities in the central region and provincial capitals had a negative impact on the efficiency of sewage discharge. Finally, quantile regression found that when the efficiency of urban sewage discharge was in the higher quantile, the growth of labor disposable income and GDP would further enhance the discharge efficiency.

IntroductionDiabetic kidney disease (DKD) is one of the complications of diabetes; however, the pathogenesis is not yet clear. A recent study has shown that senescence is associated with the course of DKD. In the present study, we explored whether senescent renal tubular cells promote renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis by secreting Sonic hedgehog (Shh) which mediates fibroblast activation and proliferation in DKD.MethodsA 36-week-old db/db mice model and the renal tubular epithelial cells were cultured in high glucose (HG, 60 mmol/L) medium for in vivo and in vitro experiments.ResultsCompared to db/m mice, blood glucose, microalbuminuria, serum creatinine, urea nitrogen, and UACR (microalbuminuria/urine creatinine) were markedly increased in db/db mice. Collagen III, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were also increased in db/db mice kidneys, suggesting fibrosis and inflammation in the organ. Moreover, the detection of SA-β-galactosidase (SA-β-Gal) showed that the activity of SA-β-Gal in the cytoplasm of renal tubular epithelial cells increased, and the cell cycle inhibition of the expression of senescence-related gene cell cycle inhibitor p16INK4A protein and p21 protein increased, indicating that renal fibrosis in db/db mice was accompanied by cell senescence. Furthermore, Shh is highly expressed in the injured renal tubules and in the kidney tissue of db/db mice, as detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results of immunofluorescence staining showed increased positive staining for Shh in renal tubular epithelial cells of db/db mice and decreased positive staining for Lamin B1, but increased positive staining for γH2A.X in cells with high Shh expression; similar results were obtained in vitro. In addition, HG stimulated renal tubular epithelial cells to secrete Shh in the supernatant of the medium. D-gal treatment of renal tubular epithelial cells increased the protein levels of Shh and p21. We also found enhanced activation and proliferation of fibroblasts cultured with the supernatant of renal tubular epithelial cells stimulated by HG medium but the proliferative effect was significantly diminished when co-cultured with cyclopamine (CPN), an inhibitor of the Shh pathway.DiscussionIn conclusion, HG induces renal tubular epithelial cell senescence, and the secretion of senescence-associated proteins and Shh mediates inflammatory responses and fibroblast activation and proliferation, ultimately leading to renal fibrosis.