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An electrochemical biosensor based on a polystyrene-gold nanocomposite was fabricated for the ultrasensitive sensing of clenbuterol. The PS-Au nanocomposite was synthesized by modifying polystyrene with triazine and aminothiazole groups, followed by the in-situ reduction of AuNPs. The PS-Au/SPCE exhibited a linear range (0.01–10 μM) with a limit of detection of 3.2 nM towards clenbuterol along with high selectivity and good stability. The sensor platform showcased its prowess by accurately quantifying clenbuterol in milk specimens fortified with known analyte concentrations, yielding recovery percentages within the range of 96.5–102.8 %, accompanied by relative standard deviations below 4.2 %. The superior performance of the PS-Au/SPCE is due to the synergistic effect of the high surface area and electrocatalytic activity of the AuNPs, the efficient adsorption of clenbuterol on the functionalized polystyrene matrix, and the enhanced electron transfer kinetics.

LN is a serious complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), affecting up to 60% of patients with SLE and may lead to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Macrophages play multifaceted roles in the pathogenesis of LN, including clearance of immune complexes, antigen presentation, regulation of inflammation, and tissue repair. Macrophages are abundant in the glomeruli and tubulointerstitium of LN patients and are positively correlated with serum creatinine levels and the severity of renal pathology. It has been shown that the infiltration of macrophages is closely associated with several clinical indicators, such as serum creatinine and complement C3 levels, anti-dsDNA antibody titers, Austin score, interstitial fibrosis and renal tubular atrophy. Moreover, cytokines expressed by macrophages were upregulated at LN onset and downregulated after remission, suggesting that macrophages may serve as markers of LN pathogenesis and remission. Therapies targeting macrophages have been shown to alleviate LN. There are two main types of macrophages in the kidney: kidney-resident macrophages (KRMs) and monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs). KRMs and MDMs play different pathological roles in LN, with KRMs promoting leukocyte recruitment at sites of inflammation by expressing monocyte chemokines, while MDMs may exacerbate autoimmune responses by presenting immune complex antigens. Macrophages exhibit high plasticity and can differentiate into various phenotypes in response to distinct environmental stimuli. M1 (proinflammatory) macrophages are linked to the progression of active SLE, whereas the M2 (anti-inflammatory) phenotype is observed during the remission phase of LN. The polarization of macrophages in LN can be manipulated through multiple pathways, such as the modulation of signaling cascades including TLR 2/1, S1P, ERS, metabolic reprogramming, and HMGB1. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the role of macrophages in the progression of lupus nephritis (LN), and elucidates how these cells and their secretory products function as indicators and therapeutic targets for the disease in the context of diagnosis and treatment of LN.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the tourism sector, particularly tour guides (TGs), affecting their professional identity (TGPI) and intentions to return to work. As China strives to revive its tourism industry, it is crucial to understand the current state of TGPI, its evolution, influencing factors, and its impact on TGs' return intentions. This study employed a quantitative approach, using comparative analysis and binary logistic regression, to investigate these issues among frontline TGs in China, pre- and post-pandemic. Cross-sectional surveys were conducted with 422 participants in 2019 and 398 in 2022, yielding 370 and 342 valid responses, respectively. The questionnaire utilized a five-point Likert scale. Findings reveal that (1) The overall TGPI level in 2022 post-pandemic is medium (3.93), showing a significant decrease from the pre-pandemic level in 2019 (4.15). (2) Influencing factors of TGPI are predominantly material, reflected in social insurance and income changes pre- and post-pandemic. (3) This study presents a novel definition and scale of TGPI, encompassing tour guides' professional value identity (TGPVI), emotion identity (TGPEI), relationship identity (TGPRI), and behavior tendency (TGPBT). (4) The two dimensions of the TGPI, TGPVI and TGPRI, income and education level, significantly influence TGs' return intentions. The study provides valuable academic and practical insights into TGPI and offers significant implications for enhancing TGs' return intentions and policymaking for post-pandemic tourism industry development.

Background: Abelson interactor Family Member 3 (ABI3) encodes protein that not only suppresses the ectopic metastasis of tumor cells but also hinders their migration. Although ABI3 had been found to modulate the advancement of diverse neoplasms, there is no comprehensive pan-cancer analysis of its effects.Methods: The transcriptomics data of neoplasm and normal tissues were retrieved from the Genomic Data Commons (GDC) data portal, and UCSC XENA database. To gather protein information for ABI3, Human Protein Atlas (HPA) and GeneMANIA websites were utilized. Additionally, Tumor Immune Single-cell Hub (TISCH) database was consulted to determine the primary cell types expressing ABI3 in cancer microenvironments. Univariate Cox regression approach was leveraged to evaluate ABI3’s prognostic role across cancers. The Cbioportal and Gene Set Cancer Analysis (GSCA) website were leveraged to scrutinize the genomic landscape information across cancers. TIMER2.0 was leveraged to probe the immune cell infiltrations associated with ABI3 across cancers. The associations of ABI3 with immune-related genes were analyzed through Spearman correlation method. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and Gene Set Variation Analysis (GSVA) were utilized to search associated biological pathways. The CellMiner database and molecular docking were implemented to identify potential interactions between the ABI3 protein and specific anticarcinogen.Findings: ABI3 expression and its ability to predict prognosis varied distinct tumor, with particularly high expression observed in Tprolif cells and monocytes/macrophages. Copy number variation (CNV) and methylation negatively correlated with ABI3 expression in the majority of malignancies. Corresponding mutation survival analysis indicated that the mutation status of ABI3 was strongly connected to the prognosis of LGG patients. ABI3 expression was linked to immunotherapeutic biomarkers and response in cancers. ESTIMATE and immune infiltrations analyses presented ABI3 association with immunosuppression. ABI3 was significantly correlated with immunoregulators and immune-related pathways. Lastly, prospective ABI3-targeted drugs were filtered and docked to ABI3 protein.Interpretation: Our study reveals that ABI3 acts as a robust tumor biomarker. Its functions are vital that could inhibit ectopic metastasis of tumor cells and modulate cellular adhesion and migration. The discoveries presented here may have noteworthy consequences for the creation of fresh anticancer suppressors, especially those targeting BRCA.

Turner Syndrome (TS) is a rare genetic disorder that affects females when one of the X chromosomes is partially or completely missing. Due to high genetic and phenotypic variability, TS diagnosis is challenging and is often delayed until adolescence, resulting in poor clinical management. Numerous oral, dental and craniofacial anomalies have been associated with TS, yet a comprehensive description is still lacking. This study addresses this gap through a detailed analysis of oral health and craniofacial characteristics in a cohort of 15 females with TS and their first-degree relatives. Subjects with TS ranged from 3 to 48 years old, none showed evidence of periodontal disease and only the youngest was in mixed dentition. Using the Multifunction System, we identified an aggregation of multiple signs and symptoms in each TS subject, including tooth anomalies (supernumerary molars, agenesis, microdontia, enamel defects, alterations in eruption patterns -advanced and delayed for chronological age-, crowding, rotations and transpositions), malocclusion (class II/1 and II/2) and Class II facial profile, while relatives exhibited fewer manifestations. The early detection of these signs and symptoms is crucial for appropriate referral and the optimal clinical management of TS, especially during the critical period of 9 to 10 years when congenital dental anomalies appear. The use of an established taxonomy to describe these phenotypic features is essential for early detection. Multidisciplinary teams are required to ensure holistic care management in rare diseases like TS.

Ambient pollen proteins play key roles in the incidence of allergenic respiratory health, and numerous reports have focused on respiratory diseases caused by air pollutants. However, there is still a lack of understanding of the specific mechanisms underlying the involvement of microbiota in the respiratory tracts and effects induced by air pollutants. Therefore, an allergenic animal model was established to investigate the characterization of microbials in the lung induced by allergenic Platanus pollen protein (Pla a3) and ambient fine particulate matter. Our data showed that the mice exhibited strong immune and inflammatory responses after being exposed to PMs and Pla a3 protein. This included increased levels of immunoglobulins IgG and IgE, as well as elevated levels of cytokines TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-4, and IL-13. Furthermore, the amounts of pathogenic bacteria, such as Desulfobacterota, Enterococcus, Ferruginibacter, and Pseudoxanthomonas, in the lung microbiota of the Pla a3 exposure group increased significantly. Correlation analysis revealed a strong association between specific lung bacteria and alterations in cytokines from the lung samples. Probiotic bacteria, Deferribacterota and Bifidobacterium, was associated with changes in the level of IgG and IgE. However, pathogenic bacteria, like Prevotella and Fusobacterium, were linked with the cytokines IL-4 and TNF-α.

There is an urgent need to promote the technical means of energy conservation in rural buildings. However, it is difficult to inspire enthusiasm among rural residents to implement the mandatory building energy conservation policy, resulting in invisible and avoidable waste. Based on the characteristics of energy-saving technology for buildings and the theory of planned behavior, structural equation modeling was adopted to explore the transformation process of the “cognition–willingness–behavior” of rural residents. The model results validate the hypothesis that behavioral attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control influence the adoption of energy-efficient building technologies by rural residents. The results show that in terms of the factors influencing rural residents’ willingness to adopt building energy-saving technology, behavioral attitudes have the greatest impact, followed by subjective norms and perceived behavior control, and that rural residents’ subjective norms can indirectly promote their willingness to adopt building energy-saving technology, which is mediated through their behavioral attitudes. The paper concludes with suggestions for countermeasures to enhance buildings’ energy efficiency and energy management in rural areas.

Abstract Flexible and wearable electronic devices hold great potential in electronic skins, health monitoring systems and soft robotics. Among them, flexible strain sensors with high performance are key components for wearable health monitoring devices. However, the facile and controllable preparation of highly sensitive sensors still faces significant challenges. By virtue of excellent conductivity of 2D transition metal carbids (MXenes), this work reports a facile and low‐cost fabrication strategy for large‐scale production of strain sensors. The sensitive layer is deposited on flexible interdigital electrodes by ultrasonic nebulization of Ti3C2Tx nanosheets. By controlling the nebulization time, different thicknesses of Ti3C2Tx films has a great influence on the performance of strain sensors. The Ti3C2Tx‐based strain sensor exhibits good sensing performances such as high GF (19.1) in the low strain range (≈0.25%–1.14%), short response time (0.7 s), and stable durability (over 1000 cycles). In practice, the potential applications of the strain sensor in sound frequency detection, human physiological signal monitoring and facial expression recognition are demonstrated. Finally, this work integrates the strain sensor with a miniaturized analyzer to assemble a wearable motion monitoring device for mobile healthcare. This study provides a facile strategy for fabricating flexible strain sensors in the field of wearable electronics.

Immunotherapy for cancer has attracted considerable attention. As one of the immunotherapeutics, tumor vaccines exert great potential for cancer immunotherapy. The most important components in tumor vaccines are antigens and adjuvants, which determine the therapeutic safety and efficacy, respectively. After decades of research, many types of adjuvants have been developed. Although these adjuvants can induce strong and long-lasting immune responses in tumor immunity, they also cause more severe toxic side effects and are therefore not suitable for use in humans. With the development of innate immunity research, pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) are receiving more attention in vaccine design. However, whether they have the potential to become new adjuvants remains to be elucidated. The purpose of this review is to provide newideas for the research and development of new adjuvants by discussing the mechanisms and related functions of PAMPs and DAMPs.

Abstract A good method of synthesizing Ti3C2Tx (MXene) is critical for ensuring its success in practical applications, e.g., electromagnetic interference shielding, electrochemical energy storage, catalysis, sensors, and biomedicine. The main concerns focus on the moderation of the approach, yield, and product quality. Herein, a modified approach, organic solvent-assisted intercalation and collection, was developed to prepare Ti3C2Tx flakes. The new approach simultaneously solves all the concerns, featuring a low requirement for facility (centrifugation speed

Background Contrast associated acute kidney injury (CA-AKI) is a major cause of acute renal failure and the incidence of CA-AKI is still high in recent years. Risk stratification is traditionally based on glomerular filtration rate(GFR). Hence, the aim of this study was to explore the novel risk factors for CA-AKI after enhanced computed tomography (CT). Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted in 632 in-hospital patients undergoing enhanced CT. The patients were divided into CA-AKI and no-CA-AKI groups. For comparative analyses, we applied one-to-four cohorts of those two groups using propensity score-matching methods addressing the imbalances of age, gender, weight, and smoking. The baseline clinical and biochemical data were compared. Logistic regression analysis was employed to investigate the CA-AKI risk factors. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was adopted to test the value of RDW in predicting CA-AKI after enhanced CT. Results 25 (3.96%) patients suffered from CA-AKI. Those subjects who developed CA-AKI had advanced age, severer renal functional injury, lower albumin, higher baseline RDW, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) than those without CA-AKI. It also exhibited more severe anemia including decreased hemoglobin and red blood cell count (all p

PurposeGross motor skills (GMS) and inhibitory control (IC) which are both development in preschool stage is significant for preschooler to healthy growth. However, the evidence of relationship between them in preschoolers are still insufficient, most of studies only focus on youth. Thus, the aim of this research is to examine the association between GMS and IC in preschool children.MethodsThis cross-sectional study used baseline data from a previous intervention study of preschoolers conducted in 2018. GMS were assessed by using the Test for Gross Motor Development (2nd edition) in preschoolers, which includes two subtests of locomotor and object control skills. Total GMS is calculated from the sum of these two subtests. The Fish Flanker task was used to evaluate both accuracy and reaction time of IC. Multivariate linear regression models were established to analyze the relationships between GMS and IC.ResultsA total of 123 preschool-age children (55 girls, 68 boys) were included in the final analysis. After adjusting for confounders, GMS (β = −8.27 ms, 95%CI: −14.2, −2.34), locomotor (β = −11.2 ms, 95%CI: −21.43, −0.97), and object control skills (β = −12.15 ms, 95%CI: −22.07, −2.23) were all negatively related with reaction time of IC.ConclusionThere was a significant negative correlation between gross motor skills and the reaction time of inhibitory control in preschool children. Further research is needed to verify this finding in prospective and experimental studies.

Abstract Chemi-resistive sensors based on hybrid functional materials are promising candidates for gas sensing with high responsivity, good selectivity, fast response/recovery, great stability/repeatability, room-working temperature, low cost, and easy-to-fabricate, for versatile applications. This progress report reviews the advantages and advances of these sensing structures compared with the single constituent, according to five main sensing forms: manipulating/constructing heterojunctions, catalytic reaction, charge transfer, charge carrier transport, molecular binding/sieving, and their combinations. Promises and challenges of the advances of each form are presented and discussed. Critical thinking and ideas regarding the orientation of the development of hybrid material-based gas sensor in the future are discussed.

The nanocomposites formed by graphene oxide (GO) and carbazate-modified polyvinyl alcohol (PVA-N) were developed to investigate their multiple properties for wide applications. Their physicochemical characterizations confirmed that the in situ reduced GO (rGO) not only decreased the crystallization but also induced the porous structures inside the nanocomposites. Significantly, it revealed that the comprehensive performance of PVA-N2-2%GO consisted of PVA-N2 with the carbazate degree of substitution (DS) of 7% and the weight ratio (wt%) of 2% GO displayed 79% of tensile elongation and tensile strength of 5.96 N/mm2 (MPa) by tensile testing, glass transition temperature (Tg) of 60.8°C and decomposition temperature (Td) of 303.5°C by TGA and DSC, surface contact angle at 89.4 ± 2.1°, and electrical conductivity of 9.95 × 10−11 S/cm. The abovementioned comprehensive performance was enhanced with the increased amount of in situ rGO, contributed by the high DS of the carbazate group in PVA-N and high amount of GO. The rGO by in situ reduction was the main driving force for enhancing the multiple properties inside the nanocomposites.

Background: The results of sedentary time (ST) and health-related physical fitness (HPF) are not completely consistent and the studies concentrated on pre-schoolers are very limited.Methods: We measured ST and ST patterns (ST Bouts time, ST Breaks times) by accelerometer. The health-related physical fitness T-score (HPFT) was calculated by five indexes: height-weight standard score, 20 m shuttle-run test, grip strength, standing long jump and 2 × 10 m shuttle-run test.Results: We included 375 pre-schoolers (211 boys, 164 girls) in the final analysis. The total ST and ST Bouts times negatively correlated with HPFT in pre-schoolers. HPFT reduced by 1.69 and 0.70 points per 10 min increased in total ST and ST Bouts times, respectively. HPFT of the highest quartile group reduced by 9.85 points in total ST, and 10.54 points in ST Bouts time compared with the lowest quartile group. However, the HPFT increased by 0.09 points per 10 times increased in ST Breaks times; the HPFT increased by 16.21 and 15.59 points when moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) replaced total ST and ST Bouts time.Conclusions: HPF negatively correlated with the Total ST and ST Bouts times, but positively correlated with ST Breaks times; and HPF significantly improved when MVPA replaced ST in pre-schoolers.

Background: The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to support critically ill patients with cardiorespiratory dysfunction has increased over the last decades. However, hemorrhagic complications occur frequently during ECMO support, and this has a significant impact on morbidity and mortality. Thus, this study aimed to identify the risk factors for hemorrhage in patients receiving ECMO.Methods: Our retrospective study included 60 patients, who were admitted to the Taihe Hospital in Shiyan City, Hubei Province, China from February 2017 to October 2020. About 18 patients developed hemorrhagic complications, and 42 patients did not demonstrate such complications. Data regarding patient demography, laboratory tests, and clinical manifestations prior to ECMO were collected to analyze their clinical features. Univariable and multivariable logistic analyses were used to explore the risk factors for hemorrhage in adults on ECMO. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the predictive value of the binary logistic model. The amount of blood transfusions was compared between the two groups, and the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), platelet count, and hemoglobin level before the initiation of ECMO.Results: Logistic analysis showed that a longer duration of ECMO support, higher APTT, and lower platelet count prior to ECMO were independent risk factors for hemorrhage in adults on ECMO. In addition, we found that the cannula site was the most common bleeding site. Most bleeding events occurred within the first 3 days of ECMO therapy. After the ECMO initiation, APTT was prolonged while the platelet count and hemoglobin levels were decreased. The amount of blood transfusion was significantly higher in the hemorrhage group than in the non-hemorrhage group.Conclusions: Clinicians should evaluate the risk of hemorrhage based on the coagulation function of patients, underlying disease, and the duration of ECMO support. In the first 3 days during ECMO support, special attention should be given to the cannula site, mucosal, and dermal regions, and digestive tract to detect any signs of hemorrhage. Moreover, increasing the platelet count transfusion threshold and accurately determining the amount of blood transfusion required may prevent bleeding events.

In order to meet the needs of large-scale underwater operations, the underwater acoustic communication network emerged, marking a historic moment. At the same time, the development of artificial intelligence has promoted the application of intelligent underwater robots in large-scale underwater operations, and the research on related algorithms has been gradually promoted. Due to the complexity of underwater operations and the difficulty of replacing batteries, the energy efficiency of intelligent underwater robots is particularly important in multi-AUVs data acquisition systems. In view of the energy consumption of multi-AUVs data acquisition systems in water acoustic cluster networks, this paper proposed the AE (A*-Energy) algorithm for multi-AUVs task assignment and path planning. Through the simulation experiment, it was proved that the AE algorithm proposed in this paper can effectively reduce the energy consumption of multi-AUVs data acquisition systems and has good energy efficiency.

Aroma is one of the most important quality indicators of tea. However, this evaluation method is a subjective one. In this study, the volatiles of tea with 5 types were determined by headspace solid-phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) combined with gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The aroma intensity and odor characteristics of teas were comparatively analyzed based on the OAV-splitting method. The results showed that OAV were green tea (492.02), red tea (471.88), oolong tea (302.74), white tea (68.10), and dark tea (55.98). The odor index I(o) indicated that green tea was strong-flavor tea with highlight green accompanied by fruity, woody and fatty odors; oolong tea was strong-flavor tea with fruity and fatty accompanied by woody, floral and green odors; red tea was strong-flavor tea with highlight fruity accompanied by woody, green and floral odors; white tea was a light-flavor tea with floral, woody and green odors; and dark tea was light-flavor tea with woody and floral notes accompanied by fatty and green odors. These results fitted perfectly with the people’s consensus on these teas, and proved that the OAV-splitting method is feasible to evaluate the aroma intensity and odor characteristics of tea aroma. We suggest that the digital evaluation of tea aroma can facilitate people’s communication.

Abstract In recent years, quantum image processing is one of the most active fields in quantum computation and quantum information. Image scaling as a kind of image geometric transformation has been widely studied and applied in the classical image processing, however, the quantum version of which does not exist. This paper is concerned with the feasibility of the classical bilinear interpolation based on novel enhanced quantum image representation (NEQR). Firstly, the feasibility of the bilinear interpolation for NEQR is proven. Then the concrete quantum circuits of the bilinear interpolation including scaling up and scaling down for NEQR are given by using the multiply Control-Not operation, special adding one operation, the reverse parallel adder, parallel subtractor, multiplier and division operations. Finally, the complexity analysis of the quantum network circuit based on the basic quantum gates is deduced. Simulation result shows that the scaled-up image using bilinear interpolation is clearer and less distorted than nearest interpolation.

Background Allelopathic rice releases allelochemicals through its root systems, thereby exerting a negative effect on paddy weeds. This research aimed to evaluate the relationship between fine-root traits and the rice allelopathic potential at the seedling stage. Methods Two allelopathic rice cultivars, ‘PI312777’ and ‘Taichung Native1,’ and one non-allelopathic rice cultivar, ‘Lemont,’ were grown to the 3–6 leaf stage in a hydroponic system. Their fine roots were collected for morphological trait (root length, root surface area, root volume, and root tips number) in smaller diameter cutoffs and proliferative trait (root biomass) analysis. Their root-exudates were used for quantitative analysis of phenolic acids contents and an evaluation of allelopathic potential. Correlation analysis was also used to assess whether any linear relationships existed. Results Our results showed that allelopathic rice cultivars had significantly higher fine-root length having diameters 0.2 mm. Discussion Our results implied that fine-root traits appears to be important in understanding rice allelopathy at the seedling stage. The high allelopathic potential of rice cultivars might be attributed to their higher length of fine roots