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Nanocarrier-aided drug delivery techniques have improved the absorption and permeability of drugs in nose-to-brain delivery. However, the molecular properties of nanocarriers during the delivery process are of great interest; in particular, the characteristics when penetrating barriers in vivo are crucial for the screening and optimization of materials for nasal inhalation. In this study, we have focused on two types of delivery systems: mucoadhesive nanoparticles (MAPs) and mucopenetrating nanoparticles (MPPs); both have been widely used for mucosal delivery, although a method for selecting the more effective type of drug carriers for mucosal delivery has not been established. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to reveal the all-atom dynamic characteristics of the interaction between different delivery systems and the nasal mucus protein MUC5AC. Among the systems tested, hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chloride chitosan (HTCC) had the strongest interaction with mucin, suggesting it had better mucoadhesive performance, and that it interacted with MUC5AC more strongly than unmodified chitosan. In contrast, the mucus-penetrating material polyethylene glycol-poly lactic acid-co-glycolic acid (PEG-PLGA), had almost no interaction with MUC5AC. The results of the MD simulations were verified by in vitro experiments on nanoparticles (NPs) and mucin binding. The drug delivery performance of the four types of NPs, analyzed by in vitro and ex vivo mucosal penetration, were all generally consistent with the properties of the material predicted from the MD simulation. These clues to the molecular mechanism of MAPs and MPPs may provide useful insight into the screening and optimization of nanomaterials suitable for nasal inhalation.

Inflammation is an important defense mechanism evolved by the host to defend against external threats. But an excessive inflammatory response can lead to a variety of inflammatory diseases. Macrophage M1 polarization is a key factor in inducing inflammatory response, and inhibiting macrophage M1 polarization is of great significance for regulating inflammatory diseases. PACAP is an anti-inflammatory neuropeptide, but its mechanism of action on macrophage polarization and inflammatory responses is unclear. The macrophage M1 polarization and inflammation model was constructed using lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and then treated with PACAP. The results showed that PACAP significantly inhibited the LPS-induced expression of M1 polarization marker genes and inflammatory factors in macrophages, and down-regulated the phosphorylation of IKK2/IκBα/NF-κB, while PACAP also inhibited the phosphorylation of JNK/p38. Thus， PACAP improved LPS-induced macrophage M1 polarization and inflammatory response by regulating NF-κB and MAPKs signaling pathways.

The insulating layer of the hollow structure of thermal protective clothing plays a positive role in weight and thermal protection. The relationship between the hole shape and the performance of the hollow structure is of great importance to optimization. This paper focuses on the performance optimization of the honeycomb structure insulation layer. Laser cutting technology was used to cut the hole in the non-woven fabric. The thermal insulation layers of five common three-dimensional sections were prepared by the multi-layer composite method. Compared with the conventional solid fabric system, the honeycomb fabric system has better thermal protection. At the same time, the section structure also affects the thermal protection performance. The developed A-type structure possesses a superior Thermal Protective Performance value in comparison to I-type straight structure. It has lower moisture resistance and higher total heat loss. The thermal protection of A-type section structure, together with excellent thermal and moisture comfort, make it put forward the improvement direction for the structural optimization of commercial nonwovens where the balance between thermal protection and thermal and moisture comfort is the key requirement.

Many studies suggest that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can infect various animals and transmit among animals, and even to humans, posing a threat to humans and animals. There is an urgent need to develop inexpensive and efficient animal vaccines to prevent and control coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in animals. Rabies virus (RABV) is another important zoonotic pathogen that infects almost all warm-blooded animals and poses a great public health threat. The present study constructed two recombinant chimeric viruses expressing the S1 and RBD proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan01 strain based on a reverse genetic system of the RABV SRV9 strain and evaluated their immunogenicity in mice, cats and dogs. The results showed that both inactivated recombinant viruses induced durable neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and RABV and a strong cellular immune response in mice. Notably, inactivated SRV-nCoV-RBD induced earlier antibody production than SRV-nCoV-S1, which was maintained at high levels for longer periods. Inactivated SRV-nCoV-RBD induced neutralizing antibodies against both SARS-CoV-2 and RABV in cats and dogs, with a relatively broad-spectrum cross-neutralization capability against the SARS-CoV-2 pseudoviruses including Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron, showing potential to be used as a safe bivalent vaccine candidate against COVID-19 and rabies in animals.

Obesity is not only closely related to insulin resistance but is one of the main factors leading to the formation of Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) too. The c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) family is a member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) superfamily. JNK is also one of the most investigated signal transducers in obesity and insulin resistance. JNK-centric JNK signaling pathway can be activated by growth factors, cytokines, stress responses, and other factors. Many researches have identified that the activated phosphorylation JNK negatively regulates insulin signaling pathway in insulin resistance which can be simultaneously regulated by multiple signaling pathways related to the JNK signaling pathway. In this review, we provide an overview of the composition of the JNK signaling pathway, its regulation of insulin signaling pathway, and the relationship between the JNK signaling pathway and other pathways in insulin resistance.

Current experimental verification, computational modeling, and machine learning methods for predicting corrosion inhibition efficiency (IE) are limited to specific inhibitor categories with high cost and poor generalization. In this study, a cross-category corrosion inhibitor dataset is constructed and a three-level direct message passing neural network (3 L–DMPNN) model using molecular structure information that integrates atomic-level, chemical bond-level, and molecular-level features to predict the IEs of compounds in a specific environment is established. This work demonstrates that the 3 L–DMPNN model can predict IEs of cross-category corrosion inhibitors from other independent literature and experimental dataset effectively and quickly.

As China’s industry enters the 4.0 digital era, the segmentation of industrial applications is diversified. The knowledge of specific objects in the industrial scene is scattered that brings the pain points for management and operation. Knowledge graph (KG) has a powerful ability for relationship expression and real-time feedback that can integrate multi-source heterogeneous knowledge and provide data support for the Question Answering (Q&A) system. In this paper, a semi-automatic construction scheme for cupping machine knowledge graph is proposed and a visual Q&A system based on KG by the rule-based method is constructed. In the implementation of the KG, we design an ontology schema of the cupping machine and obtain entities and relationships from the network. This work solves the problem of the data island of cupping machines and provides a new technical method for the knowledge management of specific objects in the industrial equipment field.

Antimony is an analogue of arsenic (As), but its uptake mechanisms are not as well understood as As. Antimonite [Sb(III)] probably enters into plant roots via aquaporins but antimonate [Sb(V)] not through the phosphate [P(V)] uptake system as with arsenate [As(V)]. However, previous studies observed a dose−dependent interaction between As(V) and P(V) in some plants. This study was conducted mainly to identify that 1) whether the uptake of Sb(III) by plants will be via aquaporin channels; 2) whether the interaction effects between Sb(V) and P(V) might be dose−dependent; 3) whether the uptake of Sb(III) or Sb(V) is at the cost of energy. Two hydroponic culture systems were set up using a rice plant (YeXiangYou No.3) to investigate the effects of different chemicals on the uptake of Sb in the rice plants subjected to Sb(III) and Sb(V). These chemicals included malonic acid (C3H4O4), Na3PO4 [P(V)] and HgCl2. Sb was mainly sequestrated in the roots of the rice plants, suggesting a low transport capacity of Sb from roots to shoots. The plants took up Sb more easily under Sb(III) exposure than under Sb(V) exposure. 10 mg L−1 Sb(III) increased the Sb concentration in the bleeding sap rather than the weight of the bleeding sap; but the situation reversed when rice plants were exposed to Sb(V), suggesting different transport mechanisms of Sb from roots to shoots between Sb(III) and Sb(V). The addition of C3H4O4 generally reduced the Sb concentrations in the shoots and roots subjected to Sb(V), suggesting the uptake of Sb(V) to be energy dependent. The addition of Na3PO4 also significantly reduced the concentrations of Sb in the shoots and roots when plants were exposed to Sb(V). Interestingly, the addition of HgCl2 significantly reduced the concentrations of Sb in the shoots and roots when rice plants were exposed to both Sb(III) or Sb(V), possibly implying that uptake of Sb(III) might be via aquaporins and Cl− played a role in affecting the uptake of Sb(V). The results of this study suggested that uptake of Sb(III) is via aquaporins, and Cl− as well as PO43− may compete with Sb(V) for uptake pathway.

Root plaques and cell wall components play important roles in regulating the uptake of heavy metals in rice plants. Proper doses of selenium (Se) can reduce heavy metal uptake in plants. Whether Se can influence both the formation of root plaques and the contents of root cell wall components to affect heavy metal uptake in plants is unknown. A hydroponic culture system was set up using rice plants (Yangdao No.6) to mainly investigate the roles of root plaques and cell wall components in regulating the uptake of antimony (Sb) and Se in rice plants subjected to Se and different speciation of antimony [antimonite (Sb(III)) and antimonate (Sb(V))]. Se alone or plus different speciation of Sb showed a negative effect on plant growth. Addition of Se did not counteract the toxic effect of inhibiting rice plant growth exerted by Sb, despite the addition of Se to the solution containing 20 mg L−1 Sb(III) or Sb(V) significantly reduced Sb concentration in the roots. Addition of Se stimulated the formation of Mn plaque and addition of 5 mg L−1 Sb(III) or Sb(V) increased the formation of Fe plaque. When compared to the 20 mg L−1 Sb(III) treatment, the addition of 0.8 mg L−1 Se significantly increased the Fe plaque, but did not result in more accumulation of Sb on the root plaques. Other levels of Se did not show positive effects on the formation of Fe plaque on the roots of this rice plant when exposed to Sb(III) or Sb(V). In many cases, the single addition of Se, Sb(III) or Sb(V), especially for Se, can significantly increase the production of pectin, hemicelluloses and lignin. Additional Se helped rice plants exposed to Sb(III) or Sb(V) generate more pectin, hemicelluloses and lignin, especially when exposed to Sb(V). In summary, we speculate that Se inhibits, in most cases, the uptake of Sb in rice plants by affecting the root cell components rather than the formation of root plaques.

Bioremediation of Cd contaminated environments can be assisted by plant-growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) enabling plant growth in these sites. Here a gram-negative Burkholderia contaminans ZCC was isolated from mining soil at a copper-gold mine. When exposed to Cd(II), ZCC displayed high Cd resistance and the minimal inhibitory concentration was 7 mM in LB medium. Complete genome analysis uncovered B. contaminans ZCC contained 3 chromosomes and 2 plasmids. One of these plasmids was shown to contain a multitude of heavy metal resistance determinants including genes encoding a putative Cd-translocating PIB-type ATPase and an RND-type related to the Czc-system. These additional heavy metal resistance determinants are likely responsible for the increased resistance to Cd(II) and other heavy metals in comparison to other strains of B. contaminans. B. contaminans ZCC also displayed PGPB traits such as 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase activity, siderophore production, organic and inorganic phosphate solubilization and indole acetic acid production. Moreover, the properties and Cd(II) binding characteristics of extracellular polymeric substances was investigated. ZCC was able to induce extracellular polymeric substances production in response to Cd and was shown to be chemically coordinated to Cd(II). It could promote the growth of soybean in the presence of elevated concentrations of Cd(II). This work will help to better understand processes important in bioremediation of Cd-contaminated environment.

Aerococcus viridans is an opportunistic pathogen that is clinically associated with various human and animal diseases. In this study, the first identified A. viridans phage, vB_AviM_AVP (abbreviated as AVP), was isolated and studied. AVP belongs to the family Myoviridae. AVP harbors a double-stranded DNA genome with a length of 133,806 bp and a G + C content of 34.51%. The genome sequence of AVP showed low similarity (&lt, 1% identity) to those of other phages, bacteria, or other organisms in the database. Among 165 predicted open reading frames (ORFs), there were only 69 gene products exhibiting similarity (&le, 65% identity) to proteins of known functions in the database. In addition, the other 36 gene products did not match any viral or prokaryotic sequences in any publicly available database. On the basis of the putative functions of the ORFs, the genome of AVP was divided into three modules: nucleotide metabolism and replication, structural components, and lysis. A phylogenetic analysis of the terminase large subunits and capsid proteins indicated that AVP represents a novel branch of phages. The observed characteristics of AVP indicate that it represents a new class of phages.

Intercropping is commonly used in the Hetao irrigation district, upper Yellow River basin, where the main crops are wheat, maize and sunflower. For a better use of land, water, radiation energy, and nutrients, spring wheat is traditionally intercropped with maize (W–M) and, more recently, with sunflower (W–S). Considering the need to reduce diversions of water for irrigation in Hetao, this study aims to assess crop water use of W–M and W–S intercropping systems in comparison to the same crops in monocropping. The dual crop coefficient approach was adopted with the SIMDualKc model, which allows partitioning crop evapotranspiration into crop transpiration and soil evaporation. A new model approach was tested to compute a combined basal crop coefficient for the intercropping, K cb inter , which uses the daily values of the K cb of the component crops together with the respective heights and fractions of ground covered by the crops. SIMDualKc was first calibrated and validated for wheat, maize and sunflower as single crops using field data of 2010–2012 and was later used with the new developed approach, which was validated with W–M and W–S field data of 2010–2011. The K cb values calibrated for wheat, maize and sunflower compared well with literature and goodness of fit indicators have shown high accuracy of simulations used for calibration and validation. Results evidenced the importance of groundwater contribution in Hetao, and that soil evaporation is there low under surface irrigation. Moreover, it was found that actual evapotranspiration, crop transpiration, irrigation water use and groundwater contribution of intercropping systems were larger than those of the component sole crops, which led to significantly higher yields of intercropping relative to those of single crops.

Antimony (Sb) is not an essential element for humans and plants although it can be used to treat some human diseases, such as schistosomiasis. Sb contamination has been documented in many regions around the world, particularly in China. The Sb contamination in the environment often stems from anthropogenic activities such as mining, smelting, and shooting. Within the latest decade, great progress has been made in research examining the physiochemical behavior of Sb in the environment, including 1) the extent of Sb pollution around the world particularly in China; 2) the mechanisms and factors influencing Sb migration in soils, especially the adsorption/desorption of Sb by minerals or organic materials; 3) the transformations influencing speciation catalyzed by soil microbes; 4) to a lesser extent, the toxicity of Sb to plants and soil animals. In this review, we highlighted the current knowledge with respect to 1) how soil physicochemical properties (including water regimes, pH, organic materials and Eh), and soil organisms will affect the soil bioavailability of Sb, and subsequently the uptake of Sb by plants; 2) the uptake pathway of antimonite and antimonate, the translocation of Sb from roots to shoots, and the redistribution and toxicity of Sb in plants.

The pathogen of plague is Yersinia pestis (Y. pestis), one of the deadliest pathogens in the world and belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae. In this work, the biological characteristics and complete genome sequence analysis of a novel lytic Y. pestis-specific phage JC221 isolated from Yunnan Province, China, was studied. JC221 belongs to the Myoviridae family and has a regular icosahedral head and a long contractile tail. The double-stranded DNA genome of JC221 contains 174,931 bp, and the G + C content is 41.23 %. There are 274 predicted genes, of which only 103 hits of genes or gene products are found in database searches, and there are no known virulence-related or antibiotic resistance genes. The genome sequence of JC221 showed

Antimony (Sb) is a toxic element for both human and plants, but the toxic responses of plants to different forms of antimony and the associated mechanisms are unknown. This study was carried out to investigate the effects of different forms of Sb [Sb(III) and Sb(V)] on the root exudates, root endogenous hormones, root cell wall components and antioxidant systems in rice plant via three hydroponic experiments. The results showed that Sb(III) displayed a higher toxicity than Sb(V) to the plant which accumulated much more Sb in its tissues under Sb(III) exposure than that under Sb(V) exposure. Under Sb(III) exposure, most of absorbed Sb was found to be Sb(III) in the shoots and roots; however when plants were exposed to Sb(V), most of absorbed Sb in this rice plant was Sb(V). Only two kinds of endogenous hormones were detected as abscisic acid (ABA) and salicylic acid (SA). The addition of Sb(III) significantly increased the content of ABA but Sb(V) did not, probably suggesting the higher toxicity of Sb(III) than Sb(V) might be due to the stimulation of ABA content. The addition of Sb(III) significantly increased the concentration of oxalic acid but decreased the concentrations of formic, acetic and maleic acids. Sb(V) also enhanced the oxalic acid concentration at 20 mg L−1 Sb(V) treatment level but reduced the concentrations of formic and acetic acids. Different forms of Sb dose-dependently increased the content of pectin, but significantly enhanced the content of lignin in cell wall. Different forms of Sb induced oxidative stress, but rice plant triggered the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) to counteract the oxidative stress.

Treatment of infections caused by staphylococci has become more difficult because of the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains as well as biofilm formation. In this study, we observed the ability of the phage lysin LysGH15 to eliminate staphylococcal planktonic cells and biofilms formed by Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus haemolyticus, and Staphylococcus hominis All these strains were sensitive to LysGH15, showing reductions in bacterial counts of approximately 4 log units within 30 min after treatment with 20 μg/ml of LysGH15, and the MICs ranged from 8 μg/ml to 32 μg/ml. LysGH15 efficiently prevented biofilm formation by the four staphylococcal species at a dose of 50 μg/ml. At a higher dose (100 μg/ml), LysGH15 also showed notable disrupting activity against 24-h and 72-h biofilms formed by S. aureus and coagulase-negative species. In the in vivo experiments, a single intraperitoneal injection of LysGH15 (20 μg/mouse) administered 1 h after the injection of S. epidermidis at double the minimum lethal dose was sufficient to protect the mice. The S. epidermidis cell counts were 4 log units lower in the blood and 3 log units lower in the organs of mice 24 h after treatment with LysGH15 than in the untreated control mice. LysGH15 reduced cytokine levels in the blood and improved pathological changes in the organs. The broad antistaphylococcal activity exerted by LysGH15 on planktonic cells and biofilms makes LysGH15 a valuable treatment option for biofilm-related or non-biofilm-related staphylococcal infections.IMPORTANCE Most staphylococcal species are major causes of health care- and community-associated infections. In particular, Staphylococcus aureus is a common and dangerous pathogen, and Staphylococcus epidermidis is a ubiquitous skin commensal and opportunistic pathogen. Treatment of infections caused by staphylococci has become more difficult because of the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains as well as biofilm formation. In this study, we found that all tested S. aureus, S. epidermidis, Staphylococcus haemolyticus, and Staphylococcus hominis strains were sensitive to the phage lysin LysGH15 (MICs ranging from 8 to 32 μg/ml). More importantly, LysGH15 not only prevented biofilm formation by these staphylococci but also disrupted 24-h and 72-h biofilms. Furthermore, the in vivo efficacy of LysGH15 was demonstrated in a mouse model of S. epidermidis bacteremia. Thus, LysGH15 exhibits therapeutic potential for treating biofilm-related or non-biofilm-related infections caused by diverse staphylococci.

It is often found that designers are more sensitive to subtle differences in shape and forms. it seems easier for them to find these subtle differences than ordinary people. Can some of the designer’s professional training enhance people’s visual sensing capability? Based on this hypothesis, this study attempts to measure visual difference thresholds of two groups of design majors and non design majors. In the study, two groups of subjects were randomly selected among the 18–25 year old college students. A group of 20 students who had received design training for at least half a year (Design-group for short, DG). The other group of 25 students who did not have any design training (Non-design group for short, NDG). Then, based on the method of constant stimuli, a cell phone icon was chosen as standard stimulus whose size varied according to the percentage change. The subjects would compare and judge the change of the icon’s size and the visual difference thresholds of the two groups were aquired. Finally, we conducted a questionnaire survey on all the subjects to investigate the types of visual training that they had received to figure out the possible factors which might enhance the designers’ visual sensing capability.

The in depth development of China's informatization strategy is facing severe test of social and economic transformation, the traffic information construction is facing the similar dilemma. Traffic information resources integration in information construction is as key kernel, urgently，needs to response institutional，managerial， technological obstacles that caused by the accrual allocation mechanism imbalance and bull management, incomplete traffic information resource standards system, "absence" of "top-down" design concept, inter-departmental coordination losses "horizontal", "vertical rationality, inefficient modern information technology application, bringing a set of problems that consist of traffic information resources scattered, inter-departmental coordination difficulties, information resources lack of timeliness, accuracy and integrity, information resources are shallow mined. Basing on "four linkages" and "the trinity" the Internet of things management model, to build new transportation information resources integration model, taking the top of the perfect standards system, security environment, management system, market mechanism, data mining, technology application ability into considerations, to design security strategy for the new model.

"Intelligent logistics" is the vision of further development of logistics system, is also inevitable harbor of the long-term development of logistics management. Throughout the logistics industry development in our country, inadequate investment in technology, stereotypical management tools, obsolete operation model, vulnerable environmental protection are main constraints, construction of "intelligent logistics platform" for optimization of logistics system environment has become an important breakthrough in moving towards to the "intelligent logistics". Creating the "intelligent logistics platform" based on The Internet of Things Management Model needs to build the perception terminal, the transmitting terminal, the cloud terminal and application terminal as its logical starting point, to establish a basic skeleton of intelligent logistics platform. At the same time, the intelligent logistics platform security system which contains transformation from decentralized management mechanism to centralized management mechanism, the "top-down" macro planning, shifting the nodal process management to granular intelligent services, enhancing of the capacity of logistics information resources integration and data mining can't ignored.