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Salvigenin is a Trimethoxylated Flavone enriched in Scutellariae Barbatae Herba and Scutellariae Radix and is demonstrated to have anti-tumor properties in colon cancer. Notwithstanding, the function and mechanism of Salvigenin in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are less well studied. Different doses of Salvigenin were taken to treat HCC cells. Cell viability, colony formation ability, cell migration, invasion, apoptosis, glucose uptake, and lactate production levels were detected. As shown by the data, Salvigenin concentration dependently dampened HCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, weakened glycolysis by abating glucose uptake and lactate generation, and suppressed the profiles of glycolytic enzymes. Moreover, Salvigenin strengthened HCC cells’ sensitivity to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and attenuated HCC 5-FU-resistant cells’ resistance to 5-FU. Through network pharmacological analysis, we found Salvigenin potentially regulates PI3K/AKT pathway. As shown by the data, Salvigenin repressed the phosphorylated levels of PI3K, AKT, and GSK-3β. The PI3K activator 740Y-P induced PI3K/AKT/GSK-3β pathway activation and promotive effects in HCC cells. However, Salvigenin substantially weakened 740Y-P-mediated effects. In-vivo assay revealed that Salvigenin hampered the growth and promoted apoptosis of HCC cells in nude mice. Collectively, Salvigenin impedes the aerobic glycolysis and 5-FU chemoresistance of HCC cells by dampening the PI3K/AKT/GSK-3β pathway.

This paper presents the findings from a thorough analysis of international technology diffusion (ITD) in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. We construct a novel framework to explore the patterns of ITD in AI based on patent data published from 1970 to 2019. To this aim, we establish a nexus between technology innovation (TI) capacity and international technology diffusion (ITD) degree, and divide the countries/regions into three different groups—the leading, middle and backward. Considering the intersecting characteristic of AI technology, this paper examines the ITD patterns in the whole, single-field and intersecting-field AI technology areas. Empirical results show that: (1) Similar patterns are observed in the whole and single-field AI technology. ITD degree decreases significantly as TI capacity increases in leading countries, while it always remains high though the TI capacity improves in backward countries. Middle countries, however, show a transitional state between the two. (2) Compared to the whole AI and single-field AI technology, the pattern of ITD in intersecting-field AI technology is different. The number of nodes in the intersecting-field AI technology has decreased significantly, and the trend is more pronounced in middle and backward countries than in leading countries. These patterns imply that the technological innovation achievements of middle and backward countries will be first identified and utilized by leading countries, which will broaden the growing digital divide between countries and pose a more significant challenge to achieving technological catch-up in the future.

To investigate the effect of M1 microglia-derived exosomes (M1-exo) on neuronal injury after oxygen-glucose deprivation and restoration, and to explore its mechanism.The mouse microglia BV2 cells grown in logarithmic growth phase were added with 100 μg/L liposolysaccharide (LPS) and 20 μg/L interferon-γ (IFN-γ) to induce the polarization of microglia into M1 phenotype. M1 microglia were identified by Western blotting, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and immunofluorescence. The supernatant of M1 microglia was collected, and exosomes were extracted by ExoQuick-TCCompared with M0 microglia, the fluorescence intensity and mRNA and protein expressions of CD32 and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), specific markers of M1 microglia, were increased [CD32 (fluorescence intensity): 36.919±1.541 vs. 3.533±0.351, CD32 mRNA (2M1 microglia-derived exosomes aggravate the injury of neurons after oxygen and glucose deprivation and reoxygenation, which may be related to miR-20a-5p carried by M1-exo.

Phosphorus (P) recovery from sewage sludge (SS) have been regarded as an effective method of P recycling. The effects of incineration temperature, incineration time, and chlorine additives on the distribution of P speciation during sludge incineration were studied. Moreover, the reactions between model compounds AlPO4 and additives (MgCl2 and CaCl2) were investigated by thermogravimetric differential thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction measurements. The results demonstrated that the increase in temperature and time stimulated the volatilization of non-apatite inorganic phosphorus (NAIP) instead of apatite phosphorus (AP). MgCl2 and CaCl2 can greatly promote the conversion of NAIP to AP. Additionally, AlPO4 reacted with MgCl2 are incinerated at 500–600 °C to form Mg3(PO4)2, which is mainly due to the reaction of the intermediate product MgO and AlPO4. Reactions between AlPO4 and CaCl2 occurred at 700–750 °C and produced Ca2PO4Cl, which can be directly used with high bioavailability. These findings suggested that chlorine additives in the SS incineration process can obtain phosphorus-containing minerals with higher bioavailability to realize the resource utilization of P in sludge.

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effectiveness of compound feed additive (CFA) to replace antibiotics for broiler production. A total of 350 one-day-old Arbor Acres broilers were randomly divided into 7 groups, 5 replications in each group and 10 broilers in each replication. Group A was the control; group B was supplemented with 75 mg/kg chlortetracycline; groups C, D, and E were supplemented with 0.03, 0.06, and 0.09% CFA including glucose oxidase, curcumin, and Lactobacillus acidophilus; group F was supplemented with 0.03% CFA plus 0.50% glucose; group G was supplemented with 0.50% glucose. The feeding period was divided into the early (1-21 d) and later stages (22-42 d). The results showed that average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion rate (F/G) in group F in later stage were significantly better than those in the control and antibiotic groups; the diarrhea rates in the groups containing CFA in both stages was significantly lower than that in the control and antibiotic groups, indicating that CFA was better than antibiotics to improve growth and decrease diarrhea rate for broilers. Pathogenic E. coli challenge significantly increased diarrhea rates and decreased ADG for broilers; however, CFA addition could alleviate the above negative responses by increasing gut Lactobacillus abundance and decreasing Shigella abundance. It can be concluded that CFA can replace antibiotics to regulate intestinal microbiota, reduce diarrhea rate, and improve broiler growth.

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease known to be mediated by numerous factors, among which endothelial dysfunction plays a critical role. Oscillatory shear stress induces endothelial cells to lose their anti-atherosclerotic properties and downregulates the expression of the innate protective transcription factor, Krüppel-like factor 2 (KLF2), which is typically upregulated in vascular endothelial cells in response to harmful stimuli. Oxidative stress and inflammation impair endothelial function and damage their survival. Oscillatory shear stress also promotes generation of reactive oxygen species and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), thereby further promoting endothelial dysfunction and formation of atherosclerotic plaque. A major event in the development of atherosclerotic plaque is rolling and adhesion of monocytes to endothelial cells, which is mediated by adhesion molecules including vascular cellular adhesion molecule 1 and endothelial-selectin. Expression of these molecules is also upregulated by oscillatory shear stress. Estrogen has long been recognized as a protective agent against atherosclerosis, but the mechanisms through which estrogen receptors prevent atherogenesis remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the role of the G-coupled protein estrogen receptor (GPR30) in oscillatory shear stress- induced endothelial dysfunction. We show that agonism of GPR30 by its specific agonist G1 prevented oscillatory shear stress -induced oxidative stress markers and production of inflammatory cytokines and adhesion molecules. As a result, GPR30 activation suppresses monocytes adhesion to endothelial cells. Furthermore, we demonstrate that GPR30 prevents oscillatory shear stress- induced downregulation of KLF2 via ERK5 pathway. These findings suggest that endothelial GPR30 is potential target to suppress oscillatory shear stress mediated atherogenesis.

Cultural differences have been reported between the taste sensitivity of persons of Asian and European ancestry, although findings have been mixed. This study sought to determine whether American and Chinese adults perform differently on a novel taste test that requires no water, can be self-administered, and employs a representative of umami as one of its tastants. This 53-trial test was administered to 113 Chinese and 214 Americans. The subjects orally sampled monomer cellulose pads containing one of four dried concentrations of sucrose, citric acid, NaCl, caffeine, and monosodium glutamate and indicated whether a sweet, sour, bitter, salty, brothy, or no taste sensation was perceived. Separate gender by culture analyses of covariance with age as the covariate were performed on the total score and the scores of each taste stimulus. For all taste qualities, women outperformed men and test scores declined with age. No difference between American and Chinese subjects was found for the total taste score (

8th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion; 44-54, This work investigates the production and performance of p-type Inversion Layer (IL) Si solar cells, manufactured with an ion-injection technique that produces a highly charged dielectric nanolayer. Ions are applied to the front dielectric layer and then driven towards the c-Si/SiO2 interface by an electric field before stabilisation with an anneal. As this process can be performed in minutes at temperatures below 500 °C, it potentially provides a fast, yet controllable way for IL cell manufacturing. We demonstrate by simulations using Sentaurus TCAD that for the 1 ·cm p-type Si/thermal oxide model defined in this work, the sheet resistance of the field-induced electron layer can reach 1.1 k/sq in the dark by reducing band-tail interface state density to below 1014 eV-1cm-2 and increasing the dielectric charge density to above 2 × 1013 cm-2. Additionally, we present a proof-of-concept p-type IL cell on a non-gettered, non-hydrogenated substrate with an efficiency of 10.8%, and an open-circuit voltage (VOC) equivalent to that in a cell with a diffused phosphorous emitter. Lastly, we perform Sentaurus TCAD simulations to assess the efficiency potential of such IL cells. By incorporating optimal passivation, gettering, hydrogenation and metallisation, IL cells are predicted to reach an efficiency of 24.5% on 5 ·cm, and beyond 24.8% on 10 ·cm p-type substrates, provided the dielectric charge density reaches 2 × 1013 cm-2, which has been experimentally demonstrated to be possible. IL cells are therefore, in principle, a potential competitive candidate in the photovoltaic industry.

Coastal reclamation has created enormous extra land for the rapidly growing economy, but it has also caused serious environmental pollution problems and threatened the sustainable development of coastal areas. However, there are few studies focusing on the distribution patterns, geochemical speciation and ecological risks of heavy metals along the land-to-sea belt, as well as the differences between reclamation and non-reclamation. Here, we collected 69 sediment samples from four sediment types along the land-to-sea sampling belts in the reclaimed and non-reclaimed tidal flats of Jiangsu, China. Geochemical speciation and contents of heavy metals were determined to investigate their spatial distributions, ecological risks and effect factors. Results showed that As, Cd, Cr and Ni in the sediments posed considerable or moderate ecological risk according to the Ontario guidelines and sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) of USEPA, but they were lower than the SQGs of China. Higher geoaccumulation index and potential ecological risk index suggested that the sediments were moderately to heavily polluted by Cd and As. Generally, reclaimed sediments exhibited higher metal pollution levels. Additionally, reclaimed areas showed a unimodal pattern of metal content along the direction of land-to-sea, suggesting that Spartina alterniflora could accelerate the deposition and accumulation of metal pollutants caused by reclamation, and ultimately control the transfer of terrigenous metals to marine environment. We found that residual fraction was the dominant geochemical fraction for the metals determined. Reclamation processes have changed the composition of heavy metal fractions, especially Cd, Pb, Zn, and Ni. Approximately 20% of Cd existed in the acid extractable/exchangeable fraction and posed medium ecological risk according to the risk assessment code. The principal component analysis and correlation matrix further indicate that organic matter and particle size of sediment could be the major factors regulating the metal distribution, and Cd and Zn might be anthropogenic sources.

Land reclamation and grassland management are important land utilization pattern for effective use and restoration of alkali-saline land in agriculture-pasture transition regions. These large-scale land cover/land use changes (LCLUC) could impose profound and divergent impacts on terrestrial carbon (C) and H2O cycling, hence require precise assessment of ecosystem CO2 uptake and water use differences due to specific land use of the same climate/soil landscape. We initiated clustered eddy covariance flux-tower observations and C/H2O fluxes analysis of 4 adjacent representative land cover and grassland managements types on alkali-saline Songnen Plain, including fenced meadow (as reference land use), clipped meadow, degraded alkali-saline land and paddy field in 2018–2019. Results showed that differences in land use influenced the magnitude and temporal variation of net ecosystem productivity (NEP) and evapotranspiration (ET). Compared to fenced meadow, paddy field increased growing season C uptake by 63.3% and ET by 35.4%, while degraded alkali-saline land and clipped meadow decreased C uptake by 43.0% and 30.6%, and ET by 32.1% and 3.2%. Degraded alkali-saline land barely sequestrate C in dry year, whereas paddy field is least sensitive to inter-annual precipitation variation. Growing season C uptake was advanced in clipped meadow due to increased surface temperature, while monthly ET peaked early at May in paddy field. Agricultural use and specific grassland management also caused large differences in ET partitioning. Fenced meadow had greater ET partitioned into transpiration (69%) than clipped meadow (58%), degraded alkali-saline land and paddy field (41% and 34%, respectively). Water use efficiency appeared greater in clipped meadow and degraded alkali-saline land than in fenced meadow, and responded differently to abiotic factors. Overall, large-scale LCLUC has exerted significant influence on terrestrial C/H2O balances and physical responses in alkali-saline Songnen Plain.

In this study, we tested the hypothesis that overexpression of miR-9 and miR-29a may contribute to DPN development and progression. We performed a meta-analysis of miR expression profile studies in human diabetes mellitus (DM) and the data suggested that miR-9 and miR-29a were highly expressed in patients with DM, which was further verified in serum samples collected from 30 patients diagnosed as DM. Besides, ISL1 was confirmed to be a target gene of miR-9 and miR-29a. Lentivirus-mediated forced expression of insulin gene enhancer binding protein-1 (ISL1) activated the sonic hedgehog (SHH) signaling pathway, increased motor nerve conduction velocity and threshold of nociception, and modulated expression of neurotrophic factors in sciatic nerves in rats with DM developed by intraperitoneal injection of 0.45% streptozotocin, suggesting that ISL1 could delay DM progression and promote neural regeneration and repair after sciatic nerve damage. However, lentivirus-mediated forced expression of miR-9 or miR-29a exacerbated DM and antagonized the beneficial effect of ISL1 on DPN. Collectively, this study revealed potential roles of miR-9 and miR-29a as contributors to DPN development through the SHH signaling pathway by binding to ISL1. Additionally, the results provided an experimental basis for the targeted intervention treatment of miR-9 and miR-29a.

Background Radial artery cannulation is a crucial investigative procedure for measuring patients’ blood pressure invasively and serial blood gases. However, radial artery cannulation can be challenging for medical residents, and it is necessary to establish a facile and straightforward teaching strategy. This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of acoustic shadowing-facilitated ultrasound guidance on radial artery cannulation teaching for medical residents. Methods A total of 116 medical postgraduates who underwent standardized residency training programs in the Department of Anesthesiology were randomly divided into a new ultrasound-guided teaching group and a traditional ultrasound-guided teaching group. In the new ultrasound-guided teaching group, radial artery puncture technique was taught by acoustic shadowing-facilitated ultrasound guidance. The training included both theoretical and practical components. After the training, the success rate of the first puncture attempt, the success rate of the catheterization, the ultrasonic positioning time, and the catheterization time of the two groups were compared in a unified manner. A questionnaire on the subjective evaluation of the various aspects of the program by participants was conducted at the end of the training period. Results The study included 101 medical residents. The success rate for radial artery puncture at the first attempt in the new ultrasound-guided teaching group was 78.43%. It was significantly higher than that of the traditional ultrasound-guided group (58.00%, odds ratio = 0.380; 95% CI = 0.159 to 0.908; p = 0.027). The success rate for the first arterial catheterization in the new ultrasound-guided teaching group was significantly higher than that of the traditional ultrasound-guided group (74.51% vs. 52.00%, odds ratio = 0.371; 95% CI = 0.160 to 0.858; p = 0.019). The ultrasonic positioning time and catheterization time in minutes in the new ultrasound-guided teaching group were significantly shorter than that of the traditional ultrasound-guided group (14.36 ± 3.31 vs. 18.02 ± 4.95, p vs. 14.78 ± 8.02, p = 0.012). However, no significant differences were observed in the incidence of local hematomas and teaching satisfaction scores between the two groups. Conclusion Acoustic shadowing facilitates ultrasound-guided radial artery puncture and catheterization is beneficial in the standardized training and teaching of residents. It improves the success rate of the first attempt at radial artery puncture and catheterization and shortens the time of ultrasound location and catheterization. Trial registration Registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry on 28 May 2021. Registration number: ChiCTR2100046833.

Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient for all organisms, and the recovery of P from sewage sludge (SS) has been the focus of recent research. The effect of temperature and chlorine-based additives (MgCl2 and CaCl2) on P recovery and heavy metal (Cu, Zn, and Cr) removal during SS incineration were investigated. The results showed that temperature and chlorine-based additives increased the P fixation and improved the P-bioavailability. The fixation rate of P reached a maximum of 98.5% in SS using 3% Mg (MgCl2) at 900 °C and 97.8% in SS using 5%Ca (CaCl2) at 800 °C. Additionally, the mechanism of P associated with aluminum oxides/hydroxides (Al-P) transferring to that of magnesium oxides/hydroxides (Mg-P) and calcium oxides/hydroxides (Ca-P) was also investigated. The results indicated that Mg3(PO4)2 was formed via the reaction between AlPO4 and MgCl2 during incineration, which increased the P solubility in 2% citric acid. When AlPO4 was incinerated with CaCl2, Ca2PO4Cl which has a higher P-bioavailability than AlPO4 was formed. In addition, the mass fraction and leaching concentration of Cu and Zn in treated SS greatly decreased during SS incineration, while no reduction in Cr. These findings suggest that chlorine-based additives can be used to treat SS at high temperatures to obtain an ideal material for P-fertilizer production.

Introduction Water such as precipitation is the most critical environment driver of ecosystem processes and functions in semi-arid regions. Frequency and intensity of drought and transient waterlogging are expected to increase in the meadow steppe in northeastern China. Using a 4-year dataset of eddy covariance flux measurements, ground measurements of biomass, phenology, and meteorological conditions, we investigated the changes in energy fluxes at multiple temporal scales and under different precipitation regimes. Results The meadow steppe was latent heat (LE) dominated when soil water content was > 0.3 m3 m−3, but switched to sensible heat (H) dominated status when soil water content fell below 0.3 m3 m−3. LE dominated the energy exchange of the meadow grasslands on a yearly basis. Intensive precipitation had a profound impact on water-energy balance that could reduce the damages of drought by elevating deep soil moisture. The influence of LE on waterlogging depended on timing, with increased LE at the beginning of growing season and decreased LE after waterlogging. Spring and summer droughts resulted in different energy partitioning between latent and sensible heat energies, with spring drought dramatically decreased the LE fraction due to the change in water. In contrast, summer drought had little impact on LE due to the sufficient water input from large precipitation events at the beginning of the growing season. Conclusions There existed great seasonal and interannual variabilities in energy balance and partitioning in the meadow steppe over the 4-year study period, which were strongly influenced by changes in precipitation. The water loss through latent heat was more sensitive to spring drought than to summer drought, while summer drought had negligible impact on LE. Waterlogging contributed to LE by enhancing its values during and after the waterlogged periods at the beginning of the growing season in a dry year, but lowering its value after the waterlogged periods in growing season.

This paper investigated the potential of using reactive MgO-activated ground granulated blastfurnace slag (MgO-GGBS) as a binder in cemented paste backfill (CPB) from sulphide-rich tailings. The effects of reactive MgO content of MgO-GGBS on the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of CPB were investigated. The test results showed that the CPB achieved target strength (≧1.0 MPa) at 28 d and the UCS at 360 d showed an increasing trend when MgO-GGBS dosage was 14 wt% and reactive MgO content of MgO-GGBS was 2.5–7.5 wt%. Thermodynamic calculations and analyses of potential reactions including acid and sulphate attack have been performed. The hydration products were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetry analysis (TG/DTG). Finally, the hydration mechanism of CPB was discussed based on the thermodynamic and experimental results. The conclusion is that MgO-GGBS will be a promising binder for tailings with sulphide.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are considered as a new regulatory factor in growth, metastasis and therapeutic resistance of human cancers. But the clinical significance and underlying mechanism of circular RNA ITCH (circ-ITCH) in gastric cancer (GC) remain unknown. In the present study, we found that circ-ITCH was down-regulated in GC cell lines, GC tissues and their serum-derived exosomes. The level of circ-ITCH was related to invasion depth. Functional assays showed that circ-ITCH overexpression inhibited the proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) of GC cells, whereas circ-ITCH knockdown appeared an opposite effect. Bioinformatic analysis and luciferase reporter assay confirmed that circ-ITCH acted as miR-199a-5p sponge and increased the level of Klotho. The expression level of miR-199-5p was up-regulated in GC tissues and negatively correlated with that of circ-ITCH. MiR-199a-5p mimics reversed the effects on inhibiting metastasis induced by circ-ITCH overexpression and decreased the level of Klotho in GC cells. Our findings indicate that circ-ITCH suppresses metastasis of GC by acting as the sponge of miR-199a-5p and increasing Klotho expression, which serves as a potential biomarker and targets for the diagnosis and therapy of GC. Abbreviations: CircRNAs: circular RNAs; GC: gastric cancer; circ-ITCH: circular RNA Itchy E3 ubiquitin protein ligase; ceRNA: competitive endogenous RNA; EMT: Epithelial–mesenchymal transition; siRNA: Small interfering RNA; TEM: transmission electron microscope; NTA: nanoparticle tracking analysis.

Phosphorus (P) recovery from sewage sludge (SS) have been regarded as an effective method of P recycling. The effects of incineration temperature, incineration time, and chlorine additives on the distribution of P speciation during sludge incineration were studied. Moreover, the reactions between model compounds AlPO

The enhancement of phosphorus (P) released from waste activated sludge (WAS) by electrochemical treatment was investigated in this study. Results showed that the concentration of orthophosphate (ortho-P) and organic phosphorus (OP) in liquid both increased after electrochemical treatment. The ortho-P and OP concentration reached a maximum of 5.020 mg/L and 1.888 mg/L under the optimal condition respectively (voltage of 4.5 V and time of 60 min), which were 2.86 and 4.93 times higher than that in raw sludge. Meanwhile, the role of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in this process was also studied. The variation trends of P release in tightly-bound EPS (TB-EPS) and loosely-bound EPS (LB-EPS) were different. In TB-EPS, the concentration of total phosphorus (TP) and ortho-P decreased when the voltage increased. In contrast, the concentration of TP and ortho-P in LB-EPS increased and reached the maximum under the optimal condition. Released metal ions (Ca, Mg, Fe and Al) had some effects on P-release both in liquid and EPS, which indicated that EPS played an important role. SCOD and TSS revealed that the disintegration of sludge was also enhanced by electrochemical treatment. Additionally, the P fractions in sludge phase suggested that OP was more likely to be released in liquid phase.