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Objective To investigate the influencing factors of the grading of acute kidney injury （AKI） caused by partial nephrectomy in patients with malignant renal tumors. Methods General information， surgery and treatment data， clinical and pathological grading， laboratory test results， surgical records and pathological reports and other clinical data of patients with malignant renal tumors who underwent partial nephrectomy in Qingdao Municipal Hospital from January 2013 to January 2023 were collected. All patients were divided into the non-AKI， stage1 and stage 2 AKI groups according to the incidence of AKI. The influencing factors of AKI were identified by Logistic regression analysis. The efficiency of serum creatinine in predicting AKI after partial nephrectomy was analyzed by the receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve. Results A total of 503 patients with malignant renal tumors underwent partial nephrectomy， including 378 cases （75.1%） of non-AKI， 83 cases （16.5%） of stage 1 AKI and 42 cases （8.3%） of stage 2 AKI， respectively. Patients with stage 1 AKI showed statistically significant differences in the proportion of hypertension and diabetes mellitus， changes of creatinine levels at preoperative 48 h， tumor volume， warm ischemia time， and body mass index （BMI） compared with non-AKI counterparts （all P <0.05）. Patients with stage 2 AKI showed statistically significant differences in the gender composition， proportion of hypertension and diabetes mellitus， R.E.N.A.L. score， changes of creatinine levels at preoperative 48 h，tumor volume， warm ischemia time and BMI compared with AKI counterparts （all P <0.05）. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the influencing factors of stage 1 AKI after partial nephrectomy included BMI， hypertension， diabetes mellitus， the changes of serum creatinine levels at preoperative 48 h， tumor volume and warm ischemia time， and the influencing factors of stage 2 AKI also consisted of gender and R.E.N.A.L score （all P <0.05）. The cutoff values of serum creatinine levels for the diagnosis of AKI and stage 2 AKI were 23.29 and 39.88 mmol/L， with a sensitivity of 98.1% and 99.8%， a specificity of 81.3% and 89.6%， and an area under the ROC curve （AUC） of 0.969 and 0.974， respectively. Conclusions The influencing factors for AKI after partial nephrectomy in patients with malignant renal tumors are hypertension， diabetes mellitus， changes in creatinine levels at preoperative 48 h， tumor volume， warm ischemia time and BMI. In addition， the influencing factors for patients with stage 2 AKI consist of gender and R.E.N.A.L. score. Early identification of these influencing factors and active interventions can reduce the incidence of postoperative AKI and alleviate the severity of AKI.

[Objective] In order to quantitatively evaluate the suitability and quality improvement potential of forest and grass in typical watersheds of complex underlying surface in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. [Methods] The evaluation index system and evaluation method of forest and grass suitability in Sanchuan River Basin were constructed by means of geographical detector, spatial analysis, mathematical statistics and other methods, and the forest and grass suitability and its potential for quality improvement under the current land use conditions in the basin were evaluated. [Results] (1) The dominant factors affecting the suitable distribution of forest land in the Sanchuan River Basin include the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FPAR), elevation, soil erosion intensity and soil type. The dominant factors affecting the suitable distribution of grass land include elevation, FPAR, soil type and soil moisture, etc. (2) The area of forest land with different suitability degrees was from large to small high suitability, unsuitable, mid-height suitability, moderate suitability, and the area above moderate suitable accounted for 81.9% of the total area of forest land. The area of grassland with different suitability degree was in order from large to small: moderate suitability, unsuitable, mid-height suitability, and high suitability, and area above moderate suitability accounts for 55.3% of the total area of grassland, and there was still a large space for optimization layout of grassland in the basin. (3) The area of forest land improvement was 223.2 km2, accounting for 15.4% of the total area of moderate suitability and above areas, and most of the forest land in the area had reached the coverage threshold level. The area of grade I upgrading potential of forest in each suitability area accounted for more than 89.0%, and the difficulty of upgrading was low. The area of grassland improvement was 222.3 km2, accounting for 43.1% of the total area of moderate suitability and above areas, and nearly half of the grassland in the area have not yet reached the coverage threshold; The area proportion of grade I upgrading potential of grassland in each suitability area decreased with the increase of suitability, and the difficulty of upgrading increased with the increase of suitability. (4) The forest land can implement weak intervention measures based on natural restoration by strengthening the control of closure; grassland needs to take appropriate intervention measures according to the potential zoning of different suitability to achieve the overall improvement of grassland coverage. [Conclusion] In the Sanchuan River Basin, the pattern of forest land was better than that of grassland and the potential of grassland improvement is higher than that of forest land. The evaluation method of forest and grass habitat suitability constructed in this study can provide a scientific basis for the rational allocation of plant measures and the improvement of quality and efficiency in the middle reaches of the Yellow River.

The complex network of fractures formed by randomly distributed natural fractures in hot-dry rocks (HDRs) complicates the heat transfer regularity of injected fluid. On the basis of the fracture network, exploring the characteristics of the fluid flow and heat transfer as influenced by different parameters helps enable efficient resource extraction and effectively promotes the construction of diversified energy utilization structures. Accordingly, accounting for the effect of the thermal shock on the evolution of the permeability of the rock matrix, a thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) coupling model is developed to analyze the influences of fracture network characteristics on the heat extraction performance of HDRs. In addition, a large-scale injection and production physical simulation experiment is performed using a newly developed, in-house, large-scale true triaxial experimental system. The corresponding numerical model is established and validated. The good agreement between the numerical and experimental results verifies the reliability and accuracy of the proposed THM model. Subsequently, a two-dimensional model is established under complex fracture network conditions, taking, as a research object, the natural fracture characteristics of HDR in the Qinghai Gonghe Basin in combination with the regional geological information. The effects of different parameters, including the production well location, rock matrix permeability, injection rate, initial fracture width, and number of fractures, on the production temperature and heat extraction performance are systematically analyzed. The results indicate that an increase in the number of fractures, the distance between the injection well and the production well, or the width of the initial fractures leads to an improved heat extraction performance. The number of fractures increased from 11 horizontal fractures and 22 high-angle fractures to 35 horizontal fractures and 70 high-angle fractures, with a 20% increase in heat extraction rate. While the influence of the rock matrix permeability is not highly significant, it cannot be ignored. It is crucial to select an injection rate that is neither too low nor too high, taking into consideration economic factors.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the performance of a clinical-radiomics model based on contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT) in assessing human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status in urothelial bladder carcinoma (UBC).MethodsFrom January 2022 to December 2023, 124 patients with UBC were classified into the training (n=100) and test (n=24) sets. CE-CT scans were performed on the patients. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify independent predictors of HER2 status in patients with UBC. We employed eight machine learning algorithms to establish radiomic models. A clinical-radiomics model was developed by integrating radiomic signatures and clinical features. Receiver operating characteristic curves and decision curve analysis (DCA) were generated to evaluate and validate the predictive capabilities of the models.ResultsAmong the eight classifiers, the random forest radiomics model based on CE-CT demonstrated the highest efficacy in predicting HER2 status, with area under the curve (AUC) values of 0.880 (95% CI: 0.813–0.946) and 0.814 (95% CI: 0.642–0.986) in the training and test sets, respectively. In the training set, the clinical-radiomics model achieved an AUC of 0.935, an accuracy of 0.870, a sensitivity of 0.881, and a specificity of 0.854. In the test set, the clinical-radiomics model achieved an AUC of 0.857, an accuracy of 0.760, a sensitivity of 0.643, and a specificity of 0.900. DCA analysis indicated that the clinical-radiomics model provided good clinical benefit.ConclusionThe radiomics nomogram demonstrates good diagnostic performance in predicting HER2 expression in patients with UBC.

To study material erosion and deposition during different wall conditioning processes in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), two newly developed quartz crystal microbalances (QMBs) at the mid-plane of port C (C-QMB) and port J (J-QMB) with the same radial radius were used for in-situ and real-time measurements during the 2021 autumn experimental campaign. It was found that the material deposition was mainly influenced by the location of the antenna and the power of the ion cyclotron range of frequency (ICRF), rather than the location of the gas inlet, during the wall cleaning with helium plasma and siliconization assisted with ICRF plasma. The higher energy and density of plasma could result in higher deposition rates near the antenna. While, during lithium (Li) coating, the material deposition was greatly influenced by the location of the Li oven due to the deposition of unionized Li atoms. The ICRF power influenced the material deposition behavior far away from the Li ovens. Besides, a stronger effect on impurity suppression was observed with a more uniform deposition trend of Li coating. This necessitates further study on the influence of factors such as the location of the Li oven and ICRF antenna, the temperature of ovens, and ICRF power on the homogeneity of wall conditioning.

Objective: This study aimed to observe the inhibitory effects of xiaochaihu decoction (XCHD) on human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells resistant to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) (Bel-7402/5-FU) in vitro and in vivo and investigate its possible mechanisms. Methods: Bel-7402 ​cells and their resistant cells to 5-FU (Bel-7402/5-FU) were cultured, and a xenograft was established in nude mice. MTT assays were used to detect the cell viability after XCHD treatment, and an inverted phase contrast microscope was used to observe the morphology and flow cytometry and TUNEL assays were used to determine XCHD-induced apoptosis. Western blot was used to detect Bax and Bcl-2 expressions. Cyto-ID staining was used to assess XCHD-induced autophagy, and the autophagy-related protein (LC3, p62, and beclin) was determined. Finally, the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway was detected. Results: Bel-7402/5-FU cells were more resistant to 5-FU compared with Bel-7402 ​cells (P ​

As an important and universal petrophysics of heavy oil reservoirs, the two-phase flow ability inside porous medium is vital for heavy oil development. Utilizing the laminar flow theory and an ideal pore structure, especially cylinder model, the function of the relative permeability of heavy oil–water with water saturation is derived by incorporating the principles of momentum conservation and the characteristics of Bingham fluids, which was modified by validated experiment. Two-phase relative permeability, considering heavy oil as non-Newtonian fluid, is the function of water saturation, pore size, oil–water viscosity ratio, and yield stress. The results of the validated experiment show that the theoretical values calculated employing the modified equation exhibit better agreement with the experimental values, particularly when the viscosities of two-phase fluid are great. The results of the modified two-phase relative permeability show a decrease in water saturation interval corresponding to the two-phase flow area and a smaller value of permeability at equal two-phase relative permeability. The oil–water viscosity ratio in the hydrophobic pores affects the water-phase relative permeability, although the magnitude of its influence diminishes as the viscosity ratio increases. The behavior of relative permeability in hydrophilic pores is the opposite of that in hydrophobic pores. This work can afford good application prospects for mobility control in multilayered reservoirs through the heterogeneous-phase-composite fluid. The saturations of the remaining oil and irreducible water also play a vital role in the prediction of permeability. The work can afford good application prospects for the flow behavior of Bingham heavy oil in pores with different types of wettability.

Melatonin (Mel) is an endogenous active molecule whose metabolism progress significantly influences its bioactivity. However, the detailed metabolic pathway of Mel in the pathological state has not yet been fully illustrated. In this study, 16 metabolites of Mel in cancer cells and human liver microsomes were identified, of which seven novel metabolites were newly discovered. Among them, 2-hydroxymelatonin (2-O-Mel), as the major metabolite in cancer cells, was revealed for the first time, which was different from the metabolite found in the human liver. Furthermore, CYP1A1/1A2- and reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated 2-hydroxylation reactions of Mel were verified to be the two metabolic pathways in the liver and cancer cells, respectively. ROS-dependent formation of 2-O-Mel was the major pathway in cancer cells. Furthermore, the underlying catalytic mechanism of Mel to 2-O-Mel in the presence of ROS was fully elucidated using computational chemistry analysis. Therefore, the generation of 2-O-Mel from Mel could serve as another index for the endogenous reactive oxygen level. Finally, based on the ROS-dependent production of 2-O-Mel, Mel was successfully used for detecting the oxygen-carrying capacity of hemoglobin in human blood. Our investigation further enriched the metabolic pathway of Mel, especially for the ROS-dependent formation of 2-O-Mel that serves as a diagnostic and therapeutic target for the rational use of Mel in clinics.

The maintenance, inspection, and refurbishment of substation equipment are crucial for ensuring the stability of the power grid’s operation and the reliability of power supply to users. However, currently, there is a lack of methods for rapidly and effectively planning load transfer solutions during substation equipment maintenance periods. To address this, this study is founded on the principles of transmission network planning theory, and an analysis of the similarities and disparities between the planning methods for load transfer solutions during substation equipment maintenance and traditional approaches to transmission network planning is conducted. Furthermore, this paper integrates practical constraints related to maintenance engineering and power grid load flow balance constraints. With the primary optimization objectives of minimizing investment and operational costs during system maintenance while maximizing power grid reliability, a load transfer planning model for equipment maintenance in the substation has been developed. Simultaneously, in conjunction with linear programming theory, the nonlinear constraint terms of the model have been equivalently simplified to enhance the computational performance of the model. Simulation analysis is conducted on case studies constructed based on the IEE-RBTS6 and IEEE-RTS79 systems to validate the effectiveness of the proposed model in solving the optimal maintenance planning problem.

[Abstract]: Objective: To observe the effects of ursolic acid (UA) on the apoptosis, autophagy and mTOR of human colorectal cancer (CRC) cells resistant to 5-FU (HCT-8/5-FU), and explore the mechanisms of UA reversing the multidrug resistance (MDR) of CRC. Methods: HCT-8 cells and its resistant cells to 5-FU (HCT-8/5-FU) were cultured to calculate the resistant index and confirmed the resistance of HCT-8/5-FU. The MTT assays were used to screen the suitable concentrations and the reversal fold of UA. The efflux function, proliferation, apoptosis, autophagy and their correlated proteins were determined through Doxorubucin staining, Rhodamine 123 staining, colony formation, Annexin V-PI double staining, Cyto-ID staining and Western blot after the HCT-8/5-FU were intervened with UA for 48 h. Results: HCT-8/5-FU cells are resistant to different chemotherapeutics, UA could reverse the MDR effectively. Furtherly, UA down-regulates the expression of ABCB1, ABCG2, p62, up-regulates Bax/Bcl-2 and LC3II/LC3I to inhibit the drug-efflux (P

At present, the application prospect of superhydrophobic materials in oil-water separation, an-tibacterial and other aspects have attracted more and more attention. However, preparing a simple and low-cost superhydrophobic material remains a challenge. Using acetone as solvent, candle soot, silver/silica nanoparticles and polydimethylsiloxane were uniformly mixed to form a mixed solution, and the superhydrophobic sponge was successfully prepared by spraying method. The results show that the superhydrophobic sponge has high water contact Angle (162°) and excellent oil-water separation efficiency, which can realize effective treatment of polymerized wastewater. In addition, the superhydrophobic sponge showed better antibacterial properties on the surface of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. In this work, a simple way to prepare superhydro-phobic oil-water separation material is proposed. The preparation process is green, the material is easy to obtain, and it is expected to be widely used in practical production.

As the burial depth of shale exploitation increases, it is challenge to form fracture networks through hydraulic fracturing technology. When cryogenic fluid contacts with hot rock, heat exchange process occurs and temperature gradient is generated at the rock surface, resulting in thermal stress. Once the thermal stress exceeds the tensile strength, the fractures are generated. To study the initiation and propagation of fractures induced by thermal shock, a thermal-mechanical (TM) coupled two-dimensional model is developed in the paper. To simulate the heat exchange process, the heat convective boundary is applied in the surface between the fluid and the rock. In addition, the initiation and propagation of fractures are described by the cohesive zone model. The accuracy and reliability of the numerical model is validated by an existing analytical solution. Under the thermal shock, the temperature at the contact surface drops quickly. The stress distribution is determined by the temperature variation. The variations of temperature and stress are greatly affected by the heat exchange coefficient. With the fractures embedded in the model, the initiation and propagation of fractures are analysed. The multi-fracture propagation induced by thermal shock exhibits competition effect. With the propagation of fractures, the stress distribution in the rock changes. The heat exchange coefficient has a significant effect on fracture initiation and propagation, presenting more fractures generation in the larger coefficient.

Toxoplasma gondii is the causative agent of toxoplasmosis, a zoonotic disease that poses a threat to human health and a considerable loss to livestock farming. At present, clinical therapeutic drugs mainly target T. gondii tachyzoites and fail to eradicate bradyzoites. Developing a safe and effective vaccine against toxoplasmosis is urgent and important. Breast cancer has become a major public health problem and the therapeutic method needs to be further explored. Many similarities exist between the immune responses caused by T. gondii infection and the immunotherapy for cancers. T. gondii dense granule organelles secrete immunogenic dense granule proteins (GRAs). GRA5 is localized to the parasitophorous vacuole membrane in the tachyzoite stage and the cyst wall in the bradyzoite stage. We found that T. gondii ME49 gra5 knockout strain (ME49Δgra5) was avirulent and failed to form cysts but stimulated antibodies, inflammatory cytokines, and leukocytes infiltration in mice. We next investigated the protective efficacy of ME49Δgra5 vaccination against T. gondii infection and tumor development. All the immunized mice survived the challenge infection of either wild-type RH, ME49, VEG tachyzoites, or ME49 cysts. Moreover, ME49Δgra5 tachyzoite inoculation in situ attenuated the growth of murine breast tumor (4T1) in mice and prevented 4T1’s lung metastasis. ME49Δgra5 inoculation upregulated the levels of Th1 cytokines and tumor-infiltrating T cells in the tumor microenvironment and triggered anti-tumor responses by increasing the number of natural killer, B, and T cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells in the spleen. Collectively, these results suggested that ME49Δgra5 was a potent live attenuated vaccine against T. gondii infection and breast cancer.

By means of X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron probe microanalysis and optical microscopy, the chemical composition and mineral intercalation and particle size composition of potassium feldspar in Jilin were studied. The results show that main minerals in the ore is potassium feldspar, albite and quartz, and the iron elements are mainly distributed in hematite, limonite and magnetite. Potassium feldspar is present in the form of needle-shaped fine grain and some iron ore is embedded in the microcrystalline base of potassium feldspar and the edge of hole or immersed in gangue mineral, so the ore belongs to a more difficult ore. In the ore that particle size less than 0.0385 mm, the Fe2O3 content reaches 2.36%. All that means the sample needs to be desliming, magnetic separation, flotation and pickling in the follow-up treatment to make the product meet the high-end potassium feldspar market requirements.

Algorithms for noise removal are either complex or ineffective, and the optimal control with inequality constrains makes the algorithm even more complex. Now the condition is changed completely, and the tropical algebra is an extremely simple tool for this purpose. The tropical algebra-based filter has obvious advantages over traditional ones, and an inequality constrain can be converted to a tropical polynomial, making the tropical algebra much attractive in engineering applications. In this paper, idempotents on multiplicative semigroups of tropical matrices are studied. First, the concepts of tropical algebra and the semigroup of tropical matrices under multiplication are introduced. Second, the structure of idempotents on the semigroup of 3 × 3 tropical matrices under multiplication is given. Finally, as examples, the tropical addition is used as a filter for noise removal, and a simple optimization is given where the constraint is given by the tropical algebra. The paper has opened the path for a new way to noise removal and optimization.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), as important liquid biopsy target, can provide valuable information for cancer progress monitoring and individualized treatment. However, current isolation platforms incapable of balancing capture efficiency, specificity, cell viability, and gentle release have restricted the clinical applications of CTCs. Herein, inspired by the structure and functional merits of natural membrane interfaces, we established an antibody-engineered red blood cell (RBC-Ab) affinity interface on microfluidic chip for high-performance isolation and release of CTCs. The lateral fluidity, pliability, and anti-adhesion property of the RBC microfluidic interface enabled efficient CTCs capture (96.5%), high CTCs viability (96.1%), and high CTCs purity (average 4.2-log depletion of leukocytes). More importantly, selective lysis of RBCs by simply changing the salt concentration was utilized to destroy the affinity interface for efficient and gentle release of CTCs without nucleic acid contamination. Using this chip, CTCs were successfully detected in colon cancer samples with 90% sensitivity and 100% specificity (20 patients and 10 healthy individuals). After the release process, KRAS gene mutations of CTCs were identified from all the 5 cancer samples, which was consistent with the results of tissue biopsy. We expect this RBC interface strategy will inspire further biomimetic interface construction for rare cell analysis.

In the Internet era, there is a mismatch between the skill demands of the IT industry in China and the employment prospects of computer science graduates. The COVID-19 pandemic has particularly highlighted co-existing challenges for industry recruitment and student employment. Many education institutions see IT skills training as a way to solve this conflict. The present paper employs a mixed methods approach to explore factors regarding computer science students' employability. The study used a questionnaire informed by an indepth literature review, full scale development theory and the theory of competency-based education. Reliability analysis and factor analysis methods were used to assess component reliability and structural validity. A total of 323 valid questionnaires were collected and subjected to mean and variance analyses to explore significant differences, including in terms of gender, in student employability. The results show that: (1) employability is divided into nine factors; (2) IT skills training can improve employability; (3) the employability level of computer science students who participate in IT skills training is high; (4) there are significant gender differences in professional ethics, scientific spirit and job-seeking skills, but no significant gender differences in humanistic qualities, computer cognition and operation skills, software design and development skills, system use and innovation skills, sustainable development capacity and teamwork skills. The identification of student employability factors can help education institutions to improve their training and can be used as a standard for students' self-evaluation and selfimprovement. The paper also provides suggestions for education institutions about how to set up IT skills training programmes to enhance students' future employment prospects in the IT industry.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, China’s education leaders began to focus on and promote blended learning. The process is still in its infancy in Chinese colleges and universities, and its development remains a problem to be solved. By combining technology acceptance and student participation, this article proposes an analysis model for assessing the factors influencing blended learning. A questionnaire was designed and distributed, and 796 valid responses were collected. The mean and variance were used to examine the status of students’ technology acceptance and satisfaction with blended learning. The t-test method was employed to analyze the gender differences between students in regard to the topic. The results show that: (1) students majoring in computer science view the factors as having a high level of influence in blended learning. (2) There are major variances regarding the perception of service quality between male and female computer science major students. There is no significant difference between them in terms of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, or computer self-efficacy. (3) There are considerable disparities in the skill involvement and participation of computer science major college students. The results show that the technology acceptance and participation of students determine the effect of blended learning. Based on these findings, this article provides theoretical and practical suggestions for the implementation of blended learning to improve its effect.

Dust has been collected and characterized by various methods during the 2021 first experimental campaign in EAST tokamak. It was found that the weight of the in-vessel dust collected at the mid-plane port varied from about 265 mg to about 966 mg. And the dust appeared mainly in the shape of spheroids, flakes, stripes and irregular-shaped particles with the sizes ranging from micrometers to several millimeters. The dust consisted of different elements, which was from the wall-conditioning, erosion of plasma-facing materials (PFMs) as well as the flaking of deposits. The dust collected from the lower port K contained different elements from those collected from the in-vessel port K, with more Fe in the lower port and more Li in the vacuum vessel. The ferromagnetic dust with different shape has been found, and different shape has different O content and size. By using the diagnostic observation window, dust was firstly collected during the campaign and the local dust production rate is calculated, which is found to decrease as the plasma operation goes.

Automatic detection and alarm of abnormal electrocardiogram (ECG) events play an important role in an ECG monitor system; however, popular classification models based on supervised learning fail to detect abnormal ECG effectively. Thus, we propose an ECG anomaly detection framework (ECG-AAE) based on an adversarial autoencoder and temporal convolutional network (TCN) which consists of three modules (autoencoder, discriminator, and outlier detector). The ECG-AAE framework is trained only with normal ECG data. Normal ECG signals could be mapped into latent feature space and then reconstructed as the original ECG signal back in our model, while abnormal ECG signals could not. Here, the TCN is employed to extract features of normal ECG data. Then, our model is evaluated on an MIT-BIH arrhythmia dataset and CMUH dataset, with an accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, and AUC of 0.9673, 0.9854, 0.9486, 0.9666, and 0.9672 and of 0.9358, 0.9816, 0.8882, 0.9325, and 0.9358, respectively. The result indicates that the ECG-AAE can detect abnormal ECG efficiently, with its performance better than other popular outlier detection methods.

In recent years, biology-inspired superhydrophobic technology has attracted extensive attention and has been widely used in self-cleaning, anti-icing, oil–water separation, and other fields. However, the poor durability restricts its application in practice; thus, it is urgent to systematically summarize it so that scientists can guide the future development of this field. Here, in this review, we first elucidated five kinds of typical superhydrophobic models, namely, Young’s equation, Wenzel, Cassie–Baxter, Wenzel–Cassie, “Lotus,” and “Gecko” models. Then, we summarized the improvement in mechanical stability and chemical stability of superhydrophobic surface. Later, the durability test methods such as mechanical test methods and chemical test methods are discussed. Afterwards, we displayed the applications of multifunctional mechanical–chemical superhydrophobic materials, namely, anti-fogging, self-cleaning, oil–water separation, antibacterial, membrane distillation, battery, and anti-icing. Finally, the outlook and challenge of mechanical–chemical superhydrophobic materials are highlighted.

Abstract Background Cultivated tea is one of the most important economic and ecological trees distributed worldwide. Cultivated tea suffer from long-term targeted selection of traits and overexploitation of habitats by human beings, which may have changed its genetic structure. The chloroplast is an organelle with a conserved cyclic genomic structure, and it can help us better understand the evolutionary relationship of Camellia plants. Results We conducted comparative and evolutionary analyses on cultivated tea and wild tea, and we detected the evolutionary characteristics of cultivated tea. The chloroplast genome sizes of cultivated tea were slightly different, ranging from 157,025 to 157,100 bp. In addition, the cultivated species were more conserved than the wild species, in terms of the genome length, gene number, gene arrangement and GC content. However, comparing Camellia sinensis var. sinensis and Camellia sinensis var. assamica with their cultivars, the IR length variation was approximately 20 bp and 30 bp, respectively. The nucleotide diversity of 14 sequences in cultivated tea was higher than that in wild tea. Detailed analysis on the genomic variation and evolution of Camellia sinensis var. sinensis cultivars revealed 67 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), 46 insertions/deletions (indels), and 16 protein coding genes with nucleotide substitutions, while Camellia sinensis var. assamica cultivars revealed 4 indels. In cultivated tea, the most variable gene was ycf1. The largest number of nucleotide substitutions, five amino acids exhibited site-specific selection, and a 9 bp sequence insertion were found in the Camellia sinensis var. sinensis cultivars. In addition, phylogenetic relationship in the ycf1 tree suggested that the ycf1 gene has diverged in cultivated tea. Because C. sinensis var. sinensis and its cultivated species were not tightly clustered. Conclusions The cultivated species were more conserved than the wild species in terms of architecture and linear sequence order. The variation of the chloroplast genome in cultivated tea was mainly manifested in the nucleotide polymorphisms and sequence insertions. These results provided evidence regarding the influence of human activities on tea.

Jiaosu, also called as fermented fruit and vegetable juices, is becoming an increasingly popular health food, especially in East Asian markets. Watermelon, cantaloupe and orange were used as the raw materials to produce five kinds Jiaosu with natural fermentation, including single source Jiaosu and mixed jiaosu. Then the composition and antioxidant capacity were determined. All Jiaosu appear brown and different Jiaosu vary greatly. The pH of five kinds Jiaosu range from 3.06 to 4.55. Between the five kinds Jiaosu, orange Jiaosu is the highest in total protein (9.46 ± 0.41 mg/ml), total phenol (0.32 ± 0.01 μg/ml) and alcohol (56.51 ± 0.03 μg/ml). All Jiaosu have strong antioxidant capacity and watermelon Jiaosu shows the strongest antioxidant capacity. The antioxidant capacity of five kinds Jiaosu determined by FRAP assay is significantly correlated with the total protein content and total phenol content, respectively. The results indicated the raw materials had a decisive effect on the components and antioxidant capacity of Jiaosu.

Restoring the tumor-killing function of CD8+ T cells in the tumor microenvironment is an important strategy for cancer immunotherapy. Our previous study indicated that adiponectin (APN) deficiency reprogramed tumor-associated macrophages into an M1-like phenotype to inhibit rhabdomyosarcoma growth. However, whether APN can directly regulate the anti-tumor activity of CD8+ T cells remains unknown. In the present study, our results showed that exogenous APN inhibited in vitro CD8+ T cell migration as well as cytokines IFN-γ and TNF-α production. APN deficiency in vivo strengthened CD8+ T cell activation and cytotoxicity to restrain rhabdomyosarcoma, evidenced by an increase in the expression of IFN-γ and perforin in CD8+ T cells and the frequency of CD8+IFN-γ+ T cells in the spleen and lymph nodes, as well as increasing cytokine production of IFN-γ, perforin, TNF-α, and decreasing cytokine production of IL-10 in the serum. Mechanistically, STAT3 was identified as a target of APN in negatively regulating the anti-tumor activity of CD8+ T cells. In vivo, a STAT3 inhibitor remarkably increased CD8+ as well as CD8+IFN-γ+ T cells in the spleen and lymph nodes. Taken together, we substantiated that APN deficiency directly maintains the activation of CD8+ T cells to inhibit rhabdomyosarcoma growth by suppressing STAT3 activation, indicating a promising APN-based therapy for the treatment of rhabdomyosarcoma.

Plasma-wall interaction is one of the key issues in tokamaks, as the material erosion and deposition will strongly influence the lifetime of plasma facing materials, fuel retention and plasma performance. Material migration and deposition have been firstly analyzed after the 2017 experimental campaign in EAST with tungsten (W) upper divertor, molybdenum inner wall and graphite lower divertor. It is found that the deposited elements on plasma-facing materials (PFMs) mainly consisted of Li, C, O, W and Mo etc, which was from the deposition of wall conditioning material and the sputtering of PFMs. More than 90 wt% of the deposits were lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide due to the routine lithium wall conditioning in EAST. Quantitative characterization of element density on graphite tile from lower inner divertor showed that W and Mo deposition increased when closer to the lower divertor, which is consistent with the decreasing normalized poloidal magnetic flux. The element composition of PFMs along poloidal direction has been measured by handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF). The concentration of deposited Mo and W is less than 0.2 wt% on most of the PFM surface. Double peaks of W concentration near the upper W divertor and at the midplane tile were observed on the TZM inner wall surface at the high-field side, which can be explained by higher redeposition at the location near the upper inner divertor or with a smaller normalized poloidal magnetic flux. Besides, more redeposited Mo and W was found at the inner and outer divertor near strike points compared with the dome region.

Abstract Background Patients with 46, XY disorder of sex development (DSD) are predisposed to the development of gonadal tumors, particularly germ cell tumors and gonadoblastoma. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are no publications in the existing literature that refer to the coexistence of 46, XY DSD and serous tumors in the ovary. Case presentation Here, we report the case of a 23-year-old female (social gender) patient with 46, XY DSD presenting with primary amenorrhea. Imageology revealed a huge mass in the left adnexa. Subsequent pathological analysis revealed a serous borderline tumor of the ovary. Conclusion Gonadal tumors of patients with 46, XY DSD are not necessarily malignant tumors and can coexist with borderline tumors with primitive corded gonads. The coexistence of DSD and serous borderline tumors is rare. Clearly, an early and accurate diagnosis plays an important role in the treatment of these patients. Although there may not be a clear correlation between the two lesions, it is vital that we specifically analyze the mechanisms involved so that we can determine whether patients with DSD are associated with an increase of developing serous borderline tumors of the gonad.

P2Y1 receptor is a G-protein-coupled receptor that plays a critical role in the immune response of inflammatory bowel diseases. However, its regulatory effects on CD4+ T cell response have not been fully elucidated. The study aimed to characterize the role of P2Y1R in Th17 cell differentiation and colonic inflammation. Our results demonstrated that P2Y1R was significantly increased in the splenocytes of colitic mice, which was positively associated with the expression of RORγt and IL-17A. P2Y1R deficiency significantly ameliorated DSS-induced colitis and its Th17 responses. In parallel, P2Y1R deficiency greatly impaired the differentiation of Th17 cell, down-regulated the mRNA expression of IL-17A and RORγt, and protein expression of RORγt in vitro. More importantly, it was found that P2Y1R deficiency markedly increased AMPK phosphorylation of Th17 polarized CD4+ T cells, and antagonist of AMPK significantly reversed the inhibitory effect of P2Y1R deficiency on Th17 cell generation in vivo and in vitro. Overall, these findings demonstrated that P2Y1R deficiency could suppress Th17 cell differentiation in an AMPK-dependent manner to ameliorate colitis, and P2Y1R can act as an important regulator of Th17 cell differentiation to control colonic inflammation.

O/W emulsion reinforced by nanosilica particle has good application in hydrocarbon development. However, there are few reports on the influence of nanosilica particles on the oil-water interface of O/W emulsion. The effect of nanosilica particles on the interfacial properties of O/W emulsion was indirectly investigated by measuring the interfacial properties between aqueous dispersion of nanosilica particles and kerosene, and the properties of O/W emulsion reinforced by nanosilica particle were studied. The results showed that the aqueous dispersion of nanosilica particles could significantly reduce the interface tension (with kerosene) by more than 50%, and the interface tension between the aqueous dispersion and kerosene decreased with the increase in nanosilica content. The aqueous dispersion of nanosilica particles could significantly change rock wettability. When the content of nanosilica particles increased from 0.1% to 0.7%, the contact angle decreased from 44.89° to 27.62°. The surface tension of O/W emulsion prepared by the aqueous dispersion of nanosilica particles and kerosene was among 25 mN/m~30 mN/m. The contact angle was also particularly small, with an average of about 20.00°, a minimum of 12.50°. The salts had little effect on the interface tension of emulsions but had a significant influence on the contact angle and its stability. Magnesium salt could reduce the three-phase contact angle and increase the hydrophilic properties of O/W emulsion, while calcium salt had the opposite effect. Calcium salt and magnesium salt could reduce the stability of the emulsion, and calcium salt had a greater influence. The oil-water stratification adding either calcium salt or magnesium salt was about 1 day~3 days earlier than that without salts. In the experiment, when the content of nanosilica particles was among 0.3%~0.7%, the viscosity of O/W emulsion increased with the increase in nanosilica particles. When the content was 0.9%, the viscosity suddenly decreased, and the extent of reduction was about 21.7%. The findings of this study can help for better understanding the application of nanosilica particles in O/W emulsion, giving some suggestions for the application of nanoparticles in hydrocarbon development.

Summary: Toxoplasma gondii surface antigen 1 (TgSAG1) is a surface protein of tachyzoites, which plays a crucial role in toxoplasma gondii infection and host cell immune regulation. However, how TgSAG1 regulates these processes remains elucidated. We utilized the biotin ligase -TurboID fusion with TgSAG1 to identify the host proteins interacting with TgSAG1, and identified that S100A6 was co-localized with TgSAG1 when T. gondii attached to the host cell. S100A6, either knocking down or blocking its functional epitopes resulted in inhibited parasites invasion. Meanwhile, S100A6 overexpression in host cells promoted T. gondii infection. We further verified that TgSAG1 could inhibit the interaction of host cell vimentin with S100A6 for cytoskeleton organization during T. gondii invasion. As an immunogen, TgSAG1 could promote the secretion of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) through S100A6-Vimentin/PKCθ-NF-κB signaling pathway. In summary, our findings revealed a mechanism for how TgSAG1 functioned in parasitic invasion and host immune regulation.

Scope: The dysbiosis of intestinal microecology plays an important pathogenic role in the development of inflammatory bowel disease. Methods and Results: A polysaccharide named Fuc-S, with a molecular weight of 156 kDa, was prepared by the ultrasonic degradation of fucoidan. Monosaccharide composition, FTIR, methylation, and NMR spectral analysis indicated that Fuc-S may have a backbone consisting of →3)-α-L-Fucp-(1→, →4)-α-L-Fucp-(1→ and →3, 4)-α-D-Glcp-(1→. Moreover, male C57BL/6 mice were fed three cycles of 1.8% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) for 5 days and then water for 7 days to induce colitis. The longitudinal microbiome alterations were evaluated using 16S amplicon sequencing. In vivo assays showed that Fuc-S significantly improved clinical manifestations, colon shortening, colon injury, and colonic inflammatory cell infiltration associated with DSS-induced chronic colitis in mice. Further studies revealed that these beneficial effects were associated with the inhibition of Akt, p-38, ERK, and JNK phosphorylation in the colon tissues, regulating the structure and abundance of the gut microbiota, and modulating the host–microbe tryptophan metabolism of the mice with chronic colitis. Conclusion: Our data confirmed the presence of glucose in the backbone of fucoidan and provided useful information that Fuc-S can be applied as an effective functional food and pharmaceutical candidate for IBD treatment.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory intestinal disorder that is difficult to cure and characterized by periods of relapse. To face the challenges of limited treatment strategies and drawbacks of conventional medications, developing new and promising strategies as well as safe and effective drugs for treatment of IBD has become an urgent demand for clinics. The imbalance of Th17/Treg is a crucial event for the development of IBD, and studies have verified that correcting the imbalance of Th17/Treg is an effective strategy for preventing and treating IBD. Recently, a growing body of studies has indicated that phytochemicals derived from natural products are potent regulators of Th17/Treg, and exert preferable protective benefits against colonic inflammation. In this review, the great potential of anti-colitis agents derived from natural products through targeting Th17/Treg cells and their action mechanisms for the treatment or prevention of IBD in recent research is summarized, which may help further the development of new drugs for IBD treatment.

Water area and waterweed coverage are the key environmental factors for ecological breeding of Eriocheir sinensis in ponds. In order to explore the effects of above two factors on the growth of E. sinensis, three groups of experiments were set up: low coverage small area (C1S1), high coverage small area (C2S1), and high coverage large area (C2S2), and water environmental factors and the growth of E. sinensis were monitored. The results showed that the dissolved oxygen of ponds with different waterweed coverage was significantly different (p < 0.05), and the phosphate in ponds changed significantly from July to October (p < 0.05). The correlation analysis showed that NH3-N and pH were significantly positively correlated (p < 0.05). At the same time, there was a significant negative correlation between NH3-N and DO, H3PO4 and pH (p < 0.05). Further analysis of the relationship between surface area, waterweed coverage and environmental factors revealed that the surface area and waterweed coverage were closely related to NH3-N, H3PO4 and DO. From July to October, the differences in morphology and weight of E. sinensis in different ponds became more and more significant. In terms of growth rate, C1S1 with a small area and low coverage had a downward trend, while C2S1 and C2S2 were the opposite. In the final stage of the experiment, C2S2 had the highest yield (0.1311 kg/m2), and C1S1 had the lowest yield (0.0600 kg/m2). Then, the ponds with high waterweed coverage and large area can bring better benefits.

Abstract Background Cyclocarya paliurus (Batal.) Ijinskaja (CP) is a monotypic genus plant, also called sweet tea tree that belongs to the Juglandaceae family, which is mainly distributed in the subtropical highlands in China. Our previous work has verified that CP leaves exhibit a potent hyperglycemic effect by inhibiting pancreatic β cell apoptosis through the regulation of MPAK and Akt signaling pathways. However, the components that contribute to this potential health benefit remain undiscovered. Method A sensitive, reliable, and validated ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–TQ-MS/MS) method was developed to simultaneously determine the presence of six active components (neochlorogenic acid, chlorogenic acid, quercetin-3-O-glucuronide, kaempferol-3-O-rhamnoside, quercetin, and kaempferol) in rat plasma after a single oral administration (in a dosage of 10.5 g/kg) of an extract of CP leaves to rats. The separation was performed on a Waters ACQUITY BEH C18 column (50 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.7 μm). The detection was conducted by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) in negative ionization mode. The two highest abundant MRM transitions without interference were optimized for each analyte. Acetonitrile and formic acid aqueous solution (0.1%) was used as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.3 ml/min. Result The precision, accuracy, and recovery all satisfied the criteria of international guidance (Bioanalytical Method Validation Guidance for Industry, Food and Drug Administration), and the analytes were stable in plasma for all tested conditions. The main pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by plasma concentration versus time profiles using the pharmacokinetics program. Conclusion The pharmacokinetic parameters of each compound can facilitate future clinical studies.

Energy storage fracturing technology is a technical means by which oil displacement fluid is injected into the reservoir before the traditional hydraulic fracturing and subsequent implement fracturing. It provides a good solution for developing tight oil reservoirs. The efficiency of this technology significantly depends on the injection performance of the fracturing fluid, and the ability of its liquid phase to penetrate the formation. According to the needs of energy storage fracturing, four surfactants were selected. Then, based on the performance evaluation of the four surfactants, the compositions of two surfactant systems were determined. The performance of slickwater fracturing fluids for energy storage hydraulic fracturing was evaluated. The mechanism of tight oil displacement in energy storage hydraulic fracturing was analyzed. The results showed that the compositions of oil–displacement agents 1 and 2 for energy storage fracturing were successfully acquired. The performance of oil–displacement agent 2 was slightly better than that of oil–displacement agent 1 at a concentration of 0.25 wt%. The defined composition of the fracturing fluid met requirements for energy storage hydraulic fracturing. It was demonstrated that the tight oil in small pores was effectively substituted by the fracturing fluid, and subsequently aggregated in the large pores. The tight oil displacement ratio increased with an increase in temperature, and the difference among the tight oil displacement ratios of tight sandstone cores increased with increases in their permeability differences.

Lack of complete genomic information concerning Vicia sepium (Fabaceae: Fabeae) precludes investigations of evolution and populational diversity of this perennial high-protein forage plant suitable for cultivation in extreme conditions. Here, we present the complete and annotated chloroplast genome of this important wild resource plant. V. sepium chloroplast genome includes 76 protein-coding genes, 29 tRNA genes, 4 rRNA genes, and 1 pseudogene. Its 124,095 bp sequence has a loss of one inverted repeat (IR). The GC content of the whole genome, the protein-coding, intron, tRNA, rRNA, and intergenic spacer regions was 35.0%, 36.7%, 34.6%, 52.3%, 54.2%, and 29.2%, respectively. Comparative analyses with plastids from related genera belonging to Fabeae demonstrated that the greatest variation in the V. sepium genome length occurred in protein-coding regions. In these regions, some genes and introns were lost or gained; for example, ycf4, clpP intron, and rpl16 intron deletions and rpl20 and ORF292 insertions were observed. Twelve highly divergent regions, 66 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and 27 repeat sequences were also found in these regions. Detailed evolutionary rate analysis of protein-coding genes showed that Vicia species exhibit additional interesting characteristics including positive selection of ccsA, clpP, rpl32, rpl33, rpoC1, rps15, rps2, rps4, and rps7, and the evolutionary rates of atpA, accD, and rps2 in Vicia are significantly accelerated. These genes are important candidate genes for understanding the evolutionary strategies of Vicia and other genera in Fabeae. The phylogenetic analysis showed that Vicia and Lens are included in the same clade and that Vicia is paraphyletic. These results provide evidence regarding the evolutionary history of the chloroplast genome.

Background: Ischemic stroke is significantly affected by the dysfunction of the miRNA network. Recent research has described that disordered expression of miR-130a is associated with ischemic stroke. Here, we aimed to investigate the possible mechanism of the miR-130a-mediated neuroprotection that follows ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. Method: This study was comprised of two models: oxygen-glucose deprivation/Reperfusion (OGDR) and middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). RT-PCR and immunoblotting were used to examine gene expression levels, and MTT assay and flow cytometric analysis were used to examine cell states. We also used 2, 3, 5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining to assess the cerebral infarct volume. Then, we employed bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assay to identify and validate the target molecule of miR-130a, PTEN. Results: Our findings indicated that miR-130a expression was lower in PC12 cells after OGDR (oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion) and in rats after MCAO (middle cerebral artery occlusion). Moreover, ectopic-expression of miR-130a can significantly improve cell survival rate and reduce cell apoptosis and ROS production in PC12 cells after OGDR. In addition, re-expression of miR-130a yielded an obvious reduction in MCAO-induced infarct volume and neurological deficits in rats. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that PTEN was a miR-130a target and could overturn the effect of miR-130a on cerebral ischemia, both in vivo and in vitro. Therefore, we set out to further investigate the PTEN-affected PI3K/AKT pathway and found that upregulation of miR-130a activated the PI3K/AKT pathway. Conclusions: Our data demonstrated that miR-130a prevented cerebral I/R damage by mediating the PTEN/PI3K/AKT axis. These preliminarily findings furthered our understanding of this mechanism and identified new potential therapeutic targets for ischemic stroke.

Camellia oleifera is one of the four largest woody edible oil plants in the world with high ecological and medicinal values. Due to frequent interspecific hybridization, it was difficult to study its genetics and evolutionary history. This study used C. oleifera that was collected on Hainan Island to conduct our research. The unique island environment makes the quality of tea oil higher than that of other species grown in the mainland. Moreover, a long-term geographic isolation might affect gene structure. In order to better understand the molecular biology of this species, protect excellent germplasm resources, and promote the population genetics and phylogenetic studies of Camellia plants, high-throughput sequencing technology was used to obtain the chloroplast genome sequence of Hainan C. oleifera. The results showed that the whole chloroplast genome of C. oleifera in Hainan was 156,995 bp in length, with a typical quadripartite structure of a large single copy (LSC) region of 86,648 bp, a small single copy (SSC) region of 18,297 bp, and a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 26,025 bp. The whole genome encoded a total of 141 genes (115 different genes), including 88 protein-coding genes, 45 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes. Among these genes, nine genes contained one intron, two genes contained two introns, and four overlapping genes were also detected. The total GC content of Hainan C. oleifera’s chloroplast genome was 37.29%. The chloroplast genome structure characteristics of Hainan C. oleifera were compared with mainland C. oleifera and those of the other eight closely related Theaceae species; it was found that the contractions and expansions of the IR/LSC and IR/SSC regions affected the length of chloroplast genome. The chloroplast genome sequences of these Theaceae species were highly similar. A comparative analysis indicated that the Theaceae species were conserved in structure and evolution. A total of 51 simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci were detected in the chloroplast genome of Hainan C. oleifera, and all Camellia plants did not have pentanucleotide repeats, which could be used as a good marker in phylogenetic studies. We also detected seven long repeats, the base composition of all repeats was biased toward A/T, which was consistent with the codon bias. It was found that Hainan C. oleifera had a similar evolutionary relationship with C. crapnelliana, through the use of codons and phylogenetic analysis. This study can provide an effective genomic resource for the evolutionary history of Theaceae family.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) represents a group of intestinal disorders with self-destructive and chronic inflammation in the digestive tract, requiring long-term medications. However, as many side effects and drug resistance are frequently encountered, safer and more effective agents for IBD treatment are urgently needed. Over the past few decades, a variety of natural alkaloids made of plants or medicinal herbs have attracted considerable interest because of the excellent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties; additionally, these alkaloids have been reported to reduce the colonic inflammation and damage in a range of colitic models. In this review paper, we summarize the recent findings regarding the anti-colitis activity of plant-derived alkaloids and emphasize their therapeutic potential for the treatment of IBD; obvious improvement of the colonic oxidative and pro-inflammatory status, significant preservation of the epithelial barrier function and positive modulation of the gut microbiota are the underlying mechanisms for the plant-derived alkaloids to treat IBD. Further clinical trials and preclinical studies to unravel the molecular mechanism are essential to promote the clinical translation of plant-derived alkaloids for IBD.

Pelecanus occidentalis, in the order Pelecaniformes, is one of the most abundant and widespread waterbird species in the coast of America. However, the phylogenetic relationships among Pelecaniformes, Suliformes, and Ciconiiformes remain unresolved, particularly in Pelecanidae and Ciconiidae. In this study, we first sequenced and described the complete mitochondrial genome and phylogeny of P. occidentalis. The whole genome of P. occidentalis was 17,315 bp in length, and contained 13 protein-coding genes, 21 transfer RNA genes, two ribosome RNA genes, and one non-coding control region. The overall base composition of the mitochondrial DNA was 30.1% for A, 23.7% for T, 31.5% for C, and 14.6% for G, with a GC content of 46.1%. A phylogenetic tree confirmed that P. occidentalis (Pelecaniformes) was sister to C. boyciana (Ciconiiformes), and Ardeidae and Threskiornithidae were both monophyletic group. This information will be useful in the current understanding of the phylogeny and evolution of Pelecaniformes.

Artemisia selengensis Turcz (Louhao in Chinese) is a widely used health food and a well-known traditional Chinese medicine. However, only a small part of the chloroplast genome data of Artemisia has been reported and there was no report for A. selengensis. In this study, we presented the complete chloroplast genome of A. selengensis and analysed its phylogenetic relationship with other 28 related species belonging to the Asteraceae family. The result showed that the whole genome was 151 215 bp in length with a typical conserved quadripartite structure. The total GC content of whole genome, LSC, SSC, and IRa/IRb regions was 37.46, 35.55, 30.81, and 43.09%, respectively. A total of 133 genes were identified, including 88 protein-coding, 37 transfer RNA, and eight ribosome RNA genes. Among these genes, nineteen genes contained a single intron and two genes contained two introns. The phylogenetic relationship showed that A. selengensis was similar to A. gmelinii. The complete chloroplast genome presented here will enrich the genetic resources of medicinal plant and promote our understanding of the phylogeny of Artemisia within the Asteraceae family.

The overland flow resistance on grassland slope of 20° was studied by using simulated rainfall experiments. Model of overland flow resistance coefficient was established based on BP neural network. The input variations of model were rainfall intensity, flow velocity, water depth, and roughness of slope surface, and the output variations was overland flow resistance coefficient. Model was optimized by Genetic Algorithm. The results show that the model can be used to calculate overland flow resistance coefficient, and has high simulation accuracy. The average prediction error of the optimized model of test set is 8.02%, and the maximum prediction error was 18.34%.

Land consolidation measures affected the underlying surface erosion environment during the early stage of vegetation construction, and then had an impact on rainfall infiltration, erosion and sediment yield. This paper adopted the field simulated rainfall experiments to analyze the function that pockets site preparation measures affected on rainfall infiltration, runoff sediment yield and runoff erosion ability. The results showed that，the measures can delay the rainfall runoff formation time of the slope by 3'17" and 1'04" respectively，Compared with the same condition of the bare land and natural grassland，The rainfall infiltration coefficient each increased by 76.47% and 14.49%, and infiltration rate increased by 0.26 mm/min and 0.11mm/min respectively; The amount of runoff and sediment yield were reduced because of the pockets site preparation ，The amount of runoff reducing rate were 33.51% and 30.49%, and sediment reduction rate were 81.35% and 65.66%, The sediment concentration was decreased by 71.99% and 50.58%; Runoff velocity of bare slope and natural grassland slope decreased by 38.12% and 34.59% respectively after pockets site preparation . The runoff erosion rate decreased by 67.92% and 79.68% respectively. The results will have a great significance for recognizing the effect of water and sediment reduction about vegetation and the existence of its plowing measures at the early period of restoration.

Although high density lipoprotein (HDL) improves the functions of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), the effect of HDL ApoAI mimetic peptide reverse-D-4F (Rev-D4F) on EPC mobilization and repair of EPC dysfunctions remains to be studied. In this study, we investigated the effects of Rev-D4F on peripheral blood cell subpopulations in C57 mice treated with a high fat diet and the mechanism of Rev-D4F in improving the function of EPCs impaired by tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). The high fat diet significantly decreased the number of EPCs, EPC migratory functions, and the percentage of lymphocytes in the white blood cells. However, it significantly increased the number of white blood cells, the percentage of monocytes in the white blood cells, and the level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and TNF-α in the plasma. Rev-D4F clearly inhibited the effect of the high fat diet on the quantification of peripheral blood cell subpopulations and cytokine levels, and increased stromal cell derived factor 1α (SDF-1α) in the plasma. We provided in vitro evidence that TNF-α impaired EPC proliferation, migration, and tube formation through inactive AKT and eNOS, which was restored by Rev-D4F treatment. In contrast, both the PI3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor (LY294002) and AKT inhibitor (perifosine) obviously inhibited the restoration of Rev-4F on EPCs impaired by TNF-α. Our results suggested that Rev-D4F increases the quantity of endothelial progenitor cells through increasing the SDF-1α levels and decreasing the TNF-α level of peripheral blood in high fat diet-induced C57BL/6J mice, and restores TNF-α induced dysfunctions of EPCs partly through stimulating the PI3K/AKT signal pathway.