Search

Abstract Although papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) has a good prognosis, its recurrence rate is high and remains a core concern in the clinic. Molecular factors contributing to different recurrence risks (RRs) remain poorly defined. Here, we perform an integrative proteogenomic and metabolomic characterization of 102 Chinese PTC patients with different RRs. Genomic profiling reveals that mutations in MUC16 and TERT promoter as well as multiple gene fusions like NCOA4-RET are enriched by the high RR. Integrative multi-omics analyses further describe the multi-dimensional characteristics of PTC, especially in metabolism pathways, and delineate dominated molecular patterns of different RRs. Moreover, the PTC patients are clustered into four subtypes (CS1: low RR and BRAF-like; CS2: high RR and metabolism type, worst prognosis; CS3: high RR and immune type, better prognosis; CS4: high RR and BRAF-like) based on the omics data. Notably, the subtypes display significant differences considering BRAF and TERT promoter mutations, metabolism and immune pathway profiles, epithelial cell compositions, and various clinical factors (especially RRs and prognosis) as well as druggable targets. This study can provide insights into the complex molecular characteristics of PTC recurrences and help promote early diagnosis and precision treatment of recurrent PTC.

The leaves of Metapanax delavayi shrub have been widely used in Chinese traditional diet to prepare tea-like beverages for alleviating inflammation. This study aimed to identify phytochemical components of M. delavayi leaf extract (MDE), and assess their anti-inflammation effects. The results showed that of the 101 compounds identified in the MDE, 96 were assessed as potentially anti-inflammatory based on network pharmacology analysis. The MAPK signaling pathway was surmised as the major anti-inflammatory pathway of action. The MDE enhanced the viability of the RAW264.7 cells, significantly inhibiting the overproduction of inflammatory factors (NO, IL-6, TNF-α, and PGE2), relative mRNA expression of TNF-α, iNOS, and COX-2, as well as several proteins (p-P38, p-ERK, p-JNK, iNOS, and COX-2) in lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW264.7 cells, meanwhile TGF-β1 production was increased. The key residues involved in binding to the top 10 leaf metabolites were Lys53, Thr179, Asp177, Glu147, and Pro174, in p-P38, p-ERK, p-JNK proteins. Molecular dynamic simulations demonstrated that predominantly three phosphorylated proteins formed stable and tightly bound complexes with certain metabolites of MDE.

Background: Although caffeine generally offers benefits to human health, its impact on bone metabolism remains unclear.Aim and Methods: This study aimed to systematically evaluate the long-term effects of caffeine administration on osteoclasts, osteoblasts, and ovariectomy-induced postmenopausal osteoporosis (OP).Results: Our in vitro findings revealed that 3.125 and 12.5 μg/mL caffeine inhibited RANKL-mediated osteoclastogenesis in RAW 264.7 cells through the MAPK and NF-κB pathways, accompanied by the inactivation of nuclear translocation of nuclear factor NFATc1. Similarly, 3.125 and 12.5 μg/mL of caffeine modulated MC3T3-E1 osteogenesis via the AKT, MAPK, and NF-κB pathways. However, 50 μg/mL of caffeine promoted the phosphorylation of IκBα, P65, JNK, P38, and AKT, followed by the activation of NFATc1 and the inactivation of Runx2 and Osterix, ultimately disrupting the balance between osteoblastogenesis and osteoclastogenesis. In vivo studies showed that gavage with 55.44 mg/kg caffeine inhibited osteoclastogenesis, promoted osteogenesis, and ameliorated bone loss in ovariectomized mice.Conclusion: Conversely, long-term intake of high-dose caffeine (110.88 mg/kg) disrupted osteogenesis activity and promoted osteoclastogenesis, thereby disturbing bone homeostasis. Collectively, these findings suggest that a moderate caffeine intake (approximately 400 mg in humans) can regulate bone homeostasis by influencing both osteoclasts and osteoblasts. However, long-term high-dose caffeine consumption (approximately 800 mg in humans) could have detrimental effects on the skeletal system.

Theabrownin (TB) is the main characteristic component and bioactive substance of Pu-erh tea. Our previous studies have demonstrated interactions among the TB, the circadian rhythm, and obesity, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we focused on the mechanism by which TB ameliorates lipid accumulation caused by oleic acid (OA) by modulating circadian rhythm genes in HepG2 cells. The results showed that TB could reduce triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) levels, reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction and lipid droplet formation. Additionally, TB could regulate OA-mediated circadian desynchrony by regulating the mRNA and protein expression of circadian genes. Furthermore, as revealed by proteomics results, the PPAR pathway is a potential pathway through which TB ameliorates lipid metabolism disorders. After Bmal1 knockdown, the ameliorative effect of TB on OA-induced PPARγ and plin1 protein expression was decreased, which suggested that TB could ameliorate lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells via a Bmal1-dependent pathway.

Continuous cropping (CC) stress severely limits the growth and industrial development of Pinellia ternata. Epihomobrassinolide (EBR) is a natural product that widely participates in many the physiological activities of many plants. Thiamethoxam·flutolanil·azoxystrobin (TFA) has been registered as a seed coating agent in crop production. In this work, the effects of seeds soaked with EBR, seeds coated with TFA, and their co-application on the plant growth, electrophysiological information (as physiological activities related to plant electrical signals), leaf photosynthesis, plant resistance, bulb quality, and yield of CC P. ternata were evaluated. The aim of this work is to excogitate a practicable agronomic measure for ameliorating the growth of CC P. ternata. The results show that soaking the seeds with EBR or coating the seeds with TFA could effectively enhance the plant height, leaf area, and stem diameter of CC P. ternata, promote its emergence seedling ratio, and decrease its inverted seedling ratio, and their associated application was found to be more efficient. Additionally, their associated application effectively enhanced the intrinsic capacitance (IC), intracellular water metabolism, nutrient transport, and metabolic activity and decreased the intrinsic resistance (IR), impedance (IZ), capacitive reactance (IXc), and inductive reactance (IXL). Meanwhile, their associated application could reliably enhance the photosynthetic capacity and stress resistance, and effectively improve the bulb quality and yield. This study emphasizes that the associated application of seeds soaked with a 0.004% aqueous EBR solution diluted 1000 times and seeds coated with a 24% TFA flowable concentrate at 1.6 mL kg−1 seed can be used as a novel and practicable technology for alleviating the CC stress of P. ternata and ameliorating its growth, electrophysiological information, resistance, quality, and yield.

Abstract The Viridiplantae comprise two main clades, the Chlorophyta (including a diverse array of marine and freshwater green algae) and the Streptophyta (consisting of the freshwater charophytes and the land plants). Lineages sister to core Chlorophyta, informally refer to as prasinophytes, form a grade of mainly planktonic green algae. Recently, one of these lineages, Prasinodermophyta, which is previously grouped with prasinophytes, has been identified as the sister lineage to both Chlorophyta and Streptophyta. Resolving the deep relationships among green plants is crucial for understanding the historical impact of green algal diversity on marine ecology and geochemistry, but has been proven difficult given the ancient timing of the diversification events. Through extensive taxon and gene sampling, we conduct large-scale phylogenomic analyses to resolve deep relationships and reveal the Prasinodermophyta as the lineage sister to Chlorophyta, raising questions about the necessity of classifying the Prasinodermophyta as a distinct phylum. We unveil that incomplete lineage sorting is the main cause of discordance regarding the placement of Prasinodermophyta. Molecular dating analyses suggest that crown-group green plants and crown-group Prasinodermophyta date back to the Paleoproterozoic-Mesoproterozoic. Our study establishes a plausible link between oxygen levels in the Paleoproterozoic-Mesoproterozoic and the origin of Viridiplantae.

Abstract Cells possess isolated compartments that spatially confine different enzymes, enabling high-efficiency enzymatic cascade reactions. Herein, we report a cell-inspired design of biomimetic cascade catalysis system by immobilizing Fe single atoms and Au nanoparticles on the inner and outer layers of three-dimensional nanocapsules, respectively. The different metal sites catalyze independently and work synergistically to enable engineered and cascade glucose detection. The biomimetic catalysis system demonstrates ~ 9.8- and 2-fold cascade activity enhancement than conventional mixing and coplanar construction systems, respectively. Furthermore, the biomimetic catalysis system is successfully demonstrated for the colorimetric glucose detection with high catalytic activity and selectivity. Also, the proposed gel-based sensor is integrated with smartphone to enable real-time and visual determination of glucose. More importantly, the gel-based sensor exhibits a high correlation with a commercial glucometer in real samples detection. These findings provide a strategy to design an efficient biomimetic catalysis system for applications in bioassays and nanobiomedicines.

Bikeshare, as a convenient transport mode, can address the first- and last-mile travel needs of metro trips while generating many environmental benefits, such as reducing the use of environmentally unfriendly transport modes and lowering the carbon emissions of the urban transportation system. This paper takes bikeshare as a feeder mode of metro stations (BS-FMMS) as the research object and compares the spatial and temporal differences in the carbon emission reduction benefits of BS-FMMS on workdays and non-workdays by using the framework of BS-FMMS carbon reduction benefit analysis and the methods of time-series analysis, spatial aggregation analysis, and box plot analysis. The results show that the carbon emission reduction benefit of bikeshare has obvious morning and evening peaks on workdays, while it tends to be stable without obvious peaks during the day on non-workdays. From the perspective of spatial distribution, the carbon emission reduction benefits of BS-FMMS are more significant in the metro station areas in the south of Baoan district, the west of Nanshan district, the central of Longhua district, and the south of Futian district in Shenzhen city, and the metro stations where the carbon emission reduction benefits of the non-workday are greater than those of the workday are mainly concentrated in Nanshan district, Futian district, and Luohu district. There is a significant positive correlation between BS-FMMS ridership and carbon emission reduction. These findings can provide clear policy implications for the decarbonization development of urban transportation systems.

The naturalization and invasion of alien species have caused a serious impact on the global environment and social development, and have become a global problem faced by countries in biodiversity management and ecological conservation. China is one of the countries most seriously affected by alien invasion, and the situation is serious in the early warning, management and governance of alien invasion. Based on field surveys and literature research, Chenopodiastrum murale (L.) S. Fuentes, Uotila & Borsch, an alien invasive plant of Amaranthaceae sensu lato, is first reported for flora of China. C. murale is native to the Mediterranean region and has spread to more than 40 countries in Europe, America, Africa and Oceania. It is an invasive alien plant with great harm, and it is also clearly prohibited by customs and quarantine departments. This exotic invasive plant is now found in Chenggong District, Kunming City, Yunnan Province. This paper describes the morphological characteristics of the species in detail, as well as brief introduction of its taxonomical history, and provides field ecological photos for identification and comparison. In addition, the possible introduction route of C. murale was analyzed, and its potential harm and invasive risks were briefly assessed. This new record clearly demonstrate that the background survey of Chinese alien invasive plants is still insufficient.

Pseudostellaria heterophylla (or Taizishen in Chinese), a medicinal, edible, and ornamental Chinese herb, is seriously affected by leaf spot disease (LSD). Oligochitosan is a natural agricultural antibiotic that is produced via the degradation of chitosan, which is deacetylated from chitin; pyraclostrobin is a broad-spectrum and efficient strobilurin fungicide. In this work, the ability of pyraclostrobin, oligochitosan, and their formula to manage P. heterophylla leaf spot disease and their role in its resistance, leaf photosynthesis, agronomic plant traits, root growth, and root quality were studied. The results show that the joint application of oligochitosan and low-dosage pyraclostrobin could control LSD more efficiently, with control effects of 85.75–87.49% compared to high-dosage pyraclostrobin or oligochitosan alone. Concurrently, the application of this formula could more effectively improve the resistance, leaf photosynthesis, agronomic plant traits, root yield, and medicinal quality of P. heterophylla, as well as reduce the application of pyraclostrobin. This finding suggests that 30% pyraclostrobin suspension concentrate (SC) 1500-time + 5% oligosaccharin aqueous solutions (AS) 500-time diluent can be recommended for use as a feasible formula to manage LSD and reduce the application of chemical pesticides.

Dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR; EC1.1.1.219) is an important rate-limiting enzyme in the plant flavonoid pathway toward both anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins. Although DFR genes have been isolated from multiple plants and their functions have been well characterized in some plants, little is known about DFRs in Solanaceae species. Therefore, in this study, we performed genome-wide analysis and identified 6, 5, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6 and 5 DFR gene family members in eight Solanaceae species (S. lycopersicum, S. pennellii, S. tuberosum, S. melongena, C. annuum, N. tabacum, P. inflata, and P. axillaris) respectively. The putative DFR genes were systematically identified using bioinformatics to predict their protein properties, cellular location, phylogenetic relationships, gene structure, conserved motifs, and cis-acting elements in the promoters. Furthermore, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to identify the expression pattern of DFRs in tomato. We classified all DFRs into five groups based on their phylogenetic features. Sequence analysis showed that all encoded DFR protein sequences possess a highly conserved NAD-dependent epimerase/dehydratase. In addition, almost all the members of each group displayed similar gene structures and motif distributions, which might be related to their identical executive functions. All 42 DFRs possess a series of light-responsive, phytohormone-responsive, MYB-responsive, stress-responsive, and tissue-specific expression-related cis-elements in the promoter sequences. qRT-PCR analysis showed that tomato DFRs were expressed in many different organs. This study will provide a theoretical basis for further investigation of the function of DFRs in Solanaceae.

Abstract Ubiquitination is one of the most important post‐translational modifications which plays a significant role in conserving the homeostasis of cellular proteins. In the ubiquitination process, ubiquitin is conjugated to target protein substrates for degradation, translocation or activation, dysregulation of which is linked to several diseases including various types of cancers. E3 ubiquitin ligases are regarded as the most influential ubiquitin enzyme owing to their ability to select, bind and recruit target substrates for ubiquitination. In particular, E3 ligases are pivotal in the cancer hallmarks pathways where they serve as tumour promoters or suppressors. The specificity of E3 ligases coupled with their implication in cancer hallmarks engendered the development of compounds that specifically target E3 ligases for cancer therapy. In this review, we highlight the role of E3 ligases in cancer hallmarks such as sustained proliferation via cell cycle progression, immune evasion and tumour promoting inflammation, and in the evasion of apoptosis. In addition, we summarise the application and the role of small compounds that target E3 ligases for cancer treatment along with the significance of targeting E3 ligases as potential cancer therapy.

To investigate the significance of thrombelastography (TEG) in patients who have lung adenocarcinoma in situ (LAIS) complicated with type 2 diabetes (T2D), 120 subjects were enrolled: 40 with LAIS, 40 with LAIS and T2D (LAIS + T2D), and 40 healthy controls (HCs). Correlation analysis was used to assess the relationships of TEG with indicators of T2D. The LAIS + T2D group had lower reaction time (R), rate of clot formation (K), estimated percentage of lysis (EPL), and lysis after 30 min (LY30), but higher maximum amplitude (MA), angle (α), and coagulation index (CI) than other group. Compared with the HC group, the LAIS group had lower R, K, EPL, and LY30, but higher MA, α, and CI. In LAIS + T2D group, R and LY30 had negatively correlations with fasting blood glucose (FBG) and triglycerides (TGs); α and MA had positive correlations with FBG and TG; K had negative correlations with FBG; EPL had negative correlations with FBG and low-density lipoprotein (LDL); and CI had positive correlations with FBG and LDL. TEG may be a useful indicator of blood coagulation dysfunction in these patients rather the healthy individuals.

Free electron laser (FEL) is capable of producing ultra-short X-ray pulses. The estimation of X-ray pulse propagation is the key process of X-ray FEL beamline design. By using the Kostenbauder matrix approach, the evolution of an ultra-short pulse in a beamline system can be calculated. Therefore, it is of significant importance to investigate the Kostenbauder matrices of different kinds of X-ray optics. In this work, we derive a unified 6 × 6 optical matrix to describe various kinds of X-ray optical elements, including varied-line-spacing (VLS) toroidal grating, VLS spherical grating, VLS cylindrical grating, VLS plane grating, toroidal grating, spherical grating, cylindrical grating, plane grating, toroidal mirror, spherical mirror, cylindrical mirror, and plane mirror. These optics are usually adopted in soft X-ray regime. We apply this method to describe the transverse focusing, pulse front tilt, and pulse stretching after an X-ray pulse going through a VLS plane grating monochromator (VLS-PGM). We also use this approach to simulate a grating compressor which can be used to compress chirped soft X-ray pulse. This work is helpful in the design and optimization of X-ray beamline systems.

In view of the accumulation of nanoplastics (NPs) in the food chain of environment and animals, and the good adsorption properties of nano-plastics to toxic substances, it is necessary to explore the influence of NPs in living organisms. In this study, single and joint toxicological effects of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs, size 80 nm) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), were explored in freshwater aquatic animal model zebrafish (Danio rerio). Our study found that exposure to single PS-NPs induced mild acute toxicity, albeit the combined exposure of PS-NPs and polychlorinated biphenyls aggravated the toxicity of PCBs in a dose-dependent manner. Results from gene expression profiling showed that NPs exposure could activate detoxification process, resulting in a slight up-regulation of antioxidant genes (sod1, gstp1), bone development genes (bmp2, bmp4) and cardiac gene (tbx20); while PCBs suppressed the detoxification through down-regulation of these genes, and the addition of NPs will exacerbate the impact of PCBs on gene suppression. Importantly, the results of in vivo purification experiments found that NPs showed prolonged retention in liver, intestine and gills of zebrafish and they might have crossed biological barrier and accumulate in lipid-rich tissues and excretion does not appear as the significant pathway for their elimination. In conclusion, the toxic effects of polychlorinated biphenyls on chorionic protected embryos were not significant as zebrafish chorion plays an important role in resisting the invasion of pollutants; PCBs can seriously damage the bone and heart development of zebrafish, while the presence of NPs significantly enhanced the toxicity of PCBs in zebrafish, which is an alarming concern for growing NPs levels and ecological safety in aquatic environment.

It is important for urban traffic micro-circulation to improve the density of urban branch road networks by opening roads inside blocks. To reasonably optimize the micro-circulation road network in the open block area, a bi-level multi-objective programming model that considers traffic pollution and intersection delays was developed. In this paper, the goals of minimizing traffic pollution and total travel cost are added to the upper-level programming model and the user equilibrium assignment model with the consideration of intersection delay was presented as the lower-level programming model. A modified genetic algorithm (GA) embedded with the Frank-Wolfe algorithm was designed to solve the established model. The traffic conditions of arterial roads and micro-circulation branch roads before and after optimizing the micro-circulation block road network were compared and analyzed by a numerical example. The results demonstrated that the bi-level programming model can effectively determine the traffic direction of branch roads and the forbidden situation of intersections in the micro-circulation network. Compared with the closed block, the average saturation of the main trunk road decreased from 0.97 to 0.83 with a decline ratio of 14.43% after optimizing the micro-circulation network in the open block area; the average saturation of the secondary trunk road decreased from 0.86 to 0.77, with a decline ratio of 10.47%. The travel time cost decreased by approximately 6.55%, and the traffic pollution decreased by approximately 3.40%, which verified the optimization effect of the model and the algorithm.

The laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technique is used to manufacture complex and customised components by exploiting the unique advantages of two types of metal materials to meet specific performance requirements. A comprehensive overview of LPBF-processed dissimilar metal materials, a combination of different single metals or alloys, is developed. The microstructure in the fusion zone and the corresponding mechanical properties of LPBF-processed dissimilar metal materials are summarised. The influence of processing factors on the mechanism of defect formation, wetting properties and element diffusion behaviour at the interface between different materials and their typical cases are scientifically investigated in detail. Particular attention is paid to energy input, Marangoni convection and interfacial bonding behaviour. The underlying science of the metallurgical structure and properties of the LPBF-processed dissimilar metal materials is revealed. The build quality and efficiency could be further improved by designing machine structures and predicting the process–property relationship. This review provides a significant guide for expanding the industrial application of LPBF-processed dissimilar metal materials.

In order to accurately analyze and evaluate multi-index and multi-route traffic schemes for comparison and selection, we introduce herein a comprehensive weight and an intelligent selection algorithm for traffic scheme optimization to improve upon the shortcomings of common qualitative and quantitative analysis methods. Firstly, we establish an evaluation index system of transportation by traffic scheme considering the factors of technology, ecological environment, social environment, and economy, based on the whole life cycle. Secondly, the comprehensive weight based on subjective and objective factors is constructed. Finally, we establish an optimization method for transportation schemes by using the comprehensive weight and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) model. The results show that the evaluation index system based on the whole life cycle is more comprehensive and accurate. The comprehensive weight vector avoids the defects of single weight methods and makes full use of subjective data and expert opinions. The comprehensive weight vector is introduced into the decision-maker's preference coefficient, so that analysts can determine the scheme according to the subjective and objective information and to the required accuracy. This method uses a large number of evaluation groups to evaluate the scheme, and the evaluation results show greater objectivity and efficiency.

ObjectivesPPARγ variants cause lipodystrophy, insulin resistance, and diabetes. This study aimed to determine the relationship between PPARγ genotypes and phenotypes and to explore the pathogenesis of diabetes beyond this relationship.MethodsPPARγ2 exons in 1,002 Chinese patients with early-onset type 2 diabetes (diagnosed before 40 years of age) were sequenced. The functions of variants were evaluated by in vitro assays. Additionally, a review of the literature was performed to obtain all reported cases with rare PPARγ2 variants to evaluate the characteristics of variants in different functional domains.ResultsSix (0.6%) patients had PPARγ2 variant-induced diabetes (PPARG-DM) in the early-onset type 2 diabetes group, including three with the p.Tyr95Cys variant in activation function 1 domain (AF1), of which five patients (83%) had diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Functional experiments showed that p.Tyr95Cys suppresses 3T3-L1 preadipocyte differentiation. A total of 64 cases with damaging rare variants were reported previously. Patients with rare PPARγ2 variants in AF1 of PPARγ2 had a lower risk of lipodystrophy and a higher rate of obesity than those with variants in other domains, as confirmed in patients identified in this study.ConclusionThe prevalence of PPARG-DM is similar in Caucasian and Chinese populations, and DKD was often observed in these patients. Patients with variants in the AF1 of PPARγ2 had milder clinical phenotypes and lack typical lipodystrophy features than those with variants in other domains. Our findings emphasize the importance of screening such patients via genetic testing and suggest that thiazolidinediones might be a good choice for these patients.

The heat shock protein 20 (HSP20) proteins comprise an ancient, diverse, and crucial family of proteins that exists in all organisms. As a family, the HSP20s play an obvious role in thermotolerance, but little is known about their molecular functions in addition to heat acclimation. In this study, 42 PpHSP20 genes were detected in the peach genome and were randomly distributed onto the eight chromosomes. The primary modes of gene duplication of the PpHSP20s were dispersed gene duplication (DSD) and tandem duplication (TD). PpHSP20s in the same class shared similar motifs. Based on phylogenetic analysis of HSP20s in peach, Arabidopsis thaliana, Glycine max, and Oryza sativa, the PpHSP20s were classified into 11 subclasses, except for two unclassified PpHSP20s. cis-elements related to stress and hormone responses were detected in the promoter regions of most PpHSP20s. Gene expression analysis of 42 PpHSP20 genes revealed that the expression pattern of PpHSP20-32 was highly consistent with shoot length changes in the cultivar ‘Zhongyoutao 14’, which is a temperature-sensitive semi-dwarf. PpHSP20-32 was selected for further functional analysis. The plant heights of three transgenic Arabidopsis lines overexpressing PpHSP20-32 were significantly higher than WT, although there was no significant difference in the number of nodes. In addition, the seeds of three over-expressing lines of PpHSP20-32 treated with high temperature showed enhanced thermotolerance. These results provide a foundation for the functional characterization of PpHSP20 genes and their potential use in the growth and development of peach.

Parasites attack the host insects and possibly impact the host-gut microbiota, which leads to provision of a suitable host environment for parasites’ development. However, little is known about whether and how the parasitic wasp Cotesia vestalis alters the gut microbiota of the host Plutella xylostella. In this study, 16S rDNA microbial profiling, combined with a traditional isolation and culture method, were used to assess changes in the bacterial microbiome of parasitized and non-parasitized hosts at different developmental stages of C. vestalis larvae. Parasitization affected both the diversity and structure of the host-gut microbiota, with a significant reduction in richness on the sixth day post parasitization (6 DPP) and significant differences in bacterial structure between parasitized and non-parasitized hosts on the third day. The bacterial abundance of host-gut microbiota changed significantly as the parasitization progressed, resulting in alteration of potential functional contribution. Notably, the relative abundance of the predominant family Enterobacteriaceae was significantly decreased on the third day post-parasitization. In addition, the results of traditional isolation and culture of bacteria indicated differences in the bacterial composition between the three DPP and CK3 groups, as with 16S microbial profiling. These findings shed light on the interaction between a parasitic wasp and gut bacteria in the host insect during parasitization.

This study proposes a generally applicable improvement strategy for metaheuristic algorithms, improving the algorithm’s accuracy and local convergence in finite element (FE) model updating. Based on the idea of “survival of the fittest” in biological evolution, the improvement strategy introduces random crossover and mutation operators into metaheuristic algorithms to improve the accuracy and stability of the solution. The effectiveness of the improvement strategy with three typical metaheuristic algorithms was comprehensively tested by benchmark functions and numerical simulations of a space truss structure. Meanwhile, the initial FE model of a railway hybrid girder cable-stayed bridge was updated to examine the effect of the improved metaheuristic algorithm within the FE model, updating for complex engineering structures. The results show that the accuracy and stability of the improved metaheuristic algorithm were improved by this process. After the initial FE model of the hybrid girder cable-stayed bridge was updated, the calculated frequencies and displacements were closer to the measured values, better representing the actual structure, and showing that this process can be used for baseline FE models of bridges.

Botryosphaeria dothidea is one of the most frequent pathogens of soft rot disease in kiwifruit. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of oligosaccharins used together with tebuconazole to control soft rot and their influences on kiwifruit’s disease resistance, growth and quality. The results show that tebuconazole displayed a toxicity against B. dothidea RF-1 with 0.87 mg kg−1 of EC50 value. Oligosaccharins used together with tebuconazole effectively managed soft rot with 84.83% of the field management effect by spraying tebuconazole + oligosaccharins (0.5:0.5, m/v) as a 5000-fold dilution liquid, which significantly (p < 0.01) exceeded the 72.05%, 52.59%, 62.17% and 33.52% effect of tebuconazole 2500-, oligosaccharins 2500-, tebuconazole 5000- and oligosaccharins 5000-fold liquids, respectively. Simultaneously, co-application of tebuconazole and oligosaccharins was more effective for enhancing the resistance, growth and quality of kiwifruit compared with tebuconazole or oligosaccharins alone. This work highlights that oligosaccharins used together with tebuconazole can be proposed as a practicable measure for managing kiwifruit soft rot and reducing the application of chemical synthetic fungicides.

Objective. The endocrine function of bone in energy metabolism may be mediated by the osteocalcin (OC). We examined the association between OC and energy metabolism among Chinese postmenopausal women. Design and Setting. A cross-sectional cohort study enrolling 1635 participants was conducted using data from the Peking Vertebral Fracture study. Partial correlation analysis was performed to explore the correlation of OC, parathyroid hormone (PTH), or 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) with glycemic and lipid metabolic parameters. A logistic regression model was used to investigate the association of OC, PTH, or 25(OH)D with the prevalence of diabetes and dyslipidemia. Results. Serum levels of OC, PTH, and 25(OH)D were all positively correlated with serum cholesterol levels, whereas only OC was negatively associated with serum glucose level. In the logistic regression model, both OC and PTH were negatively associated with the prevalence of diabetes (odds ratio [OR], 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.967, 0.948–0.986 for OC and 0.986, 0.978–0.994 for PTH). No significant association was found between 25(OH)D and diabetes. Both OC and 25(OH)D, rather than PTH, were associated with abnormalities of high cholesterol levels, such as hypercholesterolemia and high LDL-C levels. Further classifying the population based on the median value of OC and PTH, low OC and low PTH subgroup had the highest OR, 95% CI for diabetes (1.873, 1.287–2.737) and the lowest OR, 95% CI for hypercholesterolemia (0.472, 0.324–0.688) and for high LDL-C (0.538, 0.376–0.771). Conclusion. Among Chinese postmenopausal women, a lower serum level of OC was associated with a higher prevalence of diabetes and lower serum cholesterol levels, and a low PTH concentration could magnify these associations.

Leaf spot disease caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae is one of the most serious fungal diseases of kiwifruit production. In this work, the co-application of isopyrazam·azoxystrobin and chitosan against leaf spot disease in kiwifruit and its effects on disease resistance, photosynthesis, yield, quality, and amino acids of kiwifruit were investigated. The results show that isopyrazam·azoxystrobin exhibited a superior bioactivity against L. theobromae with an EC50 value of 0.1826 mg kg−1. The foliar application of chitosan could effectively enhance isopyrazam·azoxystrobin against leaf spot disease with a field control efficacy of 86.83% by spraying 29% isopyrazam·azoxystrobin suspension concentrate (SC) 1500 time + chitosan 100-time liquid, which was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than 78.70% of 29% isopyrazam·azoxystrobin SC 1000-time liquid. The co-application of isopyrazam·azoxystrobin and chitosan effectively enhanced soluble protein, resistance enzymes’ activity in kiwifruit leaves, and reduced their malonaldehyde (MDA), as well as reliably improved their photosynthetic characteristics. Simultaneously, their co-application was more effective in promoting growth, quality, and amino acids of kiwifruit fruits compared to isopyrazam·azoxystrobin or chitosan alone. This study highlights that the co-application of isopyrazam·azoxystrobin and chitosan can be used as a green, safe, and efficient approach for controlling leaf spot disease of kiwifruit and reducing the application of chemical fungicides.

ObjectiveMaturity-onset diabetes of the young caused by hepatocyte nuclear factor-1 alpha (HNF1A) variants (HNF1A-MODY) is a common form of monogenetic diabetes. Although patients with HNF1A-MODY might specifically benefit from sulfonylurea treatment, available methods for screening this specific type of diabetes are not cost-effective. This study was designed to establish an optimized clinical strategy based on multiple biomarkers to distinguish patients with HNF1A-MODY from clinically diagnosed early-onset type 2 diabetes (EOD) for genetic testing in a Chinese population.Research design and methodsA case–control study including 125 non-related young patients with EOD and 15 probands with HNF1A-MODY (cohort 1) was conducted to evaluate reported biomarkers for HNF1A-MODY. A cut-off for the fasting insulin (Fins) level, the 97.5 percentile of 150 healthy subjects with normal components of metabolic syndrome (cohort 2), was used to filter out individuals with obvious insulin resistance (Fins 1.12 mmol/L), the sensitivity and specificity of HNF1A-CSS were 100% and 69.3%, respectively. In the pooled analysis of all young patients, HNF1A-CSS displayed 90.5% sensitivity and 73.6% specificity for identifying patients with HNF1A-MODY among those with clinically diagnosed EOD.ConclusionOur HNF1A-CSS is useful for distinguishing patients with HNF1A-MODY from patients with EOD in a young Chinese population.

Drought, low nutrition, and weeds have become the major limiting factors of young kiwifruit orchards. In this study, the effects of intercropping Vicia sativa L. on the moisture, microbe community, enzyme activity, and nutrients in rhizosphere soils of young kiwifruit plants and their growth were investigated. The results show that intercropping V. sativa could effectively enhance soil moisture by 1.39–1.47 folds compared with clean tillage. Moreover, intercropping V. sativa could significantly (p < 0.01) increase the microbial community, enzyme activity and nutrient of kiwifruit rhizosphere soils, and improve plant height, stem girth, leaf number, maximum leaf length, maximum leaf width, and chlorophyll content of young kiwifruit plants by 43.60%, 18.68%, 43.75%, 18.09%, 21.15%, and 67.57% compared to clean tillage, respectively. The moisture, microbial quantity, enzyme activity, and nutrients in rhizosphere soils of young kiwifruit plants exhibited good correlations with their plant height, stem girth, leaf number, maximum leaf length, maximum leaf width, and chlorophyll content. This study highlights that intercropping V. sativa in young kiwifruit orchard can be used as an effective, labor-saving, economical and sustainable practice to improve the moisture, microbial community, enzyme activity, and nutrient of soils, and enhance kiwifruit plant growth and control weeds.

In this study, the co–application of chitosan and tetramycin against kiwifruit soft rot and its effects on the disease resistance, growth, quality and aroma of kiwifruit were investigated. The results show that chitosan could effectively enhance tetramycin against soft rot of kiwifruit with the field control efficacy of 85.33% for spraying chitosan 100 time + 0.3% tetramycin AS 5000–time dilution liquid, which was higher than 80.99% for 0.3% tetramycin AS 5000–time dilution liquid and significantly (p < 0.01) higher than 40.66% for chitosan 100–time dilution liquid. Chitosan could significantly (p < 0.05) improve the promoting effects of tetramycin on total phenolics, total flavonoids, SOD activity of kiwifruit compared to tetramycin during storage for 0–28 days and enhance the disease resistance of kiwifruit. Moreover, the co–application of chitosan and tetramycin was more effective than tetramycin or chitosan alone in enhancing fruit growth, improving fruit quality and increasing fruit aroma. This study highlights that chitosan can be used as an adjuvant to enhance tetramycin against soft rot of kiwifruit and promote tetramycin’s improvement for the single fruit volume and weight, vitamin C, soluble sugar, soluble solid, dry matter, soluble protein, titratable acidity and aroma of kiwifruit.

With the adoption of the two-child policy, there has been a large increase in women of older maternal and high-risk pregnant women. So, it is necessary to analyze the health status of women in the late pregnancy on time. To analyze the effect on using remote fetal monitoring on women in the late pregnancy, we selected women in the late stage of pregnancy in our hospital as research subjects. They were randomly divided into two groups: the experimental group, which engaged in remote fetal monitoring, and the control group, which adopted traditional cardiac monitoring. In order to get more effective data, we used the Kalman filter and audio repair algorithms to preprocess the collected data. During follow-up observation, we compared the two groups using neonatal cardiac monitoring by employing the non-stress test and observed the occurrence of neonatal asphyxia. The incidence of neonatal abnormal non-stress test in the experimental group and the control group was 33.6% and 17.3%, respectively; the difference was statistically significant ( p

Diabetic cardiomyopathy is a common cardiac condition in patients with diabetes mellitus, which results in cardiac hypertrophy and subsequent heart failure. Chronic inflammation in the diabetic heart results in loss of cardiomyocytes and subsequentially cardiac dysfunction. Accumulated evidence implicated pyroptosis as a vital contributor to the hyperglycemia-induced cardiac inflammatory response. Exendin-4, a GLP analog, promotes survival of cardiomyocytes in cardiovascular diseases, including diabetic cardiomyopathy. However, the role of Exendin-4 in cardiac pyroptosis remains to be elucidated. Our study revealed that Exendin-4 treatment protected against heart remolding and dysfunction and attenuated cardiac inflammation in high-fat diet-fed rats. The activity of caspase-1 and production of pyroptotic cytokines were significantly inhibited by Exendin-4 treatment in the diabetic heart and in high glucose-treated cardiomyocytes as well. In an effort to understand the signaling mechanisms underlying the antipyroptotic property of Exendin-4, we found that blockade of AMPK, an oxidative stress sensor, activity diminished the antipyroptotic property of Exendin-4. Phosphorylation of AMPK resulted in degeneration of TXNIP that promoted the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. Exendin-4 treatment decreased the protein level of TXNIP. Moreover, RNA silencing of TXNIP mimicked the antipyroptotic actions of Exendin-4. These findings promoted us to propose a new signaling pathway mediating cardioprotective effect of Exendin-4 under hyperglycemic conditions: Exendin-4 → ROS↓ → pAMPK↑ → TXNIP↓ → caspase-1↓ → IL-1β and IL-18↓ → pyroptosis↓. In general, our study identified Exendin-4 as a pyroptotic inhibitor protecting against hyperglycemia-induced cardiomyocyte pyroptosis via the AMPK-TXNIP pathway.

To perform the reasonable traffic structure in the historical districts and effectively alleviate the contradiction between limited traffic supply and rapid growth of the traffic demand in historical districts, a dynamic game model of traffic competition is established in this paper, aiming at the green transportation and sustainable development. Firstly, the logit model reflecting the sharing rate of the traffic mode is established by using the generalized cost method to quantify all the factors that influence the travel mode selection. Accordingly, a dynamic game model of complete information is established for the trip mode of historical districts, taking into account the economic sustainability, environmental sustainability, and social sustainability of the traffic development. The model is based on the goal of maximizing the generalized profit, and modeling with environmental pollution, energy utilization, and road service level as the common constraints of various traffic modes. By iterating the Nash equilibrium solution of the model, the optimal structure and the optimal share of the traffic modes in the historical districts can be predicted. Finally, the model presented in the study is verified by the historical districts of Academy Street in Zhengzhou city, China, and the optimal structure and optimal traffic share of each traffic mode in the block are obtained. By changing the constraint conditions of the model, two sets of different governance policies are compared and analyzed, and some feasible suggestions on improvement of traffic structure are also put forward. The research results can be the important reference for traffic planning in historic districts.

There are often greater risks in the process of tunnel construction, and because of the unpredictable tunnel features, the risks during tunnel operation are also great. Due to the substantial growth of TTAs during the recent years, the safety issues of the tunnel traffic accidents (TTAs) have become a widely discussed topic in China. This study examined 2703 TTAs that occurred in the expressway tunnels of China, from 2001 to the present. The datasets from these accidents were analyzed in detail to determine the temporal and spatial characteristics of the traffic accidents as well as the source of the traffic accident distributions in the expressway tunnels. According to the analysis results, 58% of TTAs took place in the entrance and exit zones, and the rear end accident is the most common accident. In addition, the special festivals are liable to traffic accidents, especially during the Chinese Spring Festival. In order to reduce the accidents, special traffic service needs to be taken in key periods, the expressway tunnel operation departments should improve the management rules, and all the drivers should be educated to be more careful when they enter the tunnel.

Tetramycin, a novel polyene agriculture antibiotic, has excellent antimicrobial activity against many plant pathogens. In this study, the antimicrobial activities of tetramycin and conventional antibiotics on eight common pathogens and their field control efficacies against four serious diseases in kiwifruit were investigated. The results show that 0.3% tetramycin aqueous solutions (AS) exhibited the superior antibacterial and antifungal activity against Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae, Pseudomonas fulva, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Botryosphaeriadothidea, Phomopsis sp., Alternaria tenuissima, Armillariella mellea and Phytophthora cactorum of kiwifruit pathogens with EC50 values of 1.21, 1.24, 0.72, 0.14, 0.09, 0.16, 0.06 and 0.17 mg kg−1, respectively. These EC50 values of tetramycin were much higher than those of conventional kasugamycin, zhongshengmycin or polyoxin. Meanwhile, 0.3% tetramycin AS possessed the good field control efficacies for canker, soft rot, blossom blight and brown spot disease of kiwifruit with 74.45, 83.55, 84.74 and 89.62%. Moreover, 0.3% tetramycin AS application notably increased fruit resistance substances contents, activated fruit superoxide dismutase and polyphenoloxidase activities, as well as remarkably enhanced fruit growth, improved fruit quality and storability. This study highlights that tetramycin can be used as a preferred alternative to conventional antibiotics in kiwifruit production.

Digital communication signals in wireless systems may possess noncircularity, which can be used to enhance the degrees of freedom for direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation in sensor array signal processing. On the other hand, the electromagnetic characteristics between sensors in uniform rectangular arrays (URAs), such as mutual coupling, may significantly deteriorate the estimation performance. To deal with this problem, a robust real-valued estimator for rectilinear sources was developed to alleviate unknown mutual coupling in URAs. An augmented covariance matrix was built up by extracting the real and imaginary parts of observations containing the circularity and noncircularity of signals. Then, the actual steering vector considering mutual coupling was reparameterized to make the rank reduction (RARE) property available. To reduce the computational complexity of two-dimensional (2D) spectral search, we individually estimated y-axis and x-axis direction-cosines in two stages following the principle of RARE. Finally, azimuth and elevation angle estimates were determined from the corresponding direction-cosines respectively. Compared with existing solutions, the proposed method is more computationally efficient, involving real-valued operations and decoupled 2D spectral searches into twice those of one-dimensional searches. Simulation results verified that the proposed method provides satisfactory estimation performance that is robust to unknown mutual coupling and close to the counterparts based on 2D spectral searches, but at the cost of much fewer calculations.

Three different compositions of high-Si Al alloy pipe, with a gradient structure, were produced through semi-solid rheological squeeze casting, the microstructural characteristics of which were investigated. The mechanism of gradient structure formation and the effect of acicular Fe-rich phases on liquid segregation were revealed. Meanwhile, the crystal structures of the Al4FeSi2 and Al15(Fe, Mn)3Si2 phase were elucidated. The relationship between the volume fraction of hard particles in the pipe wall and the macro-hardness was established. Wear resistance tests of the inner surfaces of the pipe walls, and tensile strength tests at different positions around the pipe walls, showed that the δ-Al4FeSi2 phase (acicular Fe-rich phases) reduced the wear resistance and the tensile strength of the alloy. In this study, the gradient distribution of the hard particles caused the outside of the pipe wall to have a higher tensile strength.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a heterogeneous subset of cells that expands dramatically in many disease states and can suppress T-cell responses. MDSCs mainly include monocytic and granulocytic subpopulations that can be distinguished in mice by the expression of Ly6G and Ly6C cell surface markers. This identification system has been validated in experimental tumor models, but not in models of inflammation-associated conditions such as sepsis. We challenged growth factor independent 1 transcription repressor green fluorescent protein (Gfi1:GFP) knock-in reporter mice with cecal ligation and puncture surgery and found that CD11b+Ly6GlowLy6Chigh MDSCs in this sepsis model comprised both monocytic and granulocytic MDSCs. The evidence that conventional Ly6G/Ly6C marker analysis may not be suited to study of inflammation-induced MDSCs led to the development of a novel strategy of distinguishing granulocytic MDSCs from monocytic MDSCs in septic mice by expression of CD48. Application of this novel model should help achieve a more accurate understanding of the inflammation-induced MDSC activity.

Subspace-based algorithms for operational modal analysis have been extensively studied in the past decades. In the postprocessing of subspace-based algorithms, the stabilization diagram is often used to determine modal parameters. In this paper, an improved stabilization diagram is proposed for stochastic subspace identification. Specifically, first, a model order selection method based on singular entropy theory is proposed. The singular entropy increment is calculated from nonzero singular values of the output covariance matrix. The corresponding model order can be selected when the variation of singular entropy increment approaches to zero. Then, the stabilization diagram with confidence intervals which is established using the uncertainty of modal parameter is presented. Finally, a simulation example of a four-story structure and a full-scale cable-stayed footbridge application is employed to illustrate the improved stabilization diagram method. The study demonstrates that the model order can be reasonably determined by the proposed method. The stabilization diagram with confidence intervals can effectively remove the spurious modes.

The purpose of this study was to comprehensively compare the 3-dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided and conventional 2-dimensional (2D) point A-based intracavitary brachytherapy (BT) planning for cervical cancer with regard to target dose coverage and dosages to adjacent organs-at risk (OARs).A total of 79 patients with cervical cancer were enrolled to receive 2D point A-based BT planning and then immediately to receive 3D planning between October 2011 and April 2013 at the First Hospital Affiliated to Xi'an Jiao Tong University (Xi'an, China). The dose-volume histogram (DVH) parameters for gross tumor volume (GTV), high-risk clinical target volume (HR-CTV), intermediate-risk clinical target volume (IR-CTV) and OARs were compared between the 2D and 3D planning.In small tumors, there was no significant difference in most of the DVHs between 2D and 3D planning (all p>0.05). While in big tumors, 3D BT planning significantly increased the DVHs for most of the GTV, HR-CTV and IR-CTV, and some OARs compared with 2D planning (all P

In this article, the microstructural characteristics and the wear resistance performance of two kinds of high silicon aluminium alloys to produce gradient structure by rheological squeeze casting has been investigated. The mechanism effect of Fe-rich phase on microstructure homogeneity and wear characteristics was also studied. Experimental results present that liquid flow could be impeded because of being acicular Fe-rich phase, resulting in liquid segregation phenomenon and discontinuity gradient distribution of hard phase. Through adding 1.4 wt% Mn element into Al-22Si-2Fe alloys, the morphology of Fe-rich phase was improved, which acicular structure transformed to blocky structure. Because of higher hardness than Al matrix, blocky Fe-rich phase displayed softer hardness than Si particles, thereby buffering Hertz force and shear force, and bearing some load during wear process, which improved wear resistance of alloys.

The output-only modal analysis for bridge structures based on improved empirical mode decomposition (EMD) is investigated in this study. First, a bandwidth restricted EMD is proposed for decomposing nonstationary output measurements with close frequency components. The advantage of bandwidth restricted EMD to standard EMD is illustrated by a numerical simulation. Next, the modal parameters are extracted from intrinsic mode function obtained from the improved EMD by both random decrement technique and stochastic subspace identification. Finally, output-only modal analysis of a railway bridge is presented. The study demonstrates the mode mixing issues of standard EMD can be restrained by introducing bandwidth restricted signal. Further, with the improved EMD method, band-pass filter is no longer needed for separating the closely spaced frequency components. The modal parameters extracted based on the improved EMD method show good agreement with those extracted by conventional modal identification algorithms.

Vanadium oxide supported on MSU-1, with VOx loading ranging from 2.5 to 17.5 wt. %, was developed as a highly active catalyst in dehydrogenation of isobutane with CO2. The obtained catalysts of VOx/MSU-1 were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption-desorption, and H2-temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR) methods and the results showed that the large surface area of MSU-1 was favorable for the dispersion of VOx species and the optimal loading of VOx was 12.0 wt. %. Meanwhile, the catalytic activity of VOx/MSU-1 was investigated, and VOx/MSU-1 with 12.0 wt. % VOx content was found to be the best one, with the conversion of isobutane (58.8%) and the selectivity of isobutene (78.5%) under the optimal reaction conditions. In contrast with the reaction in the absence of CO2, the presence of CO2 in the reaction stream could obviously enhance the isobutane dehydrogenation, which raised the conversion of reaction and the stability of VOx/MSU-1.