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Carboxyl ester lipase (CEL), a pivotal enzyme involved in lipid metabolism, is recurrently mutated in obese mice. Here, we aimed to elucidate the functional significance, molecular mechanism, and therapeutic potential of CEL in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Hepatocyte-specific carboxyl ester lipase gene (Cel) knockout (CelΔHEP) and wildtype (WT) littermates were fed with choline-deficient high-fat diet (CD-HFD) for 16 weeks, or methionine- and choline-deficient diet (MCD) for three weeks to induce MASH. Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry and co-immunoprecipitation were employed to identify the downstream targets of CEL. CD-HFD/MCD-fed WT mice received intravenous injections of CEL-adeno-associated viral, serotype 8 (AAV8) to induce specific overexpression of CEL in the liver. We observed a decrease in CEL protein levels in MASH induced by CD-HFD or MCD in mice. CelΔHEP mice fed with CD-HFD or MCD exhibited pronounced hepatic steatosis, inflammation, lipid peroxidation, and liver injury compared to WT littermates, accompanied by increased hepatic nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cell (NF-κB) activation. Consistently, Cel knockdown in mouse primary hepatocytes and AML12 cells aggravated lipid accumulation and inflammation, whereas CEL overexpression exerted the opposite effect. Mechanistically, CEL directly bound to fatty acid synthase (FASN), resulting in reduced FASN SUMOylation, which in turn promoted FASN degradation through the proteasome pathway. Furthermore, inhibition of FASN ameliorated hepatocyte lipid accumulation and inflammation induced by Cel knockdown in vivo and in vitro. Hepatocyte-specific CEL overexpression using AAV8-Cel significantly mitigated steatohepatitis in mice fed with CD-HFD or MCD. CEL protects against steatohepatitis development by directly interacting with FASN and suppressing its expression for de novo lipogenesis. CEL overexpression confers a therapeutic benefit in steatohepatitis.

With the development of technology and the normalization of COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control, asynchronous online learning is becoming popular. However, it is still to be explored on how to enhance students' learning engagement and knowledge construction. Based on this, we used content analysis to explore the roles of teaching strategies (i.e., contextual teaching strategy, organization teaching strategy, task-driven teaching strategy, and reflective teaching strategy) in students' learning engagement and knowledge construction (i.e., questioning level and explaining level). The comparative analysis results indicate that: (1) task-driven teaching strategy could be used to increase students' learning engagement. (2) task-driven teaching strategy could be used to enhance students' questioning level. (3) reflective teaching strategies could be used to improve students' explaining level. The findings could provide theoretical and practical implications for asynchronous online learning. It is helpful to optimize online teaching design and improve the effectiveness of asynchronous online learning.

Objective(s): To study the anti-aging effect of (-)-α-bisabolol ((-)-α-bis) on the skin and preliminarily clarify its mechanism. Materials and Methods: Human skin fibroblasts (HSF) were induced senescence by D-Galactose. Senescence β-galactosidase staining was utilized to evaluate the senescence of HSF. TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β, CCL-2, CCL-5, and MMP-9 in senescence-as-sociated secretory phenotype (SASP) were detected by RT-qPCR. Meanwhile, aged BALB/c mice were applied topically with 0.5% and 2%(-)-α-bis gel for 30 days continuously to evaluate anti-aging parameters on the skin such as surface measurement, the Trans Epidermal Water Loss (TEWL), and skin barrier index of dorsal skin. Then, HE staining, Masson staining, and IHC were applied to measure epidermal thickness, collagen fiber content in the dermis, and content of dermal collagen I, respectively. Last, SOD, MDA, and HYP contents of the back skin tissue of mice were also detected. Results: (-)-α-Bis reduced the expression of senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) and expression levels of SASP in HSF cells stimulated by D-Gal (P

Abstract With the continuous progress of technology, the subject of life science plays an increasingly important role, among which the application of artificial intelligence in the medical field has attracted more and more attention. Bell facial palsy, a neurological ailment characterized by facial muscle weakness or paralysis, exerts a profound impact on patients’ facial expressions and masticatory abilities, thereby inflicting considerable distress upon their overall quality of life and mental well-being. In this study, we designed a facial attribute recognition model specifically for individuals with Bell’s facial palsy. The model utilizes an enhanced SSD network and scientific computing to perform a graded assessment of the patients’ condition. By replacing the VGG network with a more efficient backbone, we improved the model’s accuracy and significantly reduced its computational burden. The results show that the improved SSD network has an average precision of 87.9% in the classification of light, middle and severe facial palsy, and effectively performs the classification of patients with facial palsy, where scientific calculations also increase the precision of the classification. This is also one of the most significant contributions of this article, which provides intelligent means and objective data for future research on intelligent diagnosis and treatment as well as progressive rehabilitation.

Background Time perspective is strongly associated with depression. However, the characteristics and associations between trait and state time perspective in adolescents with depression remain unknown. Methods A total of 211 adolescents with depression (mean age: 14.60 ± 1.69 years) and 215 healthy controls (mean age: 14.66 ± 1.73 years) were selected and assessed using the Chinese version of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory to quantify their trait time perspective. Thirty adolescents were randomly selected from each group to create nine-grid sandplay productions to assess their state time perspective. Results (1) Regarding the trait time perspective, depressed adolescents scored significantly higher on past negative, present fatalistic, present impulsive, and deviation-balanced time perspective (p < 0.001) and significantly lower on past positive and future (p < 0.05) compared to the control group. (2) In terms of state time perspective, depressed adolescents showed a significantly higher number of squares related to past negative, present negative, and future negative in their nine-grid sandplay productions compared to the control group (p < 0.01).Conversely, they had significantly fewer squares associated with past positive, present positive, future positive than the control group (p < 0.05). (3) Past negative, present fatalistic, and deviation from balanced time perspective traits were negatively correlated with positive state time perspective and positively correlated with negative state time perspective. Past positive and future traits were positively correlated with positive state time perspective and negatively correlated with negative state time perspective. Conclusion Adolescents with depression are characterized by dwelling on the past, having a severely negative attitude toward the past, being pessimistic about the future, and having a tendency to blame fate or external forces for their problems. In the future, standardized methods for measuring state time perspective should be further explored, as well as the effectiveness of the nine-grid sandplay, for improving time perspective in patients with depression.

China's central government has prioritized land system reforms in rural parts of the country in the past two decades. The transformation of property rights in lands was a significant step for China to pursue the sustainability of farms and permanent food security. The evolution of land system reforms in China involved constant interplay between stakeholders and policy content in terms of policy objectives and instruments, which exhibited various dynamics in different periods. This study adopted a content analysis method to systematically identify the active, passive, and supportive roles of all kinds of stakeholders as well as policy objectives and instruments in the transitional processes of land system reforms in China. We in sum collected 111 policy texts as samples and modeled the relationships of policy keywords. We found Peasants' Households and New Agricultural Business Entities were the most active stakeholders in different periods. Policy objectives are inclined to the stability of legal rights among stakeholders and the scale production of lands, while policy instruments intensively focused on legal regulations with little attention on financial instruments and human resources. We generated two further policy implications, the protection for the exploitation of lands and the involvement of actual operators, based on our findings.

This study investigated the effect of foliar versus soil application of selenium on the selenium content of sweet potato leaves and the antioxidant activity of sweet potato leaf proteins. The results showed that both foliar and soil applications of selenium could increase the protein-bound selenium content of sweet potato leaves. The protein-bound selenium contents of the foliar and soil selenium treatment groups at 1.6 mg/mL concentration were 20.10 and 1.68 mg/g, respectively. Selenium enrichment could improve the antioxidant activity of sweet potato leaf proteins. The superoxide anion free radical scavenging capacity of sweet potato leaf proteins was increased by 19.17% with foliar selenium enrichment. According to correlation analysis, the total selenium content and protein-bound selenium content of sweet potato leaves significantly affected the antioxidant activity, and the total phenolic and total flavonoid contents also affected the antioxidant activity. In conclusion, compared with soil selenium application, foliar selenium application was better in increasing the protein-bound selenium content of sweet potato leaves.

In the last decade, the detection and attribution science that links climate change to extreme weather and climate events has emerged as a growing field of research with an increasing body of literature. This paper overviews the methods for extreme event attribution (EEA) and discusses the new insights that EEA provides for infrastructure adaptation. We found that EEA can inform stakeholders about current climate risk, support vulnerability-based and hazard-based adaptations, assist in the development of cost-effective adaptation strategies, and enhance justice and equity in the allocation of adaptation resources. As engineering practice shifts from a retrospective approach to a proactive, forward-looking risk management strategy, EEA can be used together with climate projections to enhance the comprehensiveness of decision making, including planning and preparing for unprecedented extreme events. Additionally, attribution assessment can be more useful for adaptation planning when the exposure and vulnerability of communities to past events are analyzed, and future changes in the probability of extreme events are evaluated. Given large uncertainties inherent in event attribution and climate projections, future research should examine the sensitivity of engineering design to climate model uncertainties, and adapt engineering practice, including building codes, to uncertain future conditions. While this study focuses on adaptation planning, EEA can also be a useful tool for informing and enhancing decisions related to climate mitigation.

The edible flower buds of Hemerocallis citrina Baroni are used both as a vegetable and functional food. It has various health benefits due to the diversity of natural products. However, the establishment of functional components in the edible flower bud remains to be studied. We conducted a high-resolution metabolomic analysis of flower buds at three developmental stages, 1–2 cm, 4–6 cm, and edible (10–15 cm). Our analysis revealed 157 differential accumulated metabolites, including flavonoids (49), fatty acids (17) and terpenoids (13) while most of them decreased during flower bud development. Among them, 2 flavonoids, 2 long-chain fatty acids and 1 triterpene saponin are highly accumulated in edible flower buds. Furthermore, the expression levels of catalytic genes mirrored the changes in metabolite levels detected. These results track the dynamics of functional component accumulation during edible flower bud development, laying the theoretical basis for nutrition formation in H. citrina.

Abstract The unique structural features of hard carbon (HC) make it a promising anode candidate for sodium‐ion batteries (SIB). However, traditional methods of preparing HC require special equipment, long reaction times, and large energy consumption, resulting in low throughputs and efficiency. In our contribution, a novel synthesis method is proposed, involving the formation of HC nanosheets (NS‐CNs) within minutes by creating an anoxic environment through flame combustion and further introducing sulfur and nitrogen sources to achieve heteroatom doping. The effect of heterogeneous element doping on the microstructure of HC is quantitatively analyzed by high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy and image processing technology. Combined with density functional theory calculation, it is verified that the functionalized HC exhibits stronger Na+ adsorption ability, electron gain ability, and Na+ migration ability. As a result, NS‐CNs as SIB anodes provide an ultrahigh reversible capacity of 542.7 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1, and excellent rate performance with a reversible capacity of 236.4 mAh g−1 at 2 A g−1 after 1200 cycles. Furthermore, full cell assembled with NS‐CNs as the can present 230 mAh g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 after 150 cycles. Finally, in/ex situ techniques confirm that the excellent sodium storage properties of NS‐CNs are due to the construction of abundant active sites based on the novel synthesis method for realizing the reversible adsorption of Na+. This work provides a novel strategy to develop novel carbons and gives deep insights for the further investigation of facile preparation methods to develop high‐performance carbon anodes for alkali‐ion batteries.

Adoption of centralized underground refrigeration cooling system in high-temperature mine is affected by the range of mining. The complex chilled water transmission pipeline network leads to inadequate supply of terminal cooling capacity, which significantly affects the cooling effectiveness. In order to improve the utilization of cooling capacity in mine cooling system, taken the underground refrigeration cooling pipe network of Zhaolou Coal Mine as an example. The topological model of cooling pipe network was established based on the principle of graph theory. The hydraulic basic equation was used to calculate the flow, nodal resistance and hydraulic losses of the pipe section to obtain the hydraulic characteristics of cooling pipe network. The cooling loss of chilled water transportation was determined by calculating the temperature rise of pipe network nodes. The cooling pipe network was optimized by combining the hydraulic and thermal characteristics of pipe network. The results shown that, the minimum chilled water flow was 0.001 m3/s in the working face at the end of underground cooling pipe network in Zhaolou Coal Mine. The locations with significant hydraulic losses in the pipe network were A set of Track Downhill, 7302 Transport Roadway and Central Auxiliary Transport Roadway. The system respectively supplied cooling to four working faces in the Fifth and Seventh mining areas. The total cooling loss was 1.219×106 J/s, of which the cooling system in Seventh mining area accounted for 88.15%, the friction and heat transfer losses of pipe network is 5.39×105 J/s and 6.805×105 J/s, respectively, and the maximum temperature of chilled water at the end was 13.9 °C. The optimization method of pipeline-pump-valve inter-conditioning was proposed, the dynamic balance valve was used to maintain the chilled water flow in the range of 0.022−0.04 m3/s in the South 1 # Auxiliary Transportation Roadway and the Second Set Auxiliary Roadway, to achieve the flow stability of the end air cooler. The static balance valve was used to adjust the branch resistance of the pipe network, and the chilled water flow was increased to 0.005 m3/s at the working face. The pipe diameter of the South No.1 Auxiliary Transportation Roadway, the South No.2 Auxiliary Transportation Roadway and the Second Set Auxiliary Roadway was increased to 0.325 m, and total hydraulic loss of the pipe network was reduced from 30.93 m to 20.44 m, which was a reduction of 35%. The centrifugal pump head was adjusted to 183−195 m with a flow rate of 0.085−0.112 m3/s, which ensured efficient operation of the centrifugal pump.

In order to improve the chromatographic separation efficiency of pesticide residues and reduce matrix effects, a lipophilicity-matched chromatographic separation strategy was proposed in this study. The triazole fungicides in fruits and vegetables were selected as a case study to establish the analytical method of 21 triazole fungicides with ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The samples were extracted by acetonitrile, followed by salting out and cleaned-up with dispersive solid phase extraction, then separated on chromatographic column with similar lipophilicity to triazole fungicides. The effects of alkyl bonded phase with different lipophilicity on the matrix effects, recoveries and chromatographic separation of triazole fungicides and matrix components were explored. The results showed that this strategy could improve the chromatographic separation of triazole fungicides and matrix components. And 21 triazole fungicides had matrix effects within −8.3%~4.7% and good linear relationship within 5~250 μg/L, the determination coefficient R2≥0.999. The average recoveries ranged from 91.4% to 108.1%, while the limits of quantitation were in the range of 0.5~3.5 μg/kg. This method could effectively reduce matrix effects and provide satisfactory recoveries using solvent calibration for quantification, which could significantly improve the detection efficiency. The proposed method was simple, accurate and sensitive, and suitable for determination of triazole fungicides in fruits and vegetables. This strategy could provide a method reference for column selection and matrix effect reduction in liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis.

Facial palsy evaluation (FPE) aims to assess facial palsy severity of patients, which plays a vital role in facial functional treatment and rehabilitation. The traditional manners of FPE are based on subjective judgment by clinicians, which may ultimately depend on individual experience. Compared with subjective and manual evaluation, objective and automated evaluation using artificial intelligence (AI) has shown great promise in improving traditional manners and recently received significant attention. The motivation of this survey paper is mainly to provide a systemic review that would guide researchers in conducting their future research work and thus make automatic FPE applicable in real-life situations. In this survey, we comprehensively review the state-of-the-art development of AI-based FPE. First, we summarize the general pipeline of FPE systems with the related background introduction. Following this pipeline, we introduce the existing public databases and give the widely used objective evaluation metrics of FPE. In addition, the preprocessing methods in FPE are described. Then, we provide an overview of selected key publications from 2008 and summarize the state-of-the-art methods of FPE that are designed based on AI techniques. Finally, we extensively discuss the current research challenges faced by FPE and provide insights about potential future directions for advancing state-of-the-art research in this field.

Objective To study the effect of marein on myocardial fibrosis in diabetic mice. Methods Ten leptin receptor gene defective heterozygous (db/m) mice aged 5-6 weeks were selected as the control group and 30 diabetic mice with leptin receptor gene defective db/db were divided into: db/db group (db/db,n=10), metformin (Met) positive group (280 mg/kg daily,n=10) and marein drug intervention group (50 mg/kg,n=10). After continuous administration for 8 weeks, the cardiac morphological changes were observed by HE staining and Masson staining. The distribution and expression of vimentin were detected by immunohistochemistry method. The expression of fibronectin, vimentin, and transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1)protein in cardiac tissue was detected by Western blot. Results Myocardial fiber hypertrophy was observed in db/db group, and myocardial structural damage was improved in metformin group and marein group. Compared with db/m group, the expression of myocardial collagen fiber in db/db group increased (P＜0.01), while the expression of myocardial collagen fiber in metformin group and marein group decreased (P＜0.01). Compared with the control group, the expression of vimentin in myocardial tissue of db/db group was significantly increased(P＜0.01), while the expression of vimentin in metformin group and marein group was significantly decreased (P＜0.01). The expression of fibronectin, vimentin and TGF-β1 in db/db group was significantly increased as compared with those in db/m group (P＜0.01), while the expression of fibronectin, vimentin and TGF-β1 in metformin group and marein group were significantly decreased (P＜0.01). Conclusions Marein improves myocardial fibrosis in diabetic db/db mice.

Many Cordyceps sensu lato species are used as traditional Chinese medicines. However, Cordyceps are entomopathogenic fungi in the family Clavicipitaceae of Ascomycota, and excessive harvesting severely disrupts natural habitat ecosystems. Artificial cultivation of Cordyceps fruiting bodies offers a viable strategy to protect the ecological environment and mitigate the depletion of wild resource. In this study, mononucleate hyphae were selected using DAPI fluorescence staining, the MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 strains of O. xuefengensis were successfully distinguished using loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). The chemical composition and bioactive components of fruiting bodies produced by these strains were compared. Results showed that the levels of adenosine, thymidine, adenine, guanosine, uridine, total amino acids, and total essential amino acids in the fruiting bodies of MAT1-1 strains were 1.31 mg/g, 0.15 mg/g, 0.26 mg/g, 2.40 mg/g, 2.34 mg/g, 270.3 mg/g, and 102.5 mg/g, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the MAT1-2 sample. Contrastingly, the fruiting bodies of MAT1-2 strains contained higher levels of mannose and polysaccharides, at 11.7% and 12.2%, respectively. The levels of toxic elements such as Al, Pb, As, and Hg in the MAT1-1 fruiting bodies were 1.862 mg/kg, 0.0848 mg/kg, 0.534 mg/kg, and 0.0054 mg/kg, respectively, which were markedly lower than those in the MAT1-2 fruiting bodies.

Background: Multilayer networks have been used to identify abnormal dynamic reconfiguration in bipolar disorder (BD). However, these studies ignore the differences in information interactions between adjacent layers when constructing multilayer networks, and the analysis of dynamic reconfiguration is not comprehensive enough; Methods: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected from 46 BD patients and 54 normal controls. A multilayer temporal network was constructed for each subject, and inter-layer coupling of different nodes was considered using network similarity. The promiscuity, recruitment, and integration coefficients were calculated to quantify the different dynamic reconfigurations between the two groups; Results: The global inter-layer coupling, recruitment, and integration coefficients were significantly lower in BD patients. These results were further observed in the attention network and the limbic/paralimbic and subcortical network, reflecting reduced temporal stability, intra- and inter-subnetwork communication abilities in BD patients. The whole-brain promiscuity was increased in BD patients. The same results were observed in the somatosensory/motor and auditory network, reflecting more functional interactions; Conclusions: This study discovered abnormal dynamic interactions of BD from the perspective of dynamic reconfiguration, which can help to understand the pathological mechanisms of BD.

Although many studies have considered the effects of online reviews on tourists’ decisions, none have directly investigated how to leverage open data analyses to create early choice sets and facilitate destination planning. This paper illustrates how salient characteristics can be mined from the shared experiences embedded in review data and incorporated into a predictive model to build a travel counseling approach. The model is designed by first defining a prediction-based mechanism from online reviews and then generating a multinomial classification problem on all candidate destinations of interest. The model is implemented by applying Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Deep Learning (DL) technologies to review textual features. The model is validated using 75,315 reviews from TripAdvisor along with destinations from 257 U.S. national parks. Empirical results indicate a best classification accuracy of 67%, outperforming two previous approaches. Findings shed light on how to exploit past tourists’ experiences to generate early destination recommendations to identify items for choice sets and reduce tourists’ travel-planning effort. Theoretical and managerial implications regarding social media analytics are provided based on online review meta-data in touristic management.

BackgroundThe influencing factors of the process from latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) to the onset of active tuberculosis (TB) remain unknown among different population groups, especially among older individuals in high-incidence areas. This study aimed to investigate the development of active TB among older adults with LTBI and identify groups in greatest need of improved prevention and control strategies for TB.MethodsIn 2021, we implemented an investigation among older individuals (≥ 65 years old) in two towns in Zhejiang Province with the highest incidence of TB. All participants underwent assessment using standardized questionnaires, physical examinations, interferon-gamma release assays, and chest radiography. All the participants with suspected TB based on the clinical symptoms or abnormal chest radiography results, as well as those with LTBI, were referred for diagnostic investigation in accordance with the national guidelines. Those with an initial diagnosis of TB were then excluded, whereas those with LTBI were included in a follow-up at baseline. Incident patients with active TB were identified from the Chinese Tuberculosis Management Information System, and a multivariate Cox regression model was used to estimate the incidence and risk of TB among those with LTBI.ResultsIn total, 667 participants with LTBI were followed up for 1,315.3 person-years, revealing a disease density of 1,292.5 individuals/100,000 person-years (17/1,315.3). For those with LTBI, chest radiograph abnormalities had adjusted hazard ratios for active TB of 4.9 (1.6–15.3).ConclusionsThe presence of abnormal chest radiography findings increased the risk of active TB among older individuals with LTBI in high-epidemic sites in eastern China.

ObjectiveTo explore the modulations of electroacupuncture in subjective tinnitus (ST) by comparing the difference of functional connectivity (FC) in ST patients and healthy volunteers between the insular (INS) and the whole brain region.MethodsA total of 34 ST patients were selected into electroacupuncture group (EG) and 34 age- and sex-matched normal subjects were recruited into control group (CG). The EG received acupuncture at SI19 (Tinggong), GB11 (Touqiaoyin), TE17 (Yifeng), GV20 (Baihui), GV15 (Yamen), GV14 (Dazhui), SJ13 (Zhongzhu), among which the points of SI19 and GB11 were connected to the electroacupuncture instrument with the density wave of 2/50 Hz, and 3 treatments per week for 10 sessions in total. The severity of tinnitus was evaluated by Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), the hearing status was recorded using pure tone audiometry, and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) was performed on the brain before and after treatment, the CG received no intervention yet only rs-fMRI data were collected.ResultsWith the electroacupuncture treatment, the total THI score, average air conduction threshold of patients of EG were significantly lower than before (p

The level of thermal-moisture comfort experienced by an individual is strongly influenced by the clothing they wear and also influenced by the ease allowance of that clothing. This study aimed to investigate the impact of ease allowances of clothing on thermal-moisture comfort during exercise or movement. Seventeen female subjects were asked to wear sample clothing with different sizes during a designated 5-phase exercise in a climate chamber. Throughout the exercise phases, the temperature and humidity of the microclimate under the clothing were monitored while the subjects provided subjective evaluations of their comfort levels. To account for variation in ease allowances, the 32 experimental repetitions were grouped based on the ease allowance of the clothing worn. The FCE-CRITIC method was then used to determine the variable weights of factors and to compare the thermal-moisture status to the subjective evaluation. Results revealed that humidity was more strongly weighted during RS and RC (i.e., running and recovery phase after exercise) compared to other phases, means that moisture comfort was the main factor driving the clothing comfort sensation within the two phases. The ease allowance of clothing was found to have an impact on the sensations of thermal and moisture comfort during exercise, although this effect was not significant. Furthermore, the study identified the optimum range of ease allowance for thermal-moisture comfort during exercise to be between 6 and 10 cm.

Abstract The utilization of alloyed 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) has become a pivotal approach for addressing challenges in material applications. The judicious selection of dopant constituents offers a potent means to finely modulate the materials' bandgap, consequently broadening the potential applications of 2D materials. In the context of an investigation, Mo1−x−yRexWyS2 is successfully synthesized using chemical vapor deposition. With a bandgap of 1.33 eV, this material exhibits promising prospects for application in the realm of optoelectronics. This advancement enables the fabrication of the Mo1−x−yRexWyS2 photodetector. The rigorous testing and analysis of photoelectric performance reveal significant improvements in both responsivity and response speed compared to analogous detectors. This accomplishment not only furnishes a novel paradigm for the advancement of photodetectors but also contributes fresh insights to the domain of alloyed 2D TMDs.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) is one of the leading pathogens responsible for hospital-acquired infections. With the increasing antibiotic resistance of PA, clinical treatment has become increasingly challenging. DNA vaccines represent a promising approach for combating PA infection. However, the immune response induced by a single antigen is limited, and combination vaccines hold greater therapeutic potential. The highly conserved OprF and PcrV genes are attractive candidate antigens for vaccine development, but the poor delivery of such vaccines has limited their clinical application. In this study, we constructed an OprF/PcrV bivalent DNA vaccine, and a polyaspartamide/polyethylene glycol di-aldehyde (PSIH/PEG DA) hydrogel was formulated to improve DNA delivery. The OprF/PcrV DNA vaccine formulated with the PSIH/PEG DA hydrogel was carefully characterized in vitro and in vivo and showed suitable compatibility. The PSIH/PEG DA hydrogel formulation induced a mixed Th1/Th2/Th17 immune response in mice, leading to a significant increase in antibody titers, lymphocyte proliferation rates, and cytokine levels compared to those in mice treated with single or combined vaccines. The PSIH/PEG DA hydrogel delivery system significantly enhanced the immune protection of the DNA vaccine in a murine pneumonia model, as revealed by the reduced bacterial burden and inflammation in the mouse lungs and increased survival rate. In conclusion, the PSIH/PEG DA hydrogel delivery system can further enhance the immune efficacy of the combination OprF/PcrV DNA vaccine. This research provides a novel optimized strategy for the prevention and treatment of PA infection using DNA vaccines.

BackgroundParaquat (PQ) is one of the most widely used herbicides in the world and a risk factor for Parkinson's disease (PD), but the mechanisms underlying PD are poorly understood. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technology can study cellular heterogeneity at genetic level, providing insights into the pathogenesis of PQ-induced PD. ObjectiveTo analyze the brain cell grouping of PQ-infected mice and the biological processes involved in the subpopulation of PD-like changes cells by scRNA-seq, and to provide clues for revealing potential mechanisms of PQ-induced PD-like changes in mouse brains. MethodsSix male 6-week-old C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into a control group and an experimental group, three mice in each group, and were intraperitoneally injected with 0 (saline) and 10.0 mg·kg−1 PD respectively, once every two days, for 10 consecutive injections for modeling. After infection, mouse brains were taken and scRNA-seq was performed. Cell segmentation was performed according to gene expression characteristics of different cell types, PD-related cell subsets were screened by bioinformatics tools, and gene ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), protein interaction network analysis, and transcription factor prediction were performed on their characteristic genes. Finally, GO and KEGG analyses were performed on the differential genes of PD-associated cell subsets between the PQ-treated group and the control group, and the biological processes in which these genes may participate were analyzed. ResultsThe sequencing data met quality control standards, a total of 55779 cells were obtained, and all cell dimensionality reduction analysis results showed that they could be further divided into 37 clusters, including 5 major cell types. Based on the KEGG analysis of the top 20 characteristic genes of each subpopulation, the specifically expressed Cluster 33 subpopulation (dopaminergic neurons) was screened and found to be significantly associated with PD. The results of GO analysis showed that the biological function of this subpopulation mainly enriched neurotransmitter transport and regulation. The results of GSEA analysis showed that the tyrosine metabolic pathway and the ligand-receptor interaction pathway of neural activity in brain tissues were significantly enriched. The analysis of transcriptional regulatory networks showed that 39 transcription factors were expressed differently. The metabolic pathway of the dopamine neuronal subset, endocytosis, Ras-associated protein 1 (Rap1) signaling pathway, and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway were all affected by PQ exposure, according to further analysis of its effects on this subpopulation. The GO analysis showed that differential genes were involved in biological processes such as ion transport and synaptic assembly regulation, and were involved in the cellular component formation of cytoplasm and synapses. ConclusionThis study has initially mapped the transcriptome of single cells in the mouse brain after PQ exposure, and screened out the specific expression of Cluster 33 subgroup (dopaminergic neurons), which is significantly correlated with PD, and its biological function changes may be one of the mechanisms of PD-like changes in the mouse brain induced by PQ.

For injured and after-stroke patients who temporarily lose their hand’s grasping abilities, assisting them in regaining their index finger mobility is very important in the rehabilitation process. In this paper, a finger rehabilitation device based on one degree-of-freedom (DOF) linkage mechanism is designed, aiming to lead the index finger through the flexion–extension trajectory during grasping tasks. Two types of one-DOF mechanisms, a four-bar linkage and a Watt-I six-bar linkage, are synthesized for the task trajectory. Various algorithms such as PSO, GA, and GA–BFGS are adopted and compared for the synthesis of these two types of mechanisms, among which the Watt-I six-bar linkage obtained with GA–BFGS shows the optimal performance in accuracy. Clinical biomechanical data are utilized to perform static analyses of the mechanisms, and the feasibility of the Watt-I six-bar linkage models is tested, compared, and demonstrated. Finally, the prototype of the six-bar linkage as well as a wearable exoskeleton finger rehabilitation device are designed to show how they are applied in the finger rehabilitation scenario.

Flotation separation of valuable components including graphite and lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) from the waste electrode materials of lithium battery is a key link in the recycling of waste lithium battery, which is difficult to realize with some conventional flotation techniques due to the fine size of graphite and LCO. Interfacial nanobubbles induced by temperature increasing were introduced into the flotation system and the mechanism on improving the flotation performance of electrode materials by nanobubbles was studied by combining intermittent mode atomic force microscope (AFM) imaging technique, colloidal probe technique, agglomeration size analyzer, particle-bubble interaction visualization and flotation. The results show that the images of nanobubbles were captured at highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and alumina surface with intermittent mode AFM. The detachment and/or coalescence of nanoentities in the action of AFM tip at contact mode provided evidence supporting gaseous nature of these nanoentities. The maximum adhesion force between graphite and HOPG in-creased in the presence of nanobubbles between graphite and HOPG. The maximum adhesion force was lower than 10 nN in the room temperature water while up to 110 nN in the cold water, which varied with the pH variation in slurry. It was observed that the larger graphite agglomerations were induced by interfacial nanobubbles. The size of such graphite agglomerations increased by 2−11 μm in the cold water compared with that in the room temperature water. The nucleation of interfacial nanobubbles on graphite surface and the formation of graphite agglomerations synergistically enhanced the adhesion between graphite and fixed bubbles. The flotation results showed that the flotation performance was always improved with nanobubbles in all slurry with different pH values and ions concentrations.

Abstract Purpose Tuberculosis is a high-burden disease and a major health concern in China, especially among children and adolescents. The purpose of this study was to assess risk factors for diagnostic delay in students with pulmonary tuberculosis in Quzhou City in eastern China. Patients and methods Cases of PTB in students and relevant information in Quzhou from 2011 to 2021 were collected using the TB Management Information System. The outcome of interest was diagnostic delay (i.e. ≥ 28 days between symptom onset and treatment initiation). Risk factors for diagnostic delay were identified using multivariable logistic regression. Results A total of 629 students in Quzhou were diagnosed with PTB during the study period, of whom 55.5% were male. The median diagnostic delay was 18 days (Inter Quartile Range, [IQR]: 8–38) and 38.0% of the students had a diagnostic delay. Living in a rural area (adjusted odds ratio, [AOR]: 1.56, 95% confidence interval [CI:] 1.11–2.19), developing PTB symptoms in the first quarter of the year (AOR: 2.18, 95% CI: 1.40–3.40), and no sputum smear result (AOR: 8.73, 95% CI: 1.68–45.30) were significantly associated with a diagnostic delay. Discovery through health examinations (AOR: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.17–0.63) was associated with reduced risk of diagnostic delay. Conclusion Schools in rural areas should pay special attention to increasing student awareness of the symptoms of tuberculosis and provide health education on tuberculosis prevention and control to students and staff.

Abstract Background Phages play a pivotal role in the evolution of microbial populations. The interactions between phages and their hosts are complex and may vary in response to host physiology and environmental conditions. Here, we have selected the genomes of some representative Bacillus prophages and lysosomes from the NCBI database for evolutionary analysis. We explored their evolutionary relationships and analyzed the protein information encoded by hundreds of Bacillus phages. Results We obtained the following conclusions: First, Bacillus phages carried some known functional gene fragments and a large number of unknown functional gene fragments, which might have an important impact on Bacillus populations, such as the formation of spores and biofilms and the transmission of virulence factors. Secondly, the Bacillus phage genome showed diversity, with a clear genome boundary between Bacillus prophages and Bacillus lytic phages. Furthermore, genetic mutations, sequence losses, duplications, and host-switching have occurred during the evolution of the Bacillus phage, resulting in low genome similarity between the Bacillus phages. Finally, the lysis module played an important influence on the process of Bacillus phage cross-species infestation. Conclusions This study systematically described their protein function, diversity, and genome evolution, and the results of this study provide a basis for evolutionary diversity, horizontal gene transfer and co-evolution with the host in Bacillus phages.

Abstract Existing research suggests that housing demolition negatively affects labour supply through the wealth effect of the demolition compensation. However, there is limited research on the gender differences in the impact of housing demolition on labour force participation. This study investigates the effects of housing demolition on labour force participation, with a specific focus on the gender difference. Using data from the Chinese Family Panel Studies, this study reveals a significant decline in labour force participation resulting from housing demolition, primarily driven by females. Moreover, housing demolition exerts a stronger effect on the labour force participation of married women, who tend to take on more responsibilities for household chores, while its impact on married men is less evident. These findings offer valuable insights into the issue of labour shortage and underscore the importance of reducing the traditional gender‐based division of household labour.

Abstract Aims To systematically assess the worldwide prevalence of nurse turnover and discuss its influencing factors. Design Systematic review and meta‐analysis. Methods PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CINAHL, China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database, Wanfang Database were searched from their commencement date to 25 March 2021. Two authors independently reviewed the studies. Stata 15.0 software package was used for statistical analysis, with estimates of data on the prevalence of nurse turnover using a random‐effects model. This review was performed according to the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) manual for evidence synthesis and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis (PRISMA) Statement. PROSPERO Registration Number:CRD42020208873. Results A total of 15 studies covering 852,317 nurses were included in the analyses. The pooled prevalence of nurse turnover was 18% (95% CI: 11% to 26%, I2 = 99.86%, p

BackgroundIt has emerged that disturbances of the gut microbiota (GM) are linked to insomnia. However, the causality of the observed associations remains uncertain.MethodsWe conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis based on genome-wide association study data to explore the possible causal link between GM and insomnia. The GM data were from the MiBioGen consortium, while the summary statistics of insomnia were obtained from the FinnGen consortium R9 release data. Cochran’s Q statistics were used to analyze instrumental variable heterogeneity.ResultsAccording to the inverse variance weighted estimates, the family Ruminococcaceae (odds ratio = 1.494, 95% confidence interval:1.004–2.223, p = 0.047) and the genus Lachnospiraceae (odds ratio = 1.726, 95% confidence interval: 1.191–2.501, p = 0.004) play a role in insomnia risk. In contrast, the genus Flavonifractor (odds ratio = 0.596, 95% confidence interval: 0.374–0.952, p = 0.030) and the genus Olsenella (odds ratio = 0.808, 95% confidence interval: 0.666–0.980, p = 0.031) tended to protect against insomnia. According to the reverse MR analysis, insomnia can also alter GM composition. Instrumental variables were neither heterogeneous nor horizontal pleiotropic.ConclusionIn conclusion, our Mendelian randomization study provides evidence of a causal relationship between GM and insomnia. The identified GM may be promising gut biomarkers and new therapeutic targets for insomnia. This investigation also provides a foundation for future studies examining the influence of GM on sleep disorders beyond insomnia, with potential implications for redefining the mechanisms governing sleep regulation.

Abstract The study was aimed to assess the effects of exposure of the “Benihoppe” strawberry (Fragaria×ananassa Duch.) to La3+ treatment during propagation and rooting in vitro. The results showed that propagation and rooting were inhibited by lower (0.2, 0.5 mg/L) and higher (40.0 mg/L) concentrations of La3+, respectively. Propagation and rooting were promoted by a moderate concentration (1.0, 10.0, and 15.0 mg/L) of La3+, and a concentration of 1.0 mg/L was found to be optimal. Under 1.0 mg/L of La3+ treatment, certain trends associated with changes in the levels of hormones and 12 nutrients, with the exception of Ca, were observed during plant growth in vitro, and a greater balance was observed in the trends associated with changes in the amounts of elements at the rooting stage, as compared to the propagation stage. Furthermore, the elements or hormones with the highest effects on the two stages of propagation were Co and K (positive), and TDZ and Fe (negative), while those that affected the two stages of rooting were S and Zn ( positive), and IAA and Fe (positive). Our findings suggest that the use of 1.0 mg/L of La3+ is cost-effective, and can help achieve strawberry propagation and rooting in vitro.

The over-accumulation of ROS during prolonged in vitro expansion could negatively affect the properties of stem cells. This leads to a reduced capacity for self-renewal and a lower potential for multiple differentiation, ultimately hindering their applicability in regenerative medicine. Herein, we fabricated platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) as a potential biocompatible antioxidant to efficiently eliminate the ROS accumulation in human dental follicle stem cells (hDFSCs) during in vitro expansion, thereby enhancing hDFSCs proliferation and osteogenic differentiation. Transcriptome analysis revealed that PI3K/AKT signaling pathway was activated in PtNPs-treated hDFSCs. Transplantation of PtNPs-treated rDFSCs could facilitate new bone formation compared to transplantation of PBS or un-treated rDFSCs, leading to efficient regeneration of bone tissue in rat mandibular bone defect models. In conclusion, PtNPs offered a novel antioxidative strategy to improve stem cell properties and stem-cells-based alveolar bone regeneration.

Abstract Background Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) have considerably high mortality and re-hospitalisation rate. Diaphragmatic dysfunction (DD) is common in COPD patients. However, whether diaphragmatic dysfunction is related to acute exacerbation is yet to be elucidated. This study aimed to evaluate the diaphragm function by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in COPD patients and assess whether the impact of DD may help predict AECOPD. Methods 20 healthy adult volunteers and 80 COPD patients were enrolled. The diaphragms function parameters were accessed by MRI. Patients were guided to start self-management by the Telehealth-based monitoring system following the enrolment. Events of acute exacerbation of COPD were recorded by the system and confirmed by healthcare providers. Binary univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate the factors associated with the frequency of AECOPD. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were further used to assess the value of prediction indexes. Results Fifty-nine COPD patients completed a one-year follow-up based on the Telehealth-based monitoring system. The clinical outcomes showed that the diaphragm function parameters at the end of maximal breathing were lower in the COPD group than in the healthy control group (P

Background In this study, a natural compound quercetin (Qu) was investigated for its various antitumor effects. However, due to its poor water solubility and low bioavailability, its clinical application is limited. To overcome this constraint, a modification was to Qu, which resulted in the creation of novel flavonoid self-assembling nanoparticles (HCQ NPs). Methods HCQ NPs were synthesized by a self-assembly method and characterized using transmission electron microscopy, the Malvern Zetasizer instrument, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), the ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometric method (UV-vis), Fourier transform infrared (FITR) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Extracellular, methylene blue spectrophotometric analysis was used to determine the ability of HCQ NPs to react with different concentrations of H2O2 to form hydroxyl radicals (•OH). Intracellular, DCFH-DA staining was used to detect the ability of HCQ NPs to react with H2O2 to generate reactive oxygen species. Flow cytometry was used to detect the uptake of HCQ NPs by MDA-MB-231 cells at different time points. The biocompatibility of HCQ NPs was evaluated using the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Calcein AM/PI double staining and the CCK-8 assay were used to evaluate the synergistic antitumor effect of HCQ NPs and H2O2. Results HCQ NPs showed uniformly sized analogous spherical shapes with a hydrodynamic diameter of 55.36 ± 0.27 nm. XPS revealed that Cu was mainly present as Cu2+ in the HCQ NPs. UV−vis absorption spectrum of the characteristic peak of HCQ NPs was located at 296 nm. Similarly, FTIR spectroscopy revealed a complex formation of Qu and Cu2+ that substantially changed the wavenumber of the 4-position C = O characteristic absorption peak. Based on the proportion of Qu and Cu2+ (1:2), the total drug loading of Qu and Cu2+ in the HCQ NPs for therapeutic purposes was calculated to be 9%. Methylene blue spectrophotometric analysis of •OH indicated that Cu can lead to the generation of •OH by triggering Fenton-like reactions. HCQ NPs rapidly accumulated in MDA-MB-231 cells with the extension of time, and the maximum accumulation concentration was reached at about 0.5 h. Calcein AM/PI double staining and CCK-8 revealed synergistic antitumor effects of HCQ NPs including the chemotherapeutic effect of Qu and chemodynamic therapy by Cu2+ in a simulated tumor microenvironment. HCQ NPs demonstrated very low toxicity in LO2 cells in the biocompatibility experiment. Conclusion This study show cases a new method of creating self-assembled flavonoid HCQ NPs that show great for fighting cancer.