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Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a zoonotic pathogen of which several species of animals are considered to be reservoirs. Thirty-eight faecal samples, obtained from 22 species of animals including birds in a wildlife first-aid centre in Eastern China, were tested for HEV RNA. Our survey revealed that in total 28.9% (95% confidence interval 14.5-43.4) of the faecal samples from various mammals and birds were HEV RNA positive. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses of the 11 isolates demonstrated that all sequences clustered in genotype 4 with 96-100% identity to each other. In addition, serum samples from seven animal handlers have shown that five (71.4%) were seropositive. The findings imply that cross-species infection of HEV had probably occurred in this zoo-like location, and moreover, birds can be infected naturally with mammalian HEV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative stress is a primary contributor to cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (CI/R) injury, and the use of antioxidants represents a crucial therapeutic strategy for managing CI/R injury. This study aims to explore the antioxidant effects of benzyl ferulate on CI/R injury and elucidate its underlying mechanisms. In vivo models of CI/R injury and hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) injury in SH-SY5Y cells were established, followed by treatment with benzyl ferulate. The extent of oxidative stress was assessed through evaluations of neurobiological function, cerebral infarct volume, reactive oxygen species (ROS), apoptosis levels, etc. Results indicated that benzyl ferulate significantly downregulated the expression of NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX) 2/NOX4 while upregulating miRNAs (652/532/92b) in CI/R rats or SH-SY5Y cells. It also reduced total NOX enzyme activity, enhanced superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, decreased ROS and malondialdehyde (MDA) production, and inhibited cleaved caspase-3 and Bax expression-ultimately leading to reduced cell apoptosis. Benzyl ferulate effectively mitigates oxidative stress injuries of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rats or SH-SY5Y cells subjected to H/R, and its mechanism appears to involve modulation of the miRNAs (652/532/92b)/NOX2/4 axis. This study first proved that benzyl ferulate is a promising antioxidant candidate for treating CI/R injury., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Yu Xiang et al.)

Objective: This study is to evaluate the effectiveness and frequency factors of endoscopic bougie dilatation in treating postoperative anastomotic stenosis of congenital esophageal atresia (CEA)., Methods: The clinical data of patients of anastomotic stenosis with endoscopic bougie were retrospectively analyzed. According to the number of dilation times (ND), patients were divided into two groups (Group 0: ND < 3; Grooup1: ND ≥ 3), and the differences in multiple clinical data were compared. Lasso regression and Ridge regression were used to screen important variables. Classification models were built utilizing various machine learning algorithms and their performance were evaluated. Finally, Kaplan-Meier model was used to estimate the probable-time distribution of children achieving normal feeding., Results: Seventy-five patients underwent a total of 210 times of dilation, with a median of 3 times of dilation. The overall effectiveness was 98.67% (74/75), with perforation in 2 case (0.95%), and obvious bleeding in 3 cases (1.43%). Initial diameter of bougie, final diameter of bougie, treatment pattern (Regular: dilation each 4weeks; Wait-and-see: dilation until symptoms present), age at final dilation, esophageal obstruction by food were the factors related to ND. Random Forest (RF) and Logistic regression (LR) model were excellent models for predicting ND. The median age for achieving normal eating in Group0 was 120 days (95% CI: 90-160), while it was 270 days (95% CI: 240-460) in Group1 with a statistically significant difference ( P  < 0.0001)., Conclusion: Endoscopic bougie dilatation is a safe and effective treatment for anastomotic stenosis. Selecting the appropriate bougie, using symptoms as the criterion for dilation, and minimizing the dilations under 3 times constitute a rational strategy., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2024 He, Xiong, Deng, Yang, Yan, Zhang, Shang, Xie, Liu and Li.)

The causal relationship between triglycerides and myocardial infarction (MI) was investigated using Mendelian randomization (MR) studies. Triglycerides were the exposure factor, and MI served as the outcome variable. Inverse variance weighting was used as the main analysis method, MR-Egger, and weight median as other analysis methods for MR analysis. In addition, heterogeneity test, level multivariate analysis, and sensitivity analysis were carried out. Inverse variance weighting results showed that the increase in triglyceride level affected the incidence of MI (OR = 1.287; 95% CI = 1.185-1.398; P = 1.988 × 10-9). Consistently, the results from all 3 methods indicated a statistically significant increase in the risk of MI with higher triglyceride levels (P < .05). The results showed that patients with high triglyceride levels had a higher incidence of MI, suggesting that MI should be prevented in the high triglyceride population., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

The prevalence of selenium-cadmium （Se-Cd） symbiosis in soils of geologically high background areas directly affects the safe utilization of Se-rich land resources. To investigate the migration and accumulation characteristics and bio-effectiveness of Se-Cd in the soil-crop system in typical geological high background areas of Southwest China and to realize the safe use of natural Se-rich land resources in geological high background areas, we collected 84 samples of agricultural crops （maize） and their supporting root systems and analyzed the Se-Cd content and physicochemical properties. Se-Cd accumulation characteristics, influencing factors, and bio-effectiveness of the soil-crop system were evaluated using geostatistics, bioenrichment factors, and geographic detectors. The results showed that the Se-Cd content in the study area was significantly higher than the background value of the soil in the whole country and in Yunnan Province. Influenced by the geological background, secondary enrichment in the process of soil formation, and agricultural activities, the accumulation and enrichment characteristics of Se in the root soil varied from no enrichment to slightly enriched, and the occurrence form was dominated by the residue state. The accumulation index of soil Cd was mainly in the medium pollution level, and the occurrence form was mainly in the residual state and the combined state of iron and manganese. The Se-enrichment rate of crop seeds reached 98.8% （DB 50/T 524-2013 standard）, and the average value of bioconcentration factor was 5.8%. The exceeding rate of Cd content in crop seeds was only 1.19% （GB 2762-2022 standard）, and the average value of Cd bioconcentration factor was 2.11%, so the ecological risk of heavy metal Cd in crop seeds was relatively low. In the Se-Cd symbiosis area under geological background, the weak alkaline environment of the soil could effectively reduce the bioavailability of Cd in crop seeds, and the Se-rich soil could inhibit the uptake of Cd by the crops to a certain extent. Correlation analysis showed that the migration and accumulation of Se and Cd from soil to crop seeds in the soil-crop system were affected by the elemental accumulation pattern and the physical and chemical properties （pH） of the soil, and at the same time, there was a certain synergistic-antagonistic effect between Se and Cd in the soil-crop system. Correlation analysis showed that the migration and accumulation of Se and Cd from soil to crop seeds in the soil-crop system was influenced by the occurrence of elements, soil physicochemical properties （pH）, and other factors, and there was also a certain synergistic-antagonistic interaction between Se and Cd in the soil-crop system.

Aluminum (Al) toxicity is one of the major constraints for crop production in acid soils, Al-ACTIVATED MALATE TRANSPORTER1 (ALMT1)-dependent malate exudation from roots is essential for Al resistance in Arabidopsis, in which the C2H2-type transcription factor SENSITIVE TO PROTONRHIZOTOXICITY1 (STOP1) play a critical role. In this study, we reveal that the RAE1-GL2-STOP1-RHD6 protein module regulated the ALMT1-mediated Al resistance. GL2, STOP1 and RHD6 directly target the promoter of ALMT1 to suppress or activate its transcriptional expression, respectively, and mutually influence their action on the promoter of ALMT1 by forming a protein complex. STOP1 mediates the expression of RHD6 and RHD6-regulated root growth inhibition, while GL2 and STOP1 suppress each other's expression at the transcriptional and translational level and regulate Al-inhibited root growth. F-box protein RAE1 degrades RHD6 via the 26S proteasome, leading to suppressed activity of the ALMT1 promoter. RHD6 inhibits the transcriptional expression of RAE1 by directly targeting its promoter. Unlike RHD6, RAE1 promotes the GL2 expression at the protein level and GL2 activates the expression of RAE1 at the transcriptional level by directly targeting its promoter. The study provides insights into the transcriptional regulation of ALMT1, revealing its significance in Al resistance and highlighting the crucial role of the STOP1-associated regulatory networks., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Rationale: Scrub typhus is a naturally occurring acute febrile disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi. Although it can cause multiple organ dysfunction, central nervous system infections are uncommon., Patient Concerns: A 17-year-old male presented with a 5-day history of fever and headaches. The MRI of the head revealed thickness and enhancement of the left temporal lobe and tentorium cerebelli, indicating potential inflammation., Diagnoses: The patient was diagnosed with a central nervous system infection., Interventions: Ceftriaxone and acyclovir were administered intravenously to treat the infection, reduce fever, restore acid-base balance, and manage electrolyte disorders., Outcomes: Despite receiving ceftriaxone and acyclovir as infection therapy, there was no improvement. Additional multipathogen metagenomic testing indicated the presence of O tsutsugamushi infection, and an eschar was identified in the left axilla. The diagnosis was changed to scrub typhus with meningitis and the therapy was modified to intravenous doxycycline. Following a 2-day therapy, the body temperature normalized, and the fever subsided., Conclusions: The patient was diagnosed with scrub typhus accompanied by meningitis, and doxycycline treatment was effective., Lession: Rarely reported cases of scrub typhus with meningitis and the lack of identifiable symptoms increase the chance of misdiagnosis or oversight. Patients with central nervous system infections presenting with fever and headache unresponsive to conventional antibacterial and antiviral treatment should be considered for scrub typhus with meningitis. Prompt multipathogen metagenomic testing is recommended to confirm the diagnosis and modify the treatment accordingly., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Parametrically driven nonlinear resonators represent a building block for realizing fault-tolerant quantum computation and are useful for critical quantum sensing. From a fundamental viewpoint, the most intriguing feature of such a system is perhaps the critical phenomena, which can occur without interaction with any other quantum system. The non-analytic behaviors of its eigenspectrum have been substantially investigated, but those associated with the ground state wavefunction have largely remained unexplored. Using the quantum ground state geometric tensor as an indicator, we comprehensively establish a phase diagram involving the driving parameter ε and phase ϕ. The results reveal that with the increase in ε, the system undergoes a quantum phase transition from the normal to the symmetry-breaking phase, with the critical point unaffected by ϕ. Furthermore, the critical exponent and scaling dimension are obtained by an exact numerical method, which is consistent with previous works. Our numerical results show that the phase transition falls within the universality class of the quantum Rabi model. This work reveals that the quantum metric and Berry curvature display diverging behaviors across the quantum phase transition.

Rationale: Epistaxis is one of the common emergencies in otolaryngology. There are many causes of epistaxis, but reports of epistaxis due to nasal foreign bodies like leeches are rare., Patient Concerns: A 55-year-old male presented with "repeated epistaxis for over 20 days." Nasal endoscopy revealed a live leech in the olfactory area of the left nostril., Diagnoses: The patient was diagnosed with epistaxis caused by a live leech in the nasal cavity., Interventions: Under nasal endoscopy, the leech was grasped with a vascular clamp and removed from the nasal cavity. The leech measured 8 cm in length. Hemostasis was achieved using a gelatin sponge at the wound site, and the nasal cavity was packed with Vaseline gauze., Outcomes: The live leech was removed via nasal endoscopy. Two days later, the Vaseline gauze packing was removed, and the patient experienced no further nasal bleeding., Conclusion: Live leeches in the nasal cavity can cause epistaxis. Nasal endoscopic removal of the live leech is an effective treatment., Lesson: There are many causes of epistaxis, which are nonspecific and prone to missed or incorrect diagnosis. In patients with a history of fieldwork or direct contact with leeches who present with recurrent nasal bleeding, the possibility of epistaxis caused by a live leech should be considered, and timely and effective treatment should be provided., Competing Interests: All authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Wasps play important roles as predators and pollinators in the ecosystem. The Jingpo minority residing in Yunnan Province, China, has a traditional practice of using wine infused with mature wasps as a customary remedy for managing rheumatoid arthritis. The larva of the wasp is also a tasteful folk dish that has created a tremendous market. There is a paucity of survival knowledge, which has greatly restricted their potential applications in food and healthcare. Recent research has highlighted the importance of gut microbiota in insect growth. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of understanding regarding the composition, changes, and functions of the gut microbiota in Vespa mandarinia during development. In this research, the gut microbiota were investigated across three growth stages of Vespa mandarinia using a metagenomic technology. The result revealed that there are significant variations in the proportion of main gut microbes during the metamorphosis of Vespa mandarinia . Tenericutes were found to dominate during the larval stage, while Proteobacteria emerged as the dominant group post-pupation. Through a comprehensive analysis of the gut microbiota metagenome, this study revealed functional differences in the wasp gut microbiota at various growth stages. During the larval stage, the gut microbiota plays a central role in promoting metabolism. Following pupation, the gut microbiota exhibited diversified functions, likely due to the complex environments and diverse food sources encountered after metamorphosis. These functions included amino acid metabolism, compound degradation, and defense mechanisms. This research provides an extensive dataset on the gut microbiota during the metamorphosis of Vespa mandarinia , contributing to a deeper understanding of the influence of gut microbiota on wasp growth. Furthermore, this study uncovers a unique microbial treasure within insect guts, which is important for advancing the application of wasps in the fields of food and medicine., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Yin, Xiao, Yang, Yang and Yang.)

Background: Gastrointestinal perforation in extremely low birth weight infants, characterized by its rapid onset, multiple complications, and critical condition, poses a significant risk of infant mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics of pneumoperitoneum in extremely low birth weight infants (ELBWI) and explore the risk factors associated with gastrointestinal perforation in very low birth weight preterm infants. Additionally, we shared our surgical experiences in managing gastrointestinal perforation among extremely low birth weight infants., Methods: The Department of Neonatology at Chengdu Women and Children's Central Hospital conducted a retrospective study on gastrointestinal perforation in extremely low birth weight infants (birth weight <1000 g) who were admitted between 2014 and 2021. After baseline analysis and comparing it with the control group, we identified the risk factors associated with gastrointestinal perforation in ELBWI by multiple logistic regression analysis. The Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to assess the adverse effect of gastrointestinal perforation for survival in ELBW infants. Cox multivariate regression analysis was used to evaluate hazard level of different variables for ELBW infants survival., Results: Hemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus (hsPDA)(p = 0.043, OR = 2.779) and sepsis (p = 0.014, OR = 2.265) were significant risk factors for gastrointestinal perforation in extremely low birth weight infants. The Cox proportional hazard model revealed that intraventricular hemorrhage (HR = 2.854, p＜0.001) Sepsis (HR = 1.645, p = 0.015) and gastrointestinal perforation (HR = 1.876, p = 0.008) had detrimental effects on the survival of extremely low birth weight infants; conversely, ibuprofen (HR = 0.304, p＜0.001) and blood transfusion (HR = 0.372, p＜0.001) are beneficial factors for their survival. The preoperative indicators of infection in infants with spontaneous intestinal perforation (SIP) were significantly better than those in the necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) group (p < 0.05)., Conclusions: Gastrointestinal perforation poses a significant threat the survival of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants, with hsPDA and sepsis serving as predisposing factors for gastrointestinal perforation. The gastrointestinal perforation caused by various diseases exhibits distinct clinical characteristics, necessitating tailored surgical approaches based on operative conditions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest We declare that we have no financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that can inappropriately influence our work, and that there is no professional or other personal interest of any nature or kind in any product, service and/or company that could be construed as influencing the position presented in, or the review of, the manuscript entitled., (Copyright © 2023 Taiwan Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Soil samples were collected in at different depths from the conflagration area in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Region, China, to investigate the distribution characteristics and ecological and human health risks of heavy metals after a wildfire. The samples collected comprise wildfire ash (WA) above the soil surface, ash soil (AS) 0-5 cm, and plain soil (PS) 5-15 cm below the soil surface. Additionally, reference soil (RS) was collected from a nearby unburned area at the same latitude as the conflagration area. The results showed that the concentrations of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd) in the WA and AS were significantly higher than in reference soil (RS) (p < 0.05). Concentrations of Pb in the PS were 2.52 times higher than that in RS (17.9 mg kg -1 ) (p < 0.05). The AS and WA had the highest Index of potential ecological risks (RI > 600). In addition, The Cd in AS and WA contributed the most to the highest Improved nemerow index (INI) and RI with a contribution of more than 80%. The concentration of heavy metals was used to establish non-carcinogenic effects and cancer risks in humans via three exposure pathways: accident ingestion of soil, dermal contact with soil, and inhalation of soil particles. Hazard index (HI) values of each sample were all less than 1, indicating the non-carcinogenic risk was within the acceptable range and would not adversely affect the local population's health. The Cancer risk (CR) values of Cr, As, Cd, and Ni were all below 1 × 10 -6 , indicating that heavy metal pollution from this wildfire did not pose a cancer risk to residents., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To investigate the clinical effect of anterolateral thigh flow-through chimeric perforator free flap transplantation in the treatment of upper limb complex tissue defects with main artery injury. Methods: The study was a retrospective observational study. From May 2019 to January 2022, 11 patients with upper limb complex tissue defects combined with main artery injury who met the inclusion criteria were admitted to the Department of Hand, Foot and Ankle Surgery of General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, including 7 males and 4 females, aged from 18 to 56 years. After debridement, the area of skin and soft tissue defects was from 20 cm×6 cm to 32 cm×10 cm, and the exposed area of dead cavity or deep tissue was from 7 cm×4 cm to 10 cm×7 cm. Three patients had radial artery defects with a length of 4 to 7 cm; two patients had ulnar artery defects with a length of 5 to 8 cm; 4 patients had defects in both ulnar and radial arteries with a length of 3 to 7 cm; and in two patients, the ulnar, radial and brachial arteries were all defective with a length of 4 to 8 cm. The anterolateral thigh flow-through chimeric perforator flap was designed and cut. The skin flap area was from 22 cm×7 cm to 32 cm×11 cm, the chimeric muscle flap area was from 7 cm×4 cm to 10 cm×7 cm, and the length of the flow-through vessel in the "T" shaped vessel pedicle was from 4 to 8 cm. When transplanting the skin flap, the proximal end of the vascular pedicle was anastomosed with the proximal end of the recipient site, and the distal end of the vascular pedicle was anastomosed with the more normal blood vessel at the distal end of the forearm; the invalid cavity was filled with the muscle flap. The donor site wounds of tissue flap were closed directly or treated with skin grafting. After operation, the blood supply and survival of the flap, the survival of the distal limb, and the survival of the skin graft at the flap donor site were observed. Computed tomography angiography (CTA) was performed to observe the patency of the proximal and distal anastomotic arteries from 2 to 4 weeks after surgery. During follow-up, the texture of the flap, the survival of the grafted skin and the healing of the donor area were observed. Results: One patient (complete forearm disconnection) developed distal limb blood disorder on 5 days after surgery. CTA examination suggested embolization of the distal anastomosis of the flow-through artery. more muscle and skin and soft tissue necrosis of the distal limb showed in emergency exploration. So, amputation was performed ultimately. No vascular crisis occurred in the skin flaps of the remaining 10 patients, and all skin flaps, distal limbs and the skin grafts in flap donor sites survived well. Two to 4 weeks after surgery, the proximal and distal ends of the anastomosed arteries were good in the patency. Follow-up for 11-37 months, the flap texture was good, and all donor site wounds healed well. Conclusions: The use of anterolateral thigh flow-through chimeric perforator flap to repair upper limb complex tissue defects accompanied by main artery injury can improve the success rate of limb salvage, which can be promoted in clinical practice.

Background: The existing literature indicates that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can potentially enhance the prognosis of poststroke aphasia (PSA). Nevertheless, these investigations did not identify the most effective parameters or settings for achieving optimal treatment outcomes. This study involved a meta-analysis aimed to identify the optimal variables for rTMS in treating post-infarction aphasia to guide the use of rTMS in rehabilitating PSA., Methods: PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched from inception to May 2023, and articles were reviewed manually using subject words and free words and supplemented with references from the included literature to obtain additional relevant literature. The search terms included "poststroke aphasia" and "repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)" repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. Additionally, a review of the reference lists of previously published systematic reviews identified through the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (search terms: poststroke aphasia, rTMS; restrictions: none) and PubMed (search terms: poststroke aphasia, rTMSs; restrictions: systematic review or meta-analysis) was performed. Information from studies involving different doses of rTMS in PSA was independently screened and extracted by 2 researchers., Results: This meta-analysis included 387 participants with PSA across 18 randomized controlled trials. The results showed that the total pulse had a trend toward a significant correlation with the treatment effect (P = 0.088), while all other variables did not correlate significantly. When rTMS was not grouped by stimulus parameter and location, our nonlinear results showed that when the total pulses were 40,000 (standardized mean difference (SMD):1.86, 95% credible interval (CrI) 0.50 to 3.33), the pulse/session was 1000 (SMD:1.05, 95% CrI 0.55-1.57), and an RMT of 80% (SMD:1.08, 95% CrI 0.60-1.57) had the best treatment effect. When rTMS was grouped by stimulus parameters and location, our nonlinear results showed that when the total low-frequency (LF)-rTMS-right inferior frontal gyrus (RIFG) pulse was 40,000 (SMD:1.76, 95% CrI:0.36-3.29), the pulse/session was 1000 (SMD:1.06, 95% CrI:0.54-1.59). Optimal results were obtained with an RMT of 80% (SMD:1.14, 95% CrI 0.54 - 1.76)., Conclusions: The optimal treatment effects of rTMS for PSA may be obtained with a total pulse of 40,000, a pulse/session of 1000, and an RMT of 80%. Further rigorous randomized controlled studies are required to substantiate the validity of these results., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Non-Hermitian (NH) extension of quantum-mechanical Hamiltonians represents one of the most significant advancements in physics. During the past two decades, numerous captivating NH phenomena have been revealed and demonstrated, but all of which can appear in both quantum and classical systems. This leads to the fundamental question: what NH signature presents a radical departure from classical physics? The solution of this problem is indispensable for exploring genuine NH quantum mechanics, but remains experimentally untouched so far. Here, we resolve this basic issue by unveiling distinct exceptional entanglement phenomena, exemplified by an entanglement transition, occurring at the exceptional point of NH interacting quantum systems. We illustrate and demonstrate such purely quantum-mechanical NH effects with a naturally dissipative light-matter system, engineered in a circuit quantum electrodynamics architecture. Our results lay the foundation for studies of genuinely quantum-mechanical NH physics, signified by exceptional-point-enabled entanglement behaviors.

We propose a protocol for the generation of NOON states of resonator modes. The physical model is composed of two Kerr-nonlinear resonators and a four-level qudit. Using the off-resonant couplings between the resonators and the qudit, qudit-level-dependent frequency shifts on the two resonators are induced. The frequency shifts allow us to drive different resonators to the N-photon state when the qudit is in different intermediate levels. Consequently, the generation of NOON states with arbitrary photon number N can be completed in only three steps, i.e., driving the qudit to a superposition state of the two intermediate levels, driving one of the resonators to its N-photon state, and driving the qudit back to its ground level. Numerical simulations show that, in the regime of strong Kerr nonlinearity and coupling strengths, the protocol can produce the NOON state with high fidelity in the cases of different photon numbers. In addition, it is possible for the protocol to produce acceptable fidelity in the presence of systematic errors and decoherence factors. Therefore, the protocol may provide some useful perspectives for effective generation of photonic NOON states.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that is related to the aberrant proliferation of fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS). Wasp venom (WV, Vespa magnifica, Smith), an insect secretion, has been used to treat RA in Chinese Jingpo national minority's ancient prescription. However, the potential mechanisms haven't been clarified., Aim of the Study: The purposes of this paper were two-fold. First, to investigate which was the best anti-RA effective part of WV-I (molecular weight less than 3 kDa), WV-II (molecular weight 3-10 kDa) and WV-III (molecular weight more than 10 kDa) that were separated from WV. Second, to explore the underlying molecular mechanism of WV and WV-II that was best effective part in RA., Materials and Methods: The wasps were electrically stimulated and the secretions were collected. WV-I, WV-II and WV-III were acquired by ultracentrifuge method according to molecular weight. Next, WV, WV-I, WV-II and WV-III were identified by HPLC. Functional annotation and pathway analysis of WV used to bioinformatics analysis. RNA-seq analyses were constructed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs). GO and KEGG pathway analyses were performed by Metascape database. STRING was used to analyze the PPI network from DEGs. Next, PPI network was visualized using Cytoscape that based on MCODE. The pivotal genes of PPI network and MCODE analysis were verified by qRT-PCR. Subsequently, MH7A cells were performed by MTT assay to evaluate the ability of inhibiting cell proliferation. Luciferase activity assay was conducted in HepG2/STAT1 or HepG2/STAT3 cells to assess STAT1/3 sensitivity of WV, WV-I, WV-II and WV-III. Additionally, interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 expression levels were detected by ELISA kits. Intracellular thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) enzyme was evaluated by TrxR activity assay kit. ROS levels, lipid ROS levels and Mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were assessed by fluorescence probe. Cell apoptosis and MMP were measured by using flow cytometry. Furthermore, the key proteins of JAK/STAT signaling pathway, protein levels of TrxR and glutathione peroxidase 4 axis (GPX4) were examined by Western blotting assay., Results: RNA-sequencing analysis of WV displayed be related to oxidation-reduction, inflammation and apoptosis. The data displayed that WV, WV-II and WV-III inhibited significantly cells proliferation in human MH7A cell line compared to WV-I treatment group, but WV-III had no significant suppressive effect on luciferase activity of STAT3 compared with IL-6-induced group. Combined with earlier reports that WV-III contained major allergens, we selected WV and WV-II further to study the mechanism of anti-RA. In addition, WV and WV-II decreased the level of IL-1β and IL-6 in TNF-α-induced MH7A cells via inactivating of JAK/STAT signaling pathway. On the other hand, WV and WV-II down-regulated the TrxR activity to produce ROS and induce cell apoptosis. Furthermore, WV and WV-II could accumulate lipid ROS to induce GPX4-mediated ferroptosis., Conclusions: Taken together, the experimental results revealed that WV and WV-II were potential therapeutic agents for RA through modulating JAK/STAT signaling pathways, redox homeostasis and ferroptosis in MH7A cells. Of note, WV-II was an effective part and the predominant active monomer in WV-II will be further explored in the future., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

We study the quantum metric in a driven Tavis-Cummings model, comprised of multiple qubits interacting with a quantized photonic field. The parametrical driving of the photonic field breaks the system's U(1) symmetry down to a Z 2 symmetry, whose spontaneous breaking initiates a superradiant phase transition. We analytically solved the eigenenergies and eigenstates, and numerically simulated the system behaviors near the critical point. The critical behaviors near the superradiant phase transition are characterized by the quantum metric, defined in terms of the response of the quantum state to variation of the control parameter. In addition, a quantum metrological protocol based on the critical behaviors of the quantum metric near the superradiant phase transition is proposed, which enables greatly the achievable measurement precision.

Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) is a highly contagious and pathogenic virus that causes symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss, and even death in piglets. Due to its high transmission rate, PEDV has resulted in significant global losses. Although some vaccines have been developed and utilized to prevent PEDV, their effectiveness is limited due to the virus's mutations. Therefore, it is imperative to investigate new strategies to combat PEDV. Remdesivir, a classic antiviral drug for coronaviruses, has been proven in our experiment to effectively suppress PEDV replication in Vero and LLC-PK1 cells. Additionally, the cell experiment demonstrated its direct inhibition of PEDV RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) enzyme activity. Molecular docking simulations were employed to predict the binding site of remdesivir and PEDV RdRp. Moreover, we observed that remdesivir does not impact the production of inflammatory factors and exhibits antagonistic effects with exogenous nucleosides. Furthermore, we conducted RNA-Seq analysis to investigate the global changes in transcriptome of infected cells treated with remdesivir. Overall, our findings indicate that remdesivir holds promise as a potential candidate for the treatment of PEDV infection., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Aluminium (Al) toxicity is one of the major constraint for crop production in acidic soil, and the inappropriate utilization of nitrogen fertilizer can accelerate soil acidification. Despite previous studies investigating the regulation of nitrogen forms in Al toxicity of plants, the underlying mechanism, particularly at the molecular level, remains unclear. This study aims to uncover the potentially regulatory mechanism of nitrate (NO 3 - ) in the Al resistance of maize and Arabidopsis. NO 3 - conservatively improves Al resistance in maize and Arabidopsis, with nitrate-elevated citrate synthesis and exudation potentially playing critical roles in excluding Al from the root symplast. ZmSLAH2 in maize and AtSLAH1 in Arabidopsis are essential for the regulation of citrate exudation and NO 3 - -promoted Al resistance, with ZmMYB81 directly targeting the ZmSLAH2 promoter to activate its activity. Additionally, NO 3 - transport is necessary for NO 3 - -promoted Al resistance, with ZmNRT1.1A and AtNRT1.1 potentially playing vital roles. The suppression of NO 3 - transport in roots by ammonium (NH 4 + ) may inhibit NO 3 - -promoted Al resistance. This study provides novel insights into the understanding of the crucial role of NO 3 - -mediated signalling in the Al resistance of plants and offers guidance for nitrogen fertilization on acid soils., (© 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) are zinc-dependent enzymes capable of hydrolyzing all bicyclic β-lactam antibiotics, posing a great threat to public health. However, there are currently no clinically approved MBL inhibitors. Despite variations in their active sites, MBLs share a common catalytic mechanism with carbapenems, forming similar reaction species and hydrolysates. We here report the development of 2-aminothiazole-4-carboxylic acids (AtCs) as broad-spectrum MBL inhibitors by mimicking the anchor pharmacophore features of carbapenem hydrolysate binding. Several AtCs manifested potent activity against B1, B2, and B3 MBLs. Crystallographic analyses revealed a common binding mode of AtCs with B1, B2, and B3 MBLs, resembling binding observed in the MBL-carbapenem product complexes. AtCs restored Meropenem activity against MBL-producing isolates. In the murine sepsis model, AtCs exhibited favorable synergistic efficacy with Meropenem, along with acceptable pharmacokinetics and safety profiles. This work offers promising lead compounds and a structural basis for the development of potential drug candidates to combat MBL-mediated antimicrobial resistance.

Superradiant phase transitions (SPTs) are important for understanding light-matter interactions at the quantum level, and play a central role in criticality-enhanced quantum sensing. So far, SPTs have been observed in driven-dissipative systems, but the emergent light fields did not show any nonclassical characteristic due to the presence of strong dissipation. Here we report an experimental demonstration of the SPT featuring the emergence of a highly nonclassical photonic field, realized with a resonator coupled to a superconducting qubit, implementing the quantum Rabi model. We fully characterize the light-matter state by Wigner matrix tomography. The measured matrix elements exhibit quantum interference intrinsic of a photonic mesoscopic superposition, and reveal light-matter entanglement.

Background: The surgical approach and prognosis for invasive adenocarcinoma (IAC) and minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA) of the lung differ. However, they both manifest as identical ground-glass nodules (GGNs) in computed tomography images, and no effective method exists to discriminate them., Methods: We developed and validated a three-dimensional (3D) deep transfer learning model to discriminate IAC from MIA based on CT images of GGNs. This model uses a 3D medical image pre-training model (MedicalNet) and a fusion model to build a classification network. Transfer learning was utilized for end-to-end predictive modeling of the cohort data of the first center, and the cohort data of the other two centers were used as independent external validation data. This study included 999 lung GGN images of 921 patients pathologically diagnosed with IAC or MIA at three cohort centers., Results: The predictive performance of the model was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). The model had high diagnostic efficacy for the training and validation groups (accuracy: 89%, sensitivity: 95%, specificity: 84%, and AUC: 95% in the training group; accuracy: 88%, sensitivity: 84%, specificity: 93%, and AUC: 92% in the internal validation group; accuracy: 83%, sensitivity: 83%, specificity: 83%, and AUC: 89% in one external validation group; accuracy: 78%, sensitivity: 80%, specificity: 77%, and AUC: 82% in the other external validation group)., Conclusions: Our 3D deep transfer learning model provides a noninvasive, low-cost, rapid, and reproducible method for preoperative prediction of IAC and MIA in lung cancer patients with GGNs. It can help clinicians to choose the optimal surgical strategy and improve the prognosis of patients., (© 2023 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element for human health, and as a potential animal feed, the Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius) fly is rich in protein and fat. By using different concentrations of sodium selenite (0, 30, 50, 70 mg kg -1 ), the possibility of biological Se enrichment in C. megacephala (Fabricius) maggots (CMMs) was investigated. The accumulation, Se speciation, enzymatic activity, and concentrations of copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), and cadmium (Cd) in the maggots were also determined. Transcriptomics was also used to investigate the mechanism of the Se response to CMM genes. The results showed that the CMMs had a survival rate of > 80% at Se exposure concentrations ranging from 0 to 100 mg kg -1 . The optimal concentration of sodium selenite for CMM growth was 50 mg kg -1 , and the weight, protein content, and total Se accumulation of the larvae (10.8 g, 53.5%, and 72.6 ± 3.36 mg kg -1 (DW), respectively) were considerably higher than the control and other exposure doses (p < 0.05). In addition, Se improved the ability of maggots to absorb Cu and Zn, decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) and lipid peroxidation, but improved the antioxidant activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPX). Furthermore, Se negatively affected the absorption of Cd and Cr. According to the transcriptomic findings, Se supplementation can boost protein synthesis and control both antioxidant and non-antioxidant enzyme activity in CMMs. Therefore, our findings showed that Se-enriched CMMs may counteract the toxicity of Cd and Cr, and Se is an effective supplement for improving the consumption safety of cultured animals fed containing CMMs., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a swine coronavirus that is highly infectious and prone to variation. Vaccines derived from traditional PEDV strains provide less protection against PEDV-variant strains. Furthermore; there is a complex diversity of sequences among various PEDV-variant strains. Therefore; there is an urgent need to develop alternative antiviral strategies to defend against PEDV. Molnupiravir is a nucleotide analogue that could replace natural nucleosides to restrain viral RNA replication. Our study provided evidence for the dose-dependent inhibition of PEDV replication by molnupiravir in Vero cells. Molnupiravir also exhibited a strong inhibitory effect on viral RNA and protein production. Our results demonstrated that molnupiravir inhibits PEDV RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) activity and induces a high frequency of mutations in the PEDV genome. Further studies revealed that molnupiravir can reverse changes in the transcriptome caused by viral infection. In conclusion, our results indicated that molnupiravir has the potential to be an effective treatment for PEDV infection.

Background: Evidence suggests that selenium supplementation could be useful in the treatment of Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT), but the available trials are heterogeneous. This study investigates clinically relevant effects of selenium supplementation in patients with HT., Methods: A systematic search was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library. The latest update was performed on December 3, 2022. We investigated the changes in thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOAb) and thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb) after selenium supplementation. The effect sizes were expressed as weighted mean difference (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs)., Results: After screening and full-text assessment, 7 controlled trials comprising 342 patients were included in the systematic review. The results showed that there was no significant change in TPOAb levels (WMD = -124.28 [95% CI: -631.08 to 382.52], P = .631, I2 = 94.5%) after 3 months of treatment. But there was a significant decrease in TPOAb levels (WMD = -284.00 [95% CI: -553.41 to -14.60], P < .05, I2 = 93.9%) and TgAb levels (WMD = -159.86 [95% CI: -293.48 to -26.24], P < .05, I2 = 85.3%) after 6 months of treatment., Conclusions: Selenium supplementation reduces serum TPOAb and TgAb levels after 6 months of treatment in patients with HT, but future studies are warranted to evaluate health-related quality or disease progression., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

To assess the daily intake of total arsenic (tAs) and arsenic speciation and their potential health risks, different food groups, including vegetables, rice, meat, viscera, freshwater fish, and seafood from Chengdu, China were analyzed. The concentrations of tAs ranged from 41.3 to 1185 μg kg -1 with a median of 238 μg kg -1 , and 26.0% of tAs in the food groups was of inorganic toxic form. The median concentration of As(V) in rice (184 ± 21.6 μg kg -1 ) was approximately 2 to 6 times higher than those in other food groups. The bioaccessible inorganic arsenic (iAs) concentrations of the food items obtained from the local markets of Chengdu ranged from 1.07 to 24.6 μg kg -1 (mean of 6.04 μg kg -1 ). Rice contributed toward the largest amount of daily iAs intake (66.2%). The mean daily iAs intake from vegetable, meat and viscera contributed 10.7%, 12.5% and 6.04% of total iAs intake, respectively. The actual concentration of arsenic in the food exposed to the human body depends on oral bioaccessible fraction. The oral bioaccessibility estimated daily intake (μg kg -1 bw d -1 ) of tAs and iAs for the residents of Chengdu was 0.32 and 0.16. Health risk assessments carried out based on bioaccessible iAs concentrations showed that the food items were safe for consumption from the iAs perspective., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory skin disease. Matrine is the main component of the traditional Chinese medicine Sophora flavescens, and it poses good therapeutic effects on inflammatory diseases. This study aimed to explore the pharmacological effects of matrine on AD and its underlying mechanism. An AD mouse model and inflamed human epidermal keratinocyte cells (HaCaT) cells were established. Histopathological aspects were examined using hematoxylin and eosin staining, toluidine blue staining, and immunohistochemistry. The mRNA and protein expressions were assessed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot, respectively. The secretions of cytokines and chemokines were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Flow cytometry was carried out to analyze the proportions of T-helper (Th) 1 and Th2 cells. Herein, our results displayed that matrine diminished AD symptoms and decreased heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) expression. Matrine decreased the Th2 cytokine levels in the ear tissues and serum, and it also significantly repressed inflammatory cytokines (thymus activation regulated chemokine and interleukin-6) secretions by repressing the Hsp90/NF-κB signaling axis in inflamed HaCaT cells. Furthermore, matrine inhibited Th2 differentiation of CD4 + T cells when co-cultured with inflamed HaCaT cells. Matrine can regulate the Th1/Th2 inflammatory response by inhibiting the Hsp90/NF-κB signaling axis to alleviate AD. Therefore, it may be a candidate for AD treatment., (© 2023 The Authors. The Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Kaohsiung Medical University.)

Quantum error correction (QEC) aims to protect logical qubits from noises by using the redundancy of a large Hilbert space, which allows errors to be detected and corrected in real time 1 . In most QEC codes 2-8 , a logical qubit is encoded in some discrete variables, for example photon numbers, so that the encoded quantum information can be unambiguously extracted after processing. Over the past decade, repetitive QEC has been demonstrated with various discrete-variable-encoded scenarios 9-17 . However, extending the lifetimes of thus-encoded logical qubits beyond the best available physical qubit still remains elusive, which represents a break-even point for judging the practical usefulness of QEC. Here we demonstrate a QEC procedure in a circuit quantum electrodynamics architecture 18 , where the logical qubit is binomially encoded in photon-number states of a microwave cavity 8 , dispersively coupled to an auxiliary superconducting qubit. By applying a pulse featuring a tailored frequency comb to the auxiliary qubit, we can repetitively extract the error syndrome with high fidelity and perform error correction with feedback control accordingly, thereby exceeding the break-even point by about 16% lifetime enhancement. Our work illustrates the potential of hardware-efficient discrete-variable encodings for fault-tolerant quantum computation 19 ., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Aluminium (Al) toxicity is one of the major constraints for crop growth and productivity in most of the acid soils worldwide. The primary lesion of Al toxicity is the rapid inhibition of root elongation. The root apex, especially the transition zone (TZ), has been identified as the major site of Al accumulation and injury. The signalling, in particular through phytohormones in the root apex TZ in response to Al stress, has been reported to play crucial roles in the regulation of Al-induced root growth inhibition. The binding of Al in the root apoplast is the initial event leading to inhibition of root elongation. Much progress has been made during recent years in understanding the molecular functions of cell wall modification and Al resistance-related genes in Al resistance or toxicity, and several signals including phytohormones, Ca2+, etc. have been reported to be involved in these processes. Here we summarize the recent advances in the understanding of Al-induced signalling and regulatory networks in the root apex involved in the regulation of Al-induced inhibition of root growth and Al toxicity/resistance. This knowledge provides novel insights into how Al-induced signals are recognized by root apical cells, transmitted from the apoplast to symplast, and finally initiate the defence system against Al. We conclude that the apoplast plays a decisive role in sensing and transmitting the Al-induced signals into the symplast, further stimulating a series of cellular responses (e.g. exudation of organic acid anions from roots) to adapt to the stress. We expect to stimulate new research by focusing on the signalling events in the root apex in response to Al stress, particularly taking into consideration the signal transduction between the meristem zone, TZ, and elongation zone and the apoplast and symplast., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

The present study used Chrysomya megacephala larvae (CML) to transform food waste into safe and high-quality fish feed to substitute fish meal as a source of protein for growing Oujiang color common carps followed by a human health risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The results showed the ∑PAH concentration in the CML fed with food waste ranged from 50 to 370 μg kg -1 , and the most abundant PAH compound in the CML was BaP, contributing 59-84% of ∑PAHs. The Pearson correlation analysis results indicated no correlation between the ∑PAH concentrations and the culture substrate ratio (p > 0.05). Concentrations of BaP in the CML decreased with the increase of breeding density (p < 0.01). The residues as organic fertilizers have no potential ecological risk for PAHs. The biotransformed larva meal was used to partially or completely replace the fish meal as supplementary protein in the experimental feeds (T 0 , 0%; T 50 , 50%; T 100 , 100%). No significant difference (p < 0.05) of survival rate, lipid, and protein content in Oujiang color common carp was noted among T 0 , T 50 , and T 100 fish feeds. Concentrations of ∑PAHs in Oujiang color common carp fed with the CML fish feeds all met the food safety standards in the European Union (EU). Furthermore, the consumption of Oujiang color common carps fed with the CML feed does not pose any health risks of PAHs for humans., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Recent studies have uncovered that vitexin compound B-1 (VB-1) can protect neurons against hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-induced oxidative injury through suppressing NOX4 expression., Objective: The aims of this study are to investigate whether VB-1 can protect the rat brain against ischemia/ reperfusion (I/R) injury and whether its effect on NOX4 expression is related to modulation of certain miRNAs expression., Methods: Rats were subjected to 2 h of cerebral ischemia followed by 24 h of reperfusion to establish an I/R injury model, which showed an increase in neurological deficit score and infarct volume concomitant with an upregulation of NOX4 expression, increase in NOX activity, and downregulation of miR-92b., Results: Administration of VB-1 reduced I/R cerebral injury accompanied by a reverse in NOX4 and miR-92b expression. Similar results were achieved in a neuron H/R injury model. Next, we evaluated the association of miR-92b with NOX4 by its mimics in the H/R model. H/R treatment increased neurons apoptosis concomitant with an upregulation of NOX4 and NOX activity while downregulation of miR-92b. All these effects were reversed in the presence of miR-92b mimics, confirming the function of miR-92b in suppressing NOX4 expression., Conclusion: We conclude the protective effect of VB-1 against rat cerebral I/R injury through a mechanism involving modulation of miR-92b/NOX4 pathway., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

The bioaccumulation of total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) by housefly maggots (HM) during the conversion of food waste (vegetables and meat (VM) and rice waste) under various waste feed ratios were investigated. Subsequently, Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) were fed with the commercial feed, commercial dried HM, dried HM, and fresh HM, followed by a human health risk assessment of Hg via fish consumption. The THg concentrations of HM fed with food waste ranged from 39.5 to 100 μg kg -1 ww. Concentrations of MeHg in the maggots fed with 100 % vegetables and meat (VM) waste (13.7 ± 1.12 μg kg -1 ww) was significantly higher than that fed with other mixed ratios of rice waste and VM waste (p<0.05). Concentrations of MeHg were positively correlated with the weight and lipid content of houseflies (p<0.05). THg and MeHg concentrations in tilapia fed with the converted HM (dried and fresh HM) were 22.5 ± 6.50 μg kg -1 ww and 2.43 ± 0.36 μg kg -1 ww, respectively. There was no significant difference in MeHg between tilapia fed the four experiment diets (p>0.05). Health risk assessment results indicated that mercury in tilapia fed the food waste-grown HM did not pose potential health risks to humans (target hazard quotient < 1). In conclusion, HM could convert food waste into high-quality and safe fish feeds for cultivating tilapia., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: A novel inflammation-related biomarker, the monocyte to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (MHR), had a great relation to the development and prognosis of coronary atherosclerotic heart disease. Current study was to investigate whether the MHR was a potential tool in predicting the mortality and major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) in patients suffering coronary heart disease (CHD) by meta-analysis., Methods: The Cochrane Library, PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus, EMBASE, and Web of science were searched for relevant cohort studies published prior to February 10, 2022. The association between MHR and mortality/MACEs was analyzed in patients with CHD. Hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated to estimate the strength of association., Results: In the meta-analysis, a total of 9 studies of 11,345 patients with CHD were included. Compared with the low level of MHR group, the high MHR value was associated with higher long-term MACEs (HR = 1.72 95% CI 1.36-2.18, P < .001), long-term mortality (HR = 1.71, 95% CI 1.10-2.66, P = .017), and in-hospital mortality/MACEs (HR = 2.82, 95% CI = 1.07-7.41, P = .036)., Conclusions: This study suggested that increased MHR value might be associated with higher long-term mortality and long-term MACEs in CHD patients. MHR might serve as a potential prognostic indicator for risk stratification in patients with CHD., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2022 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Taraxacum kok-saghyz Rodin (TSK) is an energy plant that can be used as a raw material for natural rubber. The aim of this study was to examine the remediation potential of TSK to lead (Pb)- and cadmium (Cd)-contaminated farmland soil. In this study, a pot experiment was conducted, and the "Soil Environmental Quality and Agricultural Land Soil Pollution Risk Control Standard (GB 15618-2018)" was used as reference. We set up four different concentrations of Pb and Cd pollution treatment to study the characteristics of the accumulation and tolerance of TSK to Pb and Cd. The results showed that as the content of Pb and Cd in the soil increased, the chlorophyll content and biomass of TSK gradually decreased, and the SOD, POD, and CAT enzyme activities gradually increased. The BCF and TF of Cd were between 1.20 and 1.50, indicating that TSK presented some characteristics of a Cd hyperaccumulator. The BCF and TF of Pb were between 0.71 and 1.11. Thus, TSK was a good Pb enrichment plant and possessed the potential to repair soil with ω (Pb) below 400 mg·kg -1 . The accumulation of Pb and Cd gradually increased, and the maximum accumulation of Cd and Pb in the shoots was 9.832 μg·plant -1 and 1091.185 μg·plant -1 , respectively. However, in lower concentrations of Pb- and Cd-contaminated soil, the removal rate was greater, and the remediation efficiency was better. Overall, using TSK to repair Pb- and Cd-contaminated farmland soil has good application prospects and economic value.

As per the theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the liver and kidney dysfunction are important pathogenies for premature ovarian failure (POF). POF is a common gynecological disease that reduced the pregnancy rate. Electro-acupuncture (EA) is a useful non-pharmaceutical therapy that supposedly regulates the function of the liver and kidney in the treatment of POF with TCM. However, the underlying mechanism of EA in the treatment of POF has not been adequately studied through metabonomics with reference to the theory of TCM. Accordingly, we investigated the effect of EA on the liver and kidney metabolites in POF mice through metabolomics. POF mice were established via intraperitoneal injection of cisplatin. Both Sanyinjiao (SP6) and Guanyuan (CV4) were stimulated by EA for 3 weeks. The biological samples (including the serum and the ovary, liver, and kidney tissues) were evaluated by histopathology, molecular biology, and hydrogen-1 nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 HNMR)-based metabolomics to assess the efficacy of EA. 1 HNMR data were analyzed by the orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). The results revealed that EA was beneficial to ovarian function and the menstrual cycle of POF. Both the energy metabolism and neurotransmitter metabolism in the liver and kidney were regulated by EA. Notably, EA played an important role in regulating energy-related metabolism in the kidney, and the better effect of neurotransmitter-related metabolism in the liver was regulated by EA. These findings indicated that the ovarian functions could be improved and the metabolic disorder of the liver and kidney caused by POF could be regulated by EA. Our study results thus suggested that the EA therapy, based on the results for the liver and kidney, were related to POF in TCM, as preliminarily confirmed through metabolomics., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Chen, He, Guo, Wu, Zhang, Yau, Xie, Guo, Tong, Yang and Xiao.)

Ischemic stroke is a common disease that led to high mortality and high disability. NADPH oxidase 2- (NOX2-) mediated oxidative stress and long noncoding RNA have important roles in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (CI/R) injury, whereas whether there is interplay between them remains to be clarified. This study was performed to observe the role of lncRNA PINK1-antisense RNA (PINK1-AS) in NOX2 expression regulation. An in vivo rat model (MCAO) and an in vitro cell model (H/R: hypoxia/reoxygenation) were utilized for CI/R oxidative stress injury investigation. The expression levels of lncRNA PINK1-AS, activating transcription factor 2 (ATF2), NOX2, and caspase-3 and the production level of ROS and cell apoptosis were significantly increased in CI/R injury model rats or in H/R-induced SH-SY5Y cells, but miR-203 was significantly downregulated. There was positive correlation between PINK1-AS expression level and ROS production level. PINK1-AS and ATF2 were found to be putative targets of miR-203. Knockdown of lncRNA PINK1-AS or ATF2 or the overexpression of miR-203 significantly reduced oxidative stress injury via inhibition of NOX2. Overexpression of lncRNA PINK1 significantly led to oxidative stress injury in SH-SY5Y cells through downregulating miR-203 and upregulating ATF2 and NOX2. lncRNA PINK1-AS and ATF2 were the targets of miR-203, and the lncRNA PINK1-AS/miR-203/ATF2/NOX2 axis plays pivotal roles in CI/R injury. Therefore, lncRNA PINK1-AS is a possible target for CR/I injury therapy by sponging miR-203., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Zhong-Bao Yang et al.)

Hyperlipidemia is a common metabolic disorder with high morbidity and mortality, which brings heavy burden on social. Understanding its pathogenesis and finding its potential therapeutic targets are the focus of current research in this field. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have proved that miRNAs play vital roles in regulating lipid metabolism and were considered as promising therapeutic targets for hyperlipidemia and related diseases. It is demonstrated that miR-191, miR-222, miR-224, miR-27a, miR-378a-3p, miR-140-5p, miR-483, and miR-520d-5p were closely associated with the pathogenesis of hyperlipidemia. In this review, we provide brief overviews about advances in miRNAs in hyperlipidemia and its potential clinical application value., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Yu Xiang et al.)

Purpose: To establish and verify the ability of a radiomics prediction model to distinguish invasive adenocarcinoma (IAC) and minimal invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA) presenting as ground-glass nodules (GGNs)., Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 118 lung GGN images and clinical data from 106 patients in our hospital from March 2016 to April 2019. All pathological classifications of lung GGN were confirmed as IAC or MIA by two pathologists. R language software (version 3.5.1) was used for the statistical analysis of the general clinical data. ITK-SNAP (version 3.6) and A.K. software (Analysis Kit, American GE Company) were used to manually outline the regions of interest of lung GGNs and collect three-dimensional radiomics features. Patients were randomly divided into training and verification groups (ratio, 7:3). Random forest combined with hyperparameter tuning was used for feature selection and prediction modeling. The receiver operating characteristic curve and the area under the curve (AUC) were used to evaluate model prediction efficacy. The calibration curve was used to evaluate the calibration effect., Results: There was no significant difference between IAC and MIA in terms of age, gender, smoking history, tumor history, and lung GGN location in both the training and verification groups (P>0.05). For each lung GGN, the collected data included 396 three-dimensional radiomics features in six categories. Based on the training cohort, nine optimal radiomics features in three categories were finally screened out, and a prediction model was established. We found that the training group had a high diagnostic efficacy [accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and AUC of the training group were 0.89 (95%CI, 0.73 - 0.99), 0.98 (95%CI, 0.78 - 1.00), 0.81 (95%CI, 0.59 - 1.00), and 0.97 (95%CI, 0.92-1.00), respectively; those of the validation group were 0.80 (95%CI, 0.58 - 0.93), 0.82 (95%CI, 0.55 - 1.00), 0.78 (95%CI, 0.57 - 1.00), and 0.92 (95%CI, 0.83 - 1.00), respectively]. The model calibration curve showed good consistency between the predicted and actual probabilities., Conclusions: The radiomics prediction model established by combining random forest with hyperparameter tuning effectively distinguished IAC from MIA presenting as GGNs and represents a noninvasive, low-cost, rapid, and reproducible preoperative prediction method for clinical application., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Zhao, Fan, Shan, Zhou, Pang, Fu, Yang, Wu, Sun, Yang and Huang.)

Growing evidence showed that the gut microbiota was associated with premature ovarian failure (POF). Many clinical types of research had shown that electroacupuncture was effective in the treatment of POF. However, there was little research on regulating the gut microbiome of POF mice by electroacupuncture. Therefore, this study attempted to verify whether electroacupuncture could regulate the gut microbiome in POF mice. POF mice were established by being injected intraperitoneally with cisplatin (2 mg/kg) for 2 weeks. Guanyuan (CV4) and Sanyinjiao (SP6) were selected in the electroacupuncture-at-the-acupoints group (EA group). Nonacupoints around CV4 and SP6 were selected in the electroacupuncture-at-the-nonacupoints group (EN group). The EA group and EN group were treated for 3 weeks. The ovarian function was evaluated by histopathological and molecular assays. Meanwhile, the gut microbiome of all mice was detected by 16S rDNA sequencing. The results showed that EA could restore the estrous cycle and reduce the number of atresia follicles in POF mice. The levels of serum follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone were decreased by EA. As well, the levels of serum estradiol, anti-Mullerian hormone, and β -glucuronidase were increased by EA. The relative expressions of PI3K, AKT, and mTOR were increased to promote the proliferation of ovarian cells in the EA group. According to the results of 16S rDNA sequencing, the abundance and diversity of the gut microbiome could be regulated by EA. The relative abundance of beneficial bacteria was increased by EA. The KEGG pathway analysis showed that the gut microbiome associated with the estrogen signaling pathway, oocyte maturation, and PI3K-AKT signaling pathway was regulated by EA., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Qi-da He et al.)

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in soils drives biogeochemical cycling and soil functions in different directions depending on its molecular signature. Notably, there is a distinct paucity of information concerning how the molecular signatures of soil DOM vary with different degrees of weathering across wide geographic scales. Herein, we resolved the DOM molecular signatures from 22 diverse Chinese reference soils and linked them with soil organic matter and weathering-related mineralogical properties. The mixed-effects models revealed that the yields of DOM were determined by soil organic carbon content, whereas the molecular signature of DOM was primarily constrained by the weathering-related dimension. The soil weathering index showed a positive effect on the lability and a negative effect on the aromaticity of DOM. Specifically, DOM in highly weathered acidic soils featured more amino sugars, carbohydrates, and aliphatics, as well as less O-rich polyphenols and condensed aromatics, thereby conferring a higher DOM biolability and lower DOM aromaticity. This study highlights the dominance of the weathering-related dimension in constraining the molecular signatures and potential functions of DOM in soils across a wide geographic scale., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest in this work., (© 2022 The Authors. Publishing Services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd.)

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Cybister chinensis Motschulsky belongs to the family Dytiscidae. As a traditional Chinese medicine, the insect is called Longshi in the folk and is commonly used to treat enuresis in children and frequent urination in the elderly., Aim of the Study: Inflammation is involved in chronic kidney disease. The previous study proved ethanol extract of C. chinensis exhibited anti-inflammation effects in the Doxorubicin-induced kidney disease. However, the material basis and their possible mechanism of the insect were still unclear. Thus, we aimed to separate the active compounds of the ethanol extract from C. chinensis and to investigate their possible mechanism of anti-inflammation by network pharmacology and molecular docking., Materials and Methods: The insect was extracted with 75% ethanol to produce ethanol extracts and then were extracted by petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and n-butanol respectively. Silica gel column chromatography and preparative HPLC were applied to separate the compounds of the extract. The compounds were characterized and identified by NMR and mass. The compound associated genes were collected by BATMAN-TCM database and the inflammation associated genes were obtained through DigSee database. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was carried out via Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Protein (STRING) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) target pathway analysis was performed in Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID). The possible mechanism of compounds against inflammation was investigated by molecular docking. Finally, the anti-inflammatory effect of the representative compound was verified by the LPS-induced Raw 264.7 cell inflammatory model. TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 of the cell supernatants were analyzed via using ELISA kits and the key proteins in JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway were verified via the Western blot assays., Results: Among crude extracts from C. chinensis, ethyl acetate extract showed the obvious anti-inflammatory effects. Nine compounds were isolated from ethyl acetate extract of Cybister chinensis for the first time, including benzoic acid (1), hydroxytyrosol (2), protocatechualdehyde (3), N-[2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethyl]acetamide (4), (2E)-3-phenylprop-2-enoic acid (5), 3-phenylpropionic acid (6), methyl 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate (7), 1,4-diphenyl butane-2,3-diol (8) and p-N,N-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde (9). After searching in the database, 1079 compound associated genes and 467 inflammation associated genes were found. The 137 common targets covered 77 signaling pathways, in which HIF-1 signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, influenza A, PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, NOD-like receptor signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway and Jak-STAT signaling pathway were important for inflammation. Molecular docking studies showed compound 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 were the potential inhibitors of JAK2 protein. In addition, the in vitro test showed compound 5 reduced the expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-1β in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, it was found that compound 5 inhibited the expression of p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells in a dose-dependent manner., Conclusions: Based on the network pharmacology and molecular docking, the study suggested that C. chinensis could relieve the inflammation based on the multi-compounds and multi-pathways, which provided the foundation for the medicinal application of C. chinensis., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

ALUMINUM-ACTIVATED MALATE TRANSPORTER1 (ALMT1)-mediated malate exudation from roots is critical for aluminium (Al) resistance in Arabidopsis. Its upstream molecular signalling regulation is not yet well understood. The role of CALMODULIN-LIKE24 (CML24) in Al-inhibited root growth and downstream molecular regulation of ALMT1-meditaed Al resistance was investigated. CML24 confers Al resistance demonstrated by an increased root-growth inhibition of the cml24 loss-of-function mutant under Al stress. This occurs mainly through the regulation of the ALMT1-mediated malate exudation from roots. The mutation and overexpression of CML24 leads to an elevated and reduced Al accumulation in the cell wall of roots, respectively. Al stress induced both transcript and protein abundance of CML24 in root tips, especially in the transition zone. CML24 interacts with CALMODULIN BINDING TRANSCRIPTION ACTIVATOR2 (CAMTA2) and promotes its transcriptional activity in the regulation of ALMT1 expression. This results in an enhanced malate exudation from roots and less root-growth inhibition under Al stress. Both CML24 and CAMTA2 interacted with WRKY46 suppressing the transcriptional repression of ALMT1 by WRKY46. The study provides novel insights into understanding of the upstream molecular signalling of the ALMT1-depdendent Al resistance., (© 2021 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2021 New Phytologist Foundation.)

Objectives: Global cerebral ischemia (GCI), a consequence of cardiac arrest (CA), can significantly damage the neurons located in the vulnerable hippocampus CA1 areas. Clinically, neurological injury after CA contributes to death in most patients. Mastoparan-M extracted from Vespa magnifica (Smith) can be used to treat major neurological disorders. Hence, this study aimed to assess the effects of Mastoparan-M on GCI., Materials and Methods: To evaluate the neurotoxicity and neuroprotective effect of Mastoparan-M, the CCK8 and Annexin V-FITC/PI apoptosis assays were first performed in hippocampal HT22 neuronal cells in vitro . Then, Pulsinelli's 4-vascular occlusion model was constructed in rats. After treatment with Mastoparan-M (0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 mg/kg, IP) for 3 or 7 days, behavioral tests, H&E staining or Nissl staining, immunohistochemistry, and ELISA were employed to investigate neuroprotective effects of Mastoparan-M on GCI in rats., Results: In vitro , the growth of HT22 neuronal cells was restrained at concentrations of 30-300 µg/ml (at 24 hr, IC 50 =105.2 µg/ml; at 48 hr, IC 50 =46.81 µg/ml), and Mastoparan-M treatment (0.1,1 and 5 µg/ml) restrained apoptosis. In vivo , Mastoparan-M improved neurocognitive function and neuronal loss in the hippocampal CA1 area of rats. In addition, these effects were associated with the prevention of neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis., Conclusion: Mastoparan-M acts as a neuroprotective agent to alleviate neuronal death in rats., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.

This is the first investigation that identified seasonal variation, possible sources and health risk of 16 PAHs in street dust sampled park area (PA), educational area (EA), commercial area (CA), residential area (RA), and traffic area (TA) of Chengdu, one of the new first-tier cities in China. The total PAHs (∑ 16 PAHs) concentrations of averaging over two seasons varied from 2.15 to 10.6 mg/kg with a median value of 4.61 mg/kg and in winter (5.48 ± 1.52 mg/kg) were significantly higher than that in summer (4.04 ± 0.91 mg/kg). The highest ∑16PAHs concentration was found in TA (median 6.74 mg/kg). Statistical analysis results indicated that mixture sources of petroleum combustion and combustion of biomass and coal seem to be the primary source of the PAHs in street dust. Carcinogenic risk by incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) model for PAHs in street dust indicates an acceptable potential cancer risk for residents. The same sequences of cancer risk to be observed for both children and adults among different functional areas: TA > CA > EA > RA > PA. The results provided advice for habitants in Chengdu to encourage outdoor activities in parks and residential areas and minimize traffic areas and commercial areas., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)