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ObjectiveTo explore the application value of mpMRI-TRUS multi-modal image fusion transperineal biopsy technique using electromagnetic needle tracking under local anesthesia combined with rapid paraffin-embedded section of small specimen in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. MethodsThe clinicopathological data of 138 patients with PI-RADS score≥3 who underwent mpMRI-TRUS image fusion transperineal biopsy using electromagnetic needle tracking under local anesthesia were retrospectively analyzed. AI technology was used to fuse mpMRI and TRUS multi-mode images, and two-core targeted biopsies were performed on suspicious lesions, followed by 12-core systematic biopsies. The specimens obtained from targeted biopsies were sent for rapid paraffin-embedded section pathological examination, and the detection rates of csPCa were compared. ResultsThe detection rate of csPCa in 138 patients was 71.01%. The detection rates of csPCa in targeted biopsies and systematic biopsies were 62.32% and 70.29%, respectively (P=0.20). The detection rate of combined biopsies was higher than those of targeted biopsies and systematic biopsies, but the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The detection rates of csPCa in targeted biopsies, systematic biopsies, and combined biopsies in patients with PI-RADS score 3 were 30.95%, 38.10%, and 40.48%, respectively; and the percentages were 52.94%, 61.76%, and 61.76% in patients with PI-RADS score 4, respectively; and the percentages were 90.32%, 96.77%, and 96.77% in patients with PI-RADS score 5, respectively, without statistically significant difference (all P>0.05). In the subgroups with PI-RADS scores of 3, 4, and 5, the missed diagnosis rates of csPCa by targeted biopsies were 23.53%, 14.29%, and 6.67%, respectively. ConclusionFor patients with suspected prostate cancer and PI-RADS v2.1 score≥3, transperineal biopsy using electromagnetic needle tracking combined with rapid paraffin-embedded section of small specimen can obtain pathological results rapidly and has good diagnostic accuracy. However, combined biopsy is still the most suitable method for the diagnosis of prostate cancer at present.

Abstract Background The global use of plastic materials has undergone rapid expansion, resulting in the substantial generation of degraded and synthetic microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs), which have the potential to impose significant environmental burdens and cause harmful effects on living organisms. Despite this, the detrimental impacts of MNPs exposure towards host cells and tissues have not been thoroughly characterized. Results In the present study, we have elucidated a previously unidentified hepatotoxic effect of 20 nm synthetic polystyrene nanoparticles (PSNPs), rather than larger PS beads, by selectively inducing necroptosis in macrophages. Mechanistically, 20 nm PSNPs were rapidly internalized by macrophages and accumulated in the mitochondria, where they disrupted mitochondrial integrity, leading to heightened production of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS). This elevated mtROS generation essentially triggered necroptosis in macrophages, resulting in enhanced crosstalk with hepatocytes, ultimately leading to hepatocyte damage. Additionally, it was demonstrated that PSNPs induced necroptosis and promoted acute liver injury in mice. This harmful effect was significantly mitigated by the administration of a necroptosis inhibitor or systemic depletion of macrophages prior to PSNPs injection. Conclusion Collectively, our study suggests a profound toxicity of environmental PSNP exposure by triggering macrophage necroptosis, which in turn induces hepatotoxicity via intercellular crosstalk between macrophages and hepatocytes in the hepatic microenvironment.

ABSTRACTBurns and burn sepsis, characterized by persistent and profound hypercatabolism, cause energy metabolism dysfunction that worsens organ injury and systemic disorders. Glutamine (Gln) is a key nutrient that remarkably replenishes energy metabolism in burn and sepsis patients, but its exact roles beyond substrate supply is unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that Gln alleviated liver injury by sustaining energy supply and restoring redox balance. Meanwhile, Gln also rescued the dysfunctional mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) complexes, improved ATP production, reduced oxidative stress, and protected hepatocytes from burn sepsis injury. Mechanistically, we revealed that Gln could activate SIRT4 by upregulating its protein synthesis and increasing the level of Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), a co-enzyme that sustains the activity of SIRT4. This, in turn, reduced the acetylation of shock protein (HSP) 60 to facilitate the assembly of the HSP60-HSP10 complex, which maintains the activity of ETC complex II and III and thus sustain ATP generation and reduce reactive oxygen species release. Overall, our study uncovers a previously unknown pharmacological mechanism involving the regulation of HSP60-HSP10 assembly by which Gln recovers mitochondrial complex activity, sustains cellular energy metabolism and exerts a hepato-protective role in burn sepsis.

Vegetation restoration is crucial for improving the ecological environment of mining areas, which could promote the development of reconstructed soil, thus regulating biogeochemical cycles, and exerting ecosystem functions. Therefore, it is essential and necessary to conduct in-depth research on the impact of vegetation restoration on soil microbial communities in open-pit mining areas. In this study, surface soil samples were collected from six typical reclamation plots, including bare land (CK), Medicago sativa (GL), Hippophae rhamnoides (BL), Pinus tabulaeformis (CF), Populus tomentosa (BF), and Populus tomentosa + Pinus tabulaeformis (MF), located in the eastern waste dump of Heidaigou mining area of Zhungeer Banner, Inner Mongolia. High throughput sequencing, co-occurrence networks, and correlation analysis were used to explore the influential mechanism of vegetation types on soil abundant, rare bacterial and fungal community structural composition and diversity. Results showed that ① there were significant differences in the effects of different vegetation restoration types on soil physicochemical properties and enzyme activity (P

Land utilization transformation (LUT) is a key factor affecting ecosystem services (ESs). The urban agglomeration on the Northern Slope of the Tianshan Mountains (UATM) is located in a typical arid region with extremely fragile ecological environment. However, the impact of LUT on the spatial pattern of ESs in the region over the past 20 years is not clear. This study aimed to explore LUT characteristics of the urban agglomeration on the UATM using a land transfer matrix, information entropy, land utilization intensity, and land utilization dynamic degree. Various ESs indexes were quantitatively measured using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) model, and the effect of LUT on ESs was revealed through a geographic detector and spatial auto-correlation analyses. The results of this study led to the following conclusions: First, between 2000 and 2020, the primary land utilization types in UATM were arable land, grassland, and bare land, with significant cross-transformations occurring among these types. Meanwhile, LUT showed marked differences among different regions. LUT changed rapidly and significantly in the central region; in contrast, slower and slight changes were observed in the northern and southern regions. Second, during the research period, habitat maintenance, water yield and carbon sequestration decreased, and the soil retention function increased. The accelerated urban development in the second decade led to more rapid changes in ESs. Finally, both the structure and intensity of land utilization showed the strongest explanatory capability for changes in ESs. Different dimensions of LUT showed significant interactions with ESs. Therefore, it is advisable to guide LUT scientifically, promote vegetation restoration projects, alleviate the impacts of human activities and climate change on ESs, and enhance the ecological safety and environmental sustainability of UATM and even arid regions in Central Asia.

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the leading causes of cancer death in men. About 30% of PCa will develop a biochemical recurrence (BCR) following initial treatment, which significantly contributes to prostate cancer-related deaths. In clinical practice, accurate prediction of PCa recurrence is crucial for making informed treatment decisions. However, the development of reliable models and biomarkers for predicting PCa recurrence remains a challenge. In this study, the aim is to establish an effective and reliable tool for predicting the recurrence of PCa. Methods: We systematically screened and analyzed potential datasets to predict PCa recurrence. Through quality control analysis, low-quality datasets were removed. Using meta-analysis, differential expression analysis, and feature selection, we identified key genes associated with recurrence. We also evaluated 22 previously published signatures for PCa recurrence prediction. To assess prediction performance, we employed nine machine learning algorithms. We compared the predictive capabilities of models constructed using clinical variables, expression data, and their combinations. Subsequently, we implemented these machine learning models into a user-friendly web server freely accessible to all researchers. Results: Based on transcriptomic data derived from eight multicenter studies consisting of 733 PCa patients, we screened 23 highly influential genes for predicting prostate cancer recurrence. These genes were used to construct the Prostate Cancer Recurrence Prediction Signature (PCRPS). By comparing with 22 published signatures and four important clinicopathological features, the PCRPS exhibited a robust and significantly improved predictive capability. Among the tested algorithms, Random Forest demonstrated the highest AUC value of 0.72 in predicting PCa recurrence in the testing dataset. To facilitate access and usage of these machine learning models by all researchers and clinicians, we also developed an online web server (https://urology1926.shinyapps.io/PCRPS/) where the PCRPS model can be freely utilized. The tool can also be used to (1) predict the PCa recurrence by clinical information or expression data with high accuracy. (2) provide the possibility of PCa recurrence by nine machine learning algorithms. Furthermore, using the PCRPS scores, we predicted the sensitivity of 22 drugs from GDSC2 and 95 drugs from CTRP2 to the samples. These predictions provide valuable insights into potential drug sensitivities related to the PCRPS score groups. Conclusion: Overall, our study provides an attractive tool to further guide the clinical management and individualized treatment for PCa.

BackgroundProstate cancer is the most common malignant tumor of male genitourinary system, and the gold standard for its diagnosis is prostate biopsy. Focusing on the methods and skills of prostate biopsy, we explored the learning curve and experience of a novel magnetic resonance imaging and transrectal ultrasound (mpMRI-TRUS) image fusion transperineal biopsy (TPB) technique using electromagnetic needle tracking under local anesthesia.MethodsThe clinical and pathological data of 92 patients who underwent targeted TPB from January 2023 to July 2023 in our center were prospectively collected. The cumulative sum (CUSUM) analysis method and the best fitting curve were used to analyze the learning curve of this novel technique, and the clinical characteristics, perioperative data and tumor positive rate of prostate biopsy of patients at different stages of the learning curve were compared.ResultsWith the increase of the number of surgical cases, the overall operative time showed a downward trend. The best fitting curve of CUSUM reached its peak at the twelfth case, which is the minimum cumulative number of surgical cases needed to cross the learning curve of the operation. Taking this as the boundary, the learning curve is divided into two stages: learning improvement stage (group A, 12 cases) and proficiency stage (group B, 80 cases). The surgical time and visual analog scale score during prostate biopsy in group A were significantly higher than those in group B. The visual numerical scale score during prostate biopsy in group A was significantly lower than that in group B. There was no statistically significant difference between group A and group B in the detection rate of csPCa and the incidence of perioperative complications.ConclusionThe novel targeted TPB technique is divided into learning improvement stage and proficiency stage, and 12 cases may be the least cumulative number.

Abstract Atherosclerosis, which is a vascular pathology characterized by inflammation and plaque build-up within arterial vessel walls, acts as the important cause of most cardiovascular diseases. Except for a lipid-depository and chronic inflammatory, increasing evidences propose that epigenetic modifications are increasingly associated with atherosclerosis and are of interest from both therapeutic and biomarker perspectives. The chronic progressive nature of atherosclerosis has highlighted atherosclerosis heterogeneity and the fact that specific cell types in the complex milieu of the plaque are, by far, not the only initiators and drivers of atherosclerosis. Instead, the ubiquitous effects of cell type are tightly controlled and directed by the epigenetic signature, which, in turn, is affected by many proatherogenic stimuli, including low-density lipoprotein, proinflammatory, and physical forces of blood circulation. In this review, we summarize the role of DNA methylation and histone post-translational modifications in atherosclerosis. The future research directions and potential therapy for the management of atherosclerosis are also discussed. Video Abstract

Investigations of the geochemical compositions of geothermal water, as well as their movements and geneses, are of great significance for the exploration and exploitation of hydrothermal resources. In Zhongshan City, a southern city in Guangdong Province, large amounts of geothermal heat have been discovered. The results of investigations show that the hydrochemical types of geothermal water in the study area are Cl-Na·Ca and Cl-Na. H-O isotopes are basically near the atmospheric precipitation line, and the calculated recharge elevation of geothermal water ranges from 716 to 822 m, which is close to the altitude of the North Peak Mountain in Taishan City. The deep thermal storage temperature ranges from 95.32 to 149.71 °C, and the depth of the thermal cycle ranges from 2638.57 m to 4581.07 m. The genetic model of the geothermal water in this area is that, at favorable structural positions with satisfied water storage conditions, the mixture of atmospheric precipitation and seawater that circulates deep in Earth is heated by terrestrial heat flow under actions such as deep heat exchange and water–rock reactions to leach the salt, finally forming the highly mineralized geothermal water that uplifts out of the surface along faults and crops. The formation of the genetic model of geothermal water will provide a geological basis and technical support for the efficient development and utilization of geothermal resources in Zhongshan City and the coastal area of Southeast China.

The serious water pollution of coal mining subsidence areas in the eastern plains, greatly restricted the wetland self-purification and the formation of carbon sink functions. Therefore, this study starts from the causes of hydrops pollution in the coal mining subsidence areas in eastern plain, to elaborate the practical demands for collaborative remediation of pollution reduction and carbon sequestration. Meanwhile, the study provides a fascinating insight into the key processes and carbon sink formation mechanism of new formed wetland for pollution reduction and carbon sequestration, and estimate the potential of collaborative remediation, as well as put forward the adaptive managerial approach and crucial technical system for collaborative remediation. The results show that: ① Complex water supply, diverse pollution sources, and unstable ecosystem transformation are the primary causes of pollution in newborn wetlands in the eastern plain mining areas. The collaborative remediation of pollution reduction and carbon fixation can be achieved during the procedure of nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic matter degradation, as well as heavy metal detachment. The essential processes such as photosynthetic carbon fixation, carbon distribution, carbon deposition, and carbon loss, affect the carbon sink in the newly formed wetlands. ② The carbon pool stability of newly formed wetland shows significant relationships with plant root exudates, plant dead residues, wetland hydrological processes, active organic carbon components, and microbial community structure. ③ The existing carbon sink potential of the newly formed wetland in the eastern mining subsidence areas is about 4.43×106 t/a, which could reach 3.27×107 t/a up to 2060. After artificial restoration, the remediation capacity nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of newly formed wetlands can be elevated by 32.7 and 42.5 times, respectively. ④ Establishing the standing navigation mark of resources and protection, and the adaptive management strategies for synergistic and dynamic adjustment of pollution control and carbon fixation effects and schemes, is an important guarantee for implementing coordinated remediation of carbon sequestration and pollution reduction in the eastern coal mining subsidence plain. ⑤ In the future, it is necessary to gradually form a key technology system for enhancing microbial restoration of environmental materials, screening of advantageous vegetation and/or functional bacteria, and targeted proliferation of carbon fixing microorganisms, providing scientific support for ecological restoration, farmland protection, and high-quality development in coal mining subsidence areas of the eastern plain, China.

Digestive system cancer and COVID-19 significantly affect the digestive system, but the mechanism of interaction between COVID-19 and the digestive system cancers has not been fully elucidated. We downloaded the gene expression of COVID-19 and seven digestive system cancers (oral, esophageal, gastric, colorectal, hepatocellular, bile duct, pancreatic) from GEO and identified hub differentially expressed genes. Multiple verifications, diagnostic efficacy, prognostic analysis, functional enrichment and related transcription factors of hub genes were explored. We identified 23 common DEGs for subsequent analysis. CytoHubba identified nine hub genes (CCNA2, CCNB1, CDKN3, ECT2, KIF14, KIF20A, KIF4A, NEK2, TTK). TCGA and GEO data validated the expression and excellent diagnostic and prognostic ability of hub genes. Functional analysis revealed that the processes of cell division and the cell cycle were essential in COVID-19 and digestive system cancers. Furthermore, six related transcription factors (E2F1, E2F3, E2F4, MYC, TP53, YBX1) were involved in hub gene regulation. Via in vitro experiments, CCNA2, CCNB1, and MYC expression was verified in 25 colorectal cancer tissue pairs. Our study revealed the key biomarks and common pathogenesis of digestive system cancers and COVID-19. These may provide new ideas for further mechanistic research.

Vegetation restoration is an important indicator of ecosystem health in a mining area. Understanding the impact of vegetation restoration on the characteristics and assembly process of soil microbial community is very important to explore the resilience and self-sustaining mechanism of the restored ecosystem in a mining area. Therefore, this study uses MiSeq high-throughput sequencing and zero model to detect the composition of soil microbial communities, the characteristics of molecular ecological network, the key flora and its assembly mechanism in the shrubs (BL), coniferous forests (CF), broad-leaved forests (BF), mixed forests (MF), that have been reclaimed for 18 years in Antaibao open-pit mining dump, and the control plots (CK, undisturbed surrounding poplar forests that have continued to grow for more than 30 years) in Pingshuo, Loess Plateau. The results show that: ① The effects of different vegetation restoration types on the bacterial community α-diversity are significant (P < 0.05). Compared with CK, the Sobs and Shannon index of MF and CF have increased by 35.29%, 3.50% and 25.18%, 1.05%, respectively, whereas there is no significant difference in the α-diversity of fungal community among different vegetation restoration types. ② Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria dominate in the bacterial community, and the first two dominant phylum are significantly higher than CK, while the latter two are opposite (P < 0.05). Ascomycota and Basidiomycota are the dominant fungi in the fungal community. The former is significantly higher than CK, while the latter is opposite (P < 0.05). ③ The stochastic process dominates the construction process of the soil bacterial community. In addition to the MF soil fungal community dominated by deterministic process, other fungal communities are also dominated by a stochastic process. However, no matter which type of vegetation is restored, the dominant role of the randomness process on the assembly of the bacterial community is much higher than that of the fungal community. Moreover, Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria are key taxa of the bacterial network, while Mortierellales, Thelebolales, Chaetothyriales, and Hypocreales are the key taxa of the fungal network. Vegetation restoration affects microbial community diversity, BL, CF, and MF increase the stability of the bacterial network, and MF makes fungal network more complex. The soil bacterial assembly process is dominated by stochastic processes, except for MF, and the fungal assembly process is also dominated by stochastic processes.

Interactions between carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P), the vital indicators of ecological restoration, play an important role in signaling the health of ecosystems. Rapidly and accurately mapping foliar C, N, and P is essential for interpreting community structure, nutrient limitation, and primary production during ecosystem recovery. However, research on how to rapidly map C, N, and P in restored areas with mixed plant communities is limited. This study employed laser imaging, detection, and ranging (LiDAR) and hyperspectral data to extract spectral, textural, and height features of vegetation as well as vegetation indices and structural parameters. Causal band, multiple linear regression, and random forest models were developed and tested in a restored area in northern China. Important parameters were identified including (1), for C, red-edge bands, canopy height, and vegetation structure; for N, textural features, height percentile of 40–95%, and vegetation structure; for P, spectral features, height percentile of 80%, and 1 m foliage height diversity. (2) R2 was used to compare the accuracy of the three models as follows: R2 values for C were 0.07, 0.42, and 0.56, for N they were 0.20, 0.48, and 0.53, and for P they were 0.32, 0.39, and 0.44; the random forest model demonstrated the highest accuracy. (3) The accuracy of the concentration estimates could be ranked as C > N > P. (4) The inclusion of LiDAR features significantly improved the accuracy of the C concentration estimation, with increases of 22.20% and 47.30% in the multiple linear regression and random forest models, respectively, although the inclusion of LiDAR features did not notably enhance the accuracy of the N and P concentration estimates. Therefore, LiDAR and hyperspectral data can be used to effectively map C, N, and P concentrations in a mixed plant community in a restored area, revealing their heterogeneity in terms of species and spatial distribution. Future efforts should involve the use of hyperspectral data with additional bands and a more detailed classification of plant communities. The application of this information will be useful for analyzing C, N, and P limitations, and for planning for the maintenance of restored plant communities.

It is of great significance for scientific land use planning and ecological security protection to clarify the impacts of land use changes on an ecosystem’s health. Based on the dynamic evolution of land use and ecosystem health on the Northern Slope of Tianshan Mountain (NSTM) from 2000 to 2020, this study utilized the patch-generating land use simulation (PLUS) model, the Vitality–Organization–Resilience–Services (VORS) model, and the elasticity approach to assess the impacts of land use changes on ecosystem health under four different scenarios: Natural Development Scenario (ND), Farmland Conservation Priority Scenario (FP), Ecological Conservation Priority Scenario (EP), and Urban Development Priority Scenario (UD). The results indicate that (1) land use on the NSTM from 2000 to 2020 was predominantly characterized by barren land and grassland. (2) The overall level of ecosystem health on the NSTM was poor from 2000 to 2020 but showed a gradual improvement trend. (3) Ecosystem health levels vary greatly across scenarios. In general, ecosystem health improves under FP and EP scenarios but deteriorates significantly under ND and UD scenarios. The resilience of ecosystem health varies significantly across different land categories. In the future, optimizing the current land use pattern and refining the ecological protection policy are essential to enhance ecosystem health and services in the NSTM.

Staphylococcus aureus can survive within phagocytes. Indeed, we confirm in this study that approximately 10% of population persists in macrophages during S. aureus infection, while the rest are eliminated due to bacteriolysis, which is of particular interest to us. Herein, we observe that the bacteriolysis is an early event accompanied by macrophage death during S. aureus infection. Furthermore, the cell death is significantly accelerated following increased intracellular bacteriolysis, indicating that intracellular bacteriolysis induces cell death. Subsequently, we establish that the cell death is not apoptosis or pyroptosis, but AIM2-mediated necroptosis, accompanied by AIM2 inflammasome activation. This finding challenges the classical model that the cell death that accompanies inflammasome activation is always pyroptosis. In addition, we observe that the apoptosis-associated genes are highly inhibited during S. aureus infection. Finally, we establish in vivo that increased bacteriolysis significantly enhances S. aureus pathogenicity by promoting its dissemination to kidney and leading to an inflammatory cytokine storm in AIM2-mediated manner. Collectively, our data demonstrate that bacteriolysis is detrimental when triggered in excess and its side effect is mediated by AIM2. Meanwhile, we propose a potential immune manipulation strategy by which S. aureus sacrifices the minority to trigger a limited necroptosis, thereby releasing signals from dead cells to inhibit apoptosis and other anti-inflammatory cascades of live cells, eventually surviving within host cells and establishing infection.

Mining-induced ground deformation affects various plant communities in different ways. However, little is known about the effects of ground deformation on plant succession; no known quantitative approach currently exists to detecting the long-term effects. To address this issue, a plant community succession model based on cellular automata was developed. Plant succession over 30 years within a subsidence area in the Yungang mining area in China was simulated and compared under mining and non-mining scenarios, including under two sets of initial conditions (vegetated and bare). The normalized mean square error was applied to test the accuracy of the plant community succession model and to reveal the effects of ground deformation at the patch scale, which was 0.06–0.59 for simulated and observed plant patterns. Landscape indicators including contagion, patch cohesion, interspersion and juxtaposition, Shannon’s diversity, Shannon’s evenness, and aggregation indices were calculated and compared to reveal the effects of mine subsidence at the landscape scale. The results showed that the interspersion and juxtaposition, Shannon’s diversity, Shannon’s evenness, and aggregation indices were significantly influenced by ground deformation (P

Predicting net river fluxes is important to promote good water quality, maritime transport, and water exchange in estuaries. However, few studies have observed and evaluated net water fluxes to estuaries under complex conditions. This study used advanced survey techniques to obtain high-frequency monitoring data of cross-sectional current velocity, water level, and salinity in the Liao River Estuary (LRE) from 2017 to 2020. The net water flux into the sea was computed based on field data and the impacts of the rubber dam and sea ice cover on water flux and salinity processes were analyzed in the study region. In the Liao River Station (LRS), the fluctuations of water level and discharge were not obvious in winter due to the sea ice cover. There were significant seasonal and inter-annual changes in water fluxes due to variability in river discharge and tidal oscillations. The results also showed that the net water flux into the sea from the LRS was positive in wet season, and greater during ebb tides than flood tides. The net water fluxes in the normal and dry seasons were mostly negative due to the influence of tides, indicating that the annual runoff from the Liao River fluctuated greatly throughout the year. The water flux in the LRS was more suitable for representing water flux into the sea than the Liujianfang Hydrometric Station (LHS) in the LRE. The impacts of the rubber dam and Panshan Sluice on water fluxes to the sea were both significant. Lower salinity in the study area coincided mostly with height water fluxes to the sea and periods when the rubber dam was raised. This study results provide us new insights to measure the water flux into sea under the condition of ice cover in the tidal reach of estuary and the method can be used for water flux observation for other estuaries.

Ectopic hepatocellular carcinoma (EHCC) originates from the ectopic liver, which refers to a liver organ or tissue unrelated to surrounding tissues. EHCC is a rare disease that lacks specific clinical signs, and preoperative diagnosis is often difficult. In a 61-year-old male patient with positive hepatitis B virus antibody, abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan showed a large heterogenously enhancing mass both on arterial and portal venous phase imaging arising from the right adrenal gland. Similar enhancement features were seen on magnetic resonance imaging. Serum potassium, aldosterone, cortisol, and plasma metanephrines were normal. The tumor markers of serum alpha-fetoprotein and alpha-fetoprotein-L3% were increased to 23.69 ng/mL and 82.1%, respectively. Exploratory laparotomy was performed and operative findings showed that the retroperitoneal tumor was disconnected from the right kidney and the liver, but invaded the right adrenal gland. Immunohistochemical examination showed that Arginase-1 was positive expression, and the retroperitoneal tumor was finally diagnosed as EHCC. We report a rare EHCC with adrenal infiltration that is difficult to diagnose preoperatively and mimics a retroperitoneal tumor or adrenal tumor, and we present a review of the literature on EHCC case reports.

Transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) followed by intravesical therapy remains the most effective strategy for the management of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer worldwide. TURBT has two purposes: to remove all visible tumors and to obtain tumor specimens for histopathological analysis. However, the detection of flat and small malignant lesions under white-light cystoscopy is extremely challenging, and residual lesions are still the main reason for the high recurrence rate of bladder cancer. We hypothesized that visual enhancement of malignant lesions using targeted optical molecular imaging could potentially highlight residual tumors in the bladder during surgery, and near-infrared photoimmunotherapy (NIR-PIT) could kill exfoliated cancer cells and residual tumors. A mouse model of complete or partial bladder tumor resection was established under the guidance of optical molecular imaging mediated by indocyanine green and anti-CD47-Alexa Fluor 790, respectively. Once the tumor recurred, mouse model received repeated CD47-targeted NIR-PIT. After complete resection, there was no tumor recurrence. Furthermore, the growth rate of recurrent tumor decreased significantly after repeated NIR-PIT. Therefore, CD47-targeted optical molecular imaging can potentially assist urologists to detect and remove all tumors, and repeated NIR-PIT shows the potential to reduce tumor recurrence rates and inhibit the growth of recurrent tumor.

As a combination of a point encoder and a decoder, a point auto-encoder (AE) facilitates the reconstruction and segmentation of the point cloud representation of 3D objects. In this paper, first, we present a novel approach to point decoding, referred to here as bias-induced point decoding, which learns pointwise decoding of the same global feature by the layer-wise control of mapping biases while sharing mapping weights, instead of pointwise differentiating the input by concatenating local features or grids to the global feature as is done conventionally. Then, in-depth comparative analyses of 12 possible encoder-decoder combinations were conducted to identify the strengths and weaknesses in terms of accuracy and robustness in reconstruction and segmentation. We verified that a bias-induced point AE could be a viable alternative to conventional point AEs with its own strength and weakness. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed bias-induced point AE was demonstrated based on its application to the automatic transformation from partial-to-full 3D point cloud representations.

Abstract Background Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are increasingly utilized in industrial and biomedical fields, thereby demanding a more comprehensive knowledge about their safety. Current toxicological studies mainly focus on the unfavorable biological impact governed by the physicochemical properties of AuNPs, yet the consequences of their interplay with other bioactive compounds in biological systems are poorly understood. Results In this study, AuNPs with a size of 10 nm, the most favorable size for interaction with host cells, were given alone or in combination with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in mice or cultured hepatic cells. The results demonstrated that co exposure to AuNPs and LPS exacerbated fatal acute liver injury (ALI) in mice, although AuNPs are apparently non-toxic when administered alone. AuNPs do not enhance systemic or hepatic inflammation but synergize with LPS to upregulate hepatic apoptosis by augmenting macrophage-hepatocyte crosstalk. Mechanistically, AuNPs and LPS coordinate to upregulate NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2)-dependent reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and activate the intrinsic apoptotic pathway in hepatic macrophages. Extracellular ROS generation from macrophages is then augmented, thereby inducing calcium-dependent ROS generation and promoting apoptosis in hepatocytes. Furthermore, AuNPs and LPS upregulate scavenger receptor A expression in macrophages and thus increase AuNP uptake to mediate further apoptosis induction. Conclusions This study reveals a profound impact of AuNPs in aggravating the hepatotoxic effect of LPS by amplifying ROS-dependent crosstalk in hepatic macrophages and hepatocytes. Graphical Abstract

Mucus forms the first line of defence of the intestinal mucosa barrier, and mucin is its core component. Glutamine is a vital energy substance for goblet cells; it can promote mucus synthesis and alleviate damage to the intestinal mucus barrier after burn injury, but its mechanism is not fully understood. This study focused on the molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of glutamine on the synthesis and modification of mucin 2 (MUC2) by using animal and cellular models of burn sepsis. We found that anterior gradient-2 (AGR2) plays a key role in the posttranslational modification of MUC2. Oxidative stress induced by burn sepsis enhanced the S-glutathionylation of AGR2, interfered with the processing and modification of MUC2 precursors by AGR2 and blocked the synthesis of mature MUC2. Further studies revealed that NADPH, catalysed by glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), is a key molecule in inhibiting oxidative stress and regulating AGR2 activity. Glutamine promotes O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) modification of G6PD via the hexosamine pathway, which facilitates G6PD homodimer formation and increases NADPH synthesis, thereby inhibiting AGR2 S-glutathionylation and promoting MUC2 maturation, ultimately reducing damage to the intestinal mucus barrier after burn sepsis. Overall, we have demonstrated that the central mechanisms of glutamine in promoting MUC2 maturation and maintaining the intestinal mucus barrier are the enhancement of G6PD glycosylation and inhibition of AGR2 S-glutathionylation.

According to the guidelines, transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) followed by intravesical therapy remains the standard strategy for the management of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). However, even if patients receive standard strategy, the risk of postoperative recurrence and progression is high. From the clinical perspective, the standard strategy needs to be optimized and improved. Compared to conventional TURBT, the technique of en bloc resection of bladder tumor (ERBT) removes the tumor tissue in one piece, thus following the principles of cancer surgery. Meanwhile, the integrity and spatial orientation of tumor tissue is protected during the operation, which is helpful for pathologists to make accurate histopathological analysis. Then, urologists can make a postoperative individualized treatment plan based on the patient’s clinical characteristics and histopathological results. To date, there is no strong evidence that NMIBC patients treated with ERBT achieve better oncological prognosis, which indicates that ERBT alone does not yet improve patient outcomes. With the development of enhanced imaging technology and proteogenomics technology, en bloc resection combined with these technologies will make it possible to achieve precise diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer. In this review, the authors analyze the current existing shortcomings of en bloc resection and points out its future direction, in order to promote continuous optimization of the management strategy of bladder cancer.

For blade tip clearance measurement, the optical measurement method has the characteristics of high precision, anti-electromagnetic interference, and non-contact measurement. A dynamic and high-speed blade tip clearance measurement system based on time stretch dispersive Fourier transform with the optical comb is proposed and demonstrated. The dynamic experiments are designed to verify the accuracy of the system. The results show that the measuring speed is up to 17.6 MHz and the measurement errors are less than 1 μm under dynamic conditions. The experiments prove that the system has the advantages of high measurement accuracy, high speed, and good repeatability. It can provide a new tool for engine health monitoring.

In transient high-speed scenes such as chemical explosions, magnetic compression, electric explosion, and laser-driven flyer, the target object can accelerate from 0 to tens of km/s in a few nanoseconds. The time-stretched photon Doppler velocimetry uses the time-stretched interferometry to downscale the frequency of the Doppler shift signal in the optical domain, which breaks through the bandwidth limitations of photoelectric detectors and electrical digital to analog converters. A quasi-continuous time-stretched photon Doppler velocimetry (QT-PDV) is proposed in this paper, for the measurement of microsecond high-speed movement events. On the principle of hardware optical path, the velocity signal of the target object is encoded on multiple stretched chirp pulses, avoiding sampling interruptions and trigger condition limitations; in the signal demodulation methods, the error compensation algorithm is used to compensate for the frequency shift signal, which reduces the system error caused by the displacement and increases the effective recording time. This paper adopts the high-power nanosecond laser to drive the metal film to produce a high-speed target, where beat frequency was downscaled to 2.2 GHz from 4.4 GHz.

Biomass, a globally available resource, is a promising alternative feedstock for fossil fuels, especially considering the current energy crisis and pollution. Biomass-derived diols, such as 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan, 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)-tetrahydrofuran, and 1,6-hexanediol, are a significant class of monomers in the polyester industry. Therefore, the catalytic conversion of biomass to valuable diols has received extensive research attention in the field of biomass conversion and is a crucial factor in determining the development of the polyester industry. 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is an important biomass-derived compound with a C6-furanic framework. The hydroconversion of HMF into diols has the advantages of being simple to operate, inexpensive, environmentally friendly, safe, and reliable. Therefore, in the field of diol synthesis, this method is regarded as a promising approach with significant industrialization potential. This review summarizes recent advances in diol formation, discusses the roles of catalysts in the hydroconversion process, highlights the reaction mechanisms associated with the specificities of each active center, and provides an outlook on the challenges and opportunities associated with the research on biomass-derived diol synthesis.

This article describes a novel optical tweezer system which utilizes a magnetic fluid deformable mirror (MFDM) with a wavefront sensor (WFS) and controller to produce a curved Bessel beam for manipulating an optically trapped microparticle. The MFDM is proposed to control the wavefront phase of the laser beam since it offers the ability to produce a nearly perfect axicon in reflection. The working principle of the MFDM and its modeling and design processes are introduced. A decentralized control method is presented for the MFDM to generate the desired mirror surface shape, combing an axicon and an adjustable compensation phase profile that transforms the incident beam into a self-accelerating Bessel-like beam with curved trajectory. Using a prototype MFDM, an experimental optical tweezer system is set up to verify this optical micromanipulation method. The experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed technique for the manipulation of optically trapped microparticles.

Due to the high recurrence and progression rate of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer after transurethral resection of bladder tumor, some new optical imaging technologies have arisen as auxiliary imaging modes for white light cystoscopy to improve the detection rate of small or occult tumor lesions, such as photodynamic diagnosis, narrow-band imaging, and molecular imaging. White light cystoscopy is inadequate and imperfect for bladder cancer detection, and thus residual tumors or coexisting flat malignant lesions, especially carcinoma in situ, would be ignored during conventional resection. The bladder, a hollow organ with high compliance, provides an ideal closed operation darkroom for endoscopic molecular imaging free from interference of external light sources. Also, intravesical instillation of a molecular fluorescent tracer is simple and convenient before surgery through the urethra. Molecular fluorescent tracer has high sensitivity and specificity to tumor cells, and its mediated molecular imaging allows small or occult tumor lesion detection while minimizing false-positive results. Meanwhile, endoscopic molecular imaging provides a real-time and dynamic image during surgery, which helps urologists to perform high-quality and complete tumor resection through accurate judgment of tumor boundaries and depth of invasion. Photoimmunotherapy is a novel molecular targeted therapeutic pattern of photodynamic therapy that kills malignant cells selectively and minimizes the cytotoxicity to normal tissues. The combination of endoscopic molecular imaging and photoimmunotherapy used in initial treatment may avoid the need of repeat transurethral resection in strictly selected patients and improve oncological outcomes such as recurrence-free survival and overall survival after operation.

Hijacking host ubiquitin pathways is essential for the replication of diverse viruses. However, the role of deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs) in the interplay between viruses and the host is poorly characterized. Here, we demonstrate that specific DUBs are potent inhibitors of viral proteins from HIVs/simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVs) that are involved in viral evasion of host restriction factors and viral replication. In particular, we discovered that T cell-functioning ubiquitin-specific protease 8 (USP8) is a potent and specific inhibitor of HIV-1 virion infectivity factor (Vif)-mediated apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide-like 3 (APOBEC3)G (A3G) degradation. Ectopic expression of USP8 inhibited Vif-induced A3G degradation and suppressed wild-type HIV-1 infectivity even in the presence of Vif. In addition, specific DUBs repressed Vpr-, Vpu-, and Vpx-triggered host restriction factor degradation. Our study has revealed a previously unrecognized interplay between the host’s DUBs and viral replication. Enhancing the antiviral activity of DUBs therefore represents an attractive strategy against HIVs/SIVs.

Mining often generates large amounts of inefficiently used land. Clarifying the multifunctional characteristics of mined land and its spatial and temporal evolution is important to environmental protection and promoting the economic and social benefits of mined areas. This article analyzed the conditions of mined land in Jiawang, Jiangsu province, China. The InVEST model was used to assess landscape functions, including those related to water and soil conservation, productivity, habitats, carrying capacity, recreation, and carbon sequestration, to explore the multifunctional changes and trade-off–synergy relationships of the landscape from 2005 to 2020. The results show that (1) ecological restoration of the mined land significantly improved the regional landscape multifunctionality during the study period, with each function enhanced more obviously after restoration was completed in 2012, and (2) the trade-offs and synergistic relationships for landscape multifunctionality varied during the study period because the time series evolved; some trade-offs gradually transformed into synergistic relationships. This study establishes a set of effective systems useful in evaluating the multifunctionality of mined land, and initially evaluated the trade-off–synergistic relationships among eight landscape functions. This will provide ideas supporting the management and restoration of mined land and help in the formulation of spatial planning strategies for ecological restoration.

(1) Background: Nutritional support is one of the most important cornerstones in the management of patients with severe burns, but the carbohydrate-to-fat ratios in burn nutrition therapy remain highly controversial. In this study, we aimed to discuss the effects of different ratios of carbohydrate–fat through enteral nutrition on the metabolic changes and organ damage in burned rats. (2) Methods: Twenty-four burned rats were randomly divided into 5%, 10%, 20% and 30% fat nutritional groups. REE and body weight were measured individually for each rat daily. Then, 75% of REE was given in the first week after burns, and the full dose was given in the second week. Glucose tolerance of the rats was measured on days 1, 3, 7, 10 and 14. Blood biochemistry analysis and organ damage analysis were performed after 7 and 14 days of nutritional therapy, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and insulin content analysis were performed after 14 days. (3) Results: NMR spectra showed significant differences of glucose, lipid and amino acid metabolic pathways. The energy expenditure increased, and body weight decreased significantly after burn injury, with larger change in the 20%, 5% and 30% fat groups, and minimal change in the 10% fat group. The obvious changes in the level of plasma protein, glucose, lipids and insulin, as well as the organ damage, were in the 30%, 20% and 5% fat groups. In relative terms, the 10% fat group showed the least variation and was closest to normal group. (4) Conclusion: Lower fat intake is beneficial to maintaining metabolic stability and lessening organ damage after burns, but percentage of fat supply should not be less than 10% in burned rats.

Vegetation reconstruction and restoration is vital to the health of the mine land ecosystem. Different vegetations might change microbial community structure and function of soil, mediating the biogeochemical cycle and nutrition supply to the soil. To clarify the response of soil microbes to different vegetation reconstruction modes in the mining areas of the Loess Plateau, China, soil microbial community structures and functions were determined by the MiSeq high-throughput sequencing along with PICRUSt2 and FUNGuild tools. The fungal community richness was observed to be the highest in grassland soil and positively correlated with soil organic matter, total nitrogen, and nitrate-nitrogen. The bacterial and fungal community structures were similar in grassland and brushland areas, but were significantly differentiated in the coniferous and broadleaf forest, and the leading factors were soil pH and nitrate-nitrogen. Actinobacteriota, Proteobacteria, and Acidobacteriota were the dominant bacterial phyla under different vegetation reconstruction modes. The dominant phyla of fungi were Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Mortierellomycota. Different vegetation reconstruction modes did not affect the bacterial functional communities but shaped different functional groups of fungi. The grassland soil was dominated by saprotrophic fungi, while symbiotrophic fungi dominated the coniferous and broadleaf forests. The results suggested that shifts in vegetation reconstruction modes may alter the mining soil bacterial and fungal community structures and function. These findings improve the understanding of microbial ecology in the reclaimed mine soil and provide a reference for the ecological restoration of fragile mining ecosystems.

M2 macrophage polarization plays a crucial role in counteracting inflammatory disorders such as sepsis. Quercetin is a dietary flavonoid that possesses robust anti-inflammatory properties. However, it is not known whether quercetin takes effects by directly promoting M2 polarization in macrophages. In this study, we observed that quercetin enhanced macrophage M2 polarization and exerted anti-inflammatory activity in LPS stimulated murine peritoneal macrophages. Moreover, quercetin triggered TRPM2 dependent calcium influx and induced calcium dependent activation of AMPKα and ATF3, both were required to mediate M2 macrophage polarization and facilitate the anti-inflammatory activity by quercetin. In a murine endotoxaemia model, quercetin improved survival and ameliorated acute lung injury. Quercetin also induced AMPKα phosphorylation, upregulated ATF3 expression and promoted M2 macrophage polarization in model mice. In conclusion, our results suggest that quercetin promotes macrophage M2 polarization and confers protection of murine sepsis by inducing calcium dependent activation of the AMPK-ATF3 pathway.

In this paper, to achieve a high-precision temperature sensing, a modified anapole resonator based on the liquid–metal (Hg) with high Q-factor and large thermal-sensitivity properties is proposed. The high-Q resonance of the designed Hg-anapole resonator is excited by a simple microstrip coupling line with large electromagnetic energy coupling rate. The detailed numerical optimization and experimental demonstration are discussed, and the measured temperature sensitivity of 17.14 MHz/°C and figure-of-merit (FOM) of 0.3/°C are achieved based on the proposed Hg-anapole resonator. This kind of liquid high-Q metamaterial unit can be widely used to realize the high-precision sensing.

The microtopographic changes induced by coal mining subsidence caused a series of environmental problems such as soil erosion, and vegetation degradation in the mining area. However, the corresponding influence on surface vegetation and soil characteristic in different parts of the slope was completely different. To understand soil and vegetation degradation in coal mines and their future ecological restoration, it was crucial to investigate the origin. The relationship between soil microbial community diversity, structure, and taxa in the slope of subsidence area of different topographic locations in Daliuta coal mine, Shannxi, China, was determined by high throughput sequencing and molecular ecological network analysis. The relationship between the bacterial communities, environmental factors, and soil physicochemical properties was also investigated. We found a new topographic trait formed by surface subsidence to deteriorate the living environment of vegetation and the bacterial community. The vegetation coverage, soil water content, organic matter, and urease and dehydrogenase activities decreased significantly (p < 0.05). Although soil bacterial community diversity in the subsidence area did not differ significantly, the dominant taxa in different topographic locations varied. The molecular ecological networks representing bacterial community structure and function were also totally different. The networks in the middle and the top of the slope tend to be more complicated, and the interaction between species is obviously stronger than that of the bottom. However, the network in the bottom slope approached simplicity, and weak interaction, predominantly cooperative, was observed within and between modules. Meanwhile, the double stress of aridity and the lack of carbon source induced by subsidence also enhanced the capacity of the soil bacterial community to metabolize complex carbon sources at the bottom of the slope.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the safety and efficacy of overnight continuous saline bladder irrigation (CSBI) for patients who have received thulium laser en bloc resection of bladder tumor (TmLRBT) combined with immediate intravesical chemotherapy previously.MethodsFrom October 2014 to June 2018, 235 patients with newly diagnosed non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) were included in this retrospective study. All patients received intravesical instillation of pirarubicin immediately after TmLRBT. The patients were divided into two groups according to the duration of postoperative bladder irrigation with normal saline. After immediate intravesical chemotherapy, patients in group 1 received overnight CSBI, while patients in group 2 did not receive overnight CSBI. Data on the time of initial tumor recurrence, recurrence-free survival (RFS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates, and perioperative complications were collected and analyzed.ResultsOf 235 included patients (129 in group 1 and 106 in group 2), the median follow-up periods were 42 and 38 months, respectively. There were no significant differences in patients’ baseline characteristics between the two groups. The RFS rates of patients in group 1 were 90.7, 82.7, and 76.8% at the end of the first, third, and fifth years, while the corresponding RFS rates of patients in group 2 were 87.7, 78.9, and 73.3%, respectively. Four patients in group 1 and five patients in group 2 experienced tumor progression. No significant differences between the two groups were observed in the time of initial tumor recurrence, RFS, and PFS rates. Only Grade I complications occurred in the two groups, and no significant difference was reached between the two groups.ConclusionsFor patients with NMIBC who have previously received TmLRBT combined with immediate intravesical chemotherapy, overnight CSBI may not improve oncological outcomes and reduce perioperative complications.

Although transurethral resection of bladder tumor is the golden standard for the treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, this surgical procedure still has some serious drawbacks. For example, piecemeal resection of tumor tissue results in exfoliated tumor cells dissemination and implantation, and fragmented tumor specimens make it difficult for pathologists to accurately assess the pathological stage and histologic grade. En bloc tumor resection follows the basic principle of oncological surgery and provides an intact tumor specimen containing detrusor muscle for pathologists to make accurate histopathological assessment. However, there is no robust clinical evidence that en bloc tumor resection is superior to conventional resection in terms of oncological outcomes. Considering the high recurrence rate, small or occult tumor lesions may be overlooked and incomplete tumor resection may occur during white light cystoscopy-assisted transurethral resection. Molecular fluorescent tracers have the ability to bind tumor cells with high sensitivity and specificity. Optical molecular imaging mediated by it can detect small or occult malignant lesions while minimizing the occurrence of false-positive results. Meanwhile, optical molecular imaging can provide dynamic and real-time image guidance in the surgical procedure, which helps urologists to accurately determine the boundary and depth of tumor invasion, so as to perform complete and high-quality transurethral tumor resection. Integrating the advantages of these two technologies, optical molecular imaging-assisted en bloc tumor resection shows the potential to improve the positive detection rate of small or occult tumor lesions and the quality of transurethral resection, resulting in high recurrence-free and progression-free survival rates.

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are extensively utilized in biomedical fields. However, their potential interaction with host cells has not been comprehensively elucidated. In this study, we demonstrated a size-dependent effect of AuNPs to synergize with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in promoting neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) release in human peripheral neutrophils. Mechanistically, LPS was more efficient to contact with 10 nm AuNPs and promote their uptake in neutrophils compared to 40 and 100 nm AuNPs, leading to a synergistic upregulation of class A scavenger receptor (SRA) which mediated AuNPs uptake and triggered activation of extracellular regulated protein kinase (ERK) and p38. Blocking SRA or inhibiting ERK and p38 activation remarkably abrogated the effect of AuNPs and LPS to induce NETs formation. Further experiments demonstrated that AuNPs and LPS augmented the production of cytosolic reactive oxygen species (ROS) in p38 and ERK dependent manner, through upregulating and activating NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2). Accordingly, scavenging of ROS or inhibiting the NOX2 dampened NETs release induced by combined AuNPs and LPS treatment. AuNPs and LPS also synergized to upregulate reactive oxygen species modulator 1 (ROMO1) via activating ERK, thereby increasing mitochondrial ROS generation and promoting the release of NETs. In summary, we provide new evidences about the synergy of AuNPs and LPS to augment cellular responses in neutrophils, which implicates the need to consider the amplifying effect by pathogenic stimuli when utilizing nanomaterials in infectious or inflammatory conditions.

Remotely sensed images with low resolution can be effectively used for the large-area monitoring of vegetation restoration, but are unsuitable for accurate small-area monitoring. This limits researchers’ ability to study the composition of vegetation species and the biodiversity and ecosystem functions after ecological restoration. Therefore, this study uses LiDAR and hyperspectral data, develops a hierarchical classification method for classifying vegetation based on LiDAR technology, decision tree and a random forest classifier, and applies it to the eastern waste dump of the Heidaigou mining area in Inner Mongolia, China, which has been restored for around 15 years, to verify the effectiveness of the method. The results were as follows. (1) The intensity, height, and echo characteristics of LiDAR point cloud data and the spectral, vegetation indices, and texture features of hyperspectral image data effectively reflected the differences in vegetation species composition. (2) Vegetation indices had the highest contribution rate to the classification of vegetation species composition types, followed by height, while spectral data alone had a lower contribution rate. Therefore, it was necessary to screen the features of LiDAR and hyperspectral data before classifying vegetation. (3) The hierarchical classification method effectively distinguished the differences between trees (Populus spp., Pinus tabuliformis, Hippophae sp. (arbor), and Robinia pseudoacacia), shrubs (Amorpha fruticosa, Caragana microphylla + Hippophae sp. (shrub)), and grass species, with classification accuracy of 87.45% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.79, which was nearly 43% higher than an unsupervised classification and 10.7–22.7% higher than other supervised classification methods. In conclusion, the fusion of LiDAR and hyperspectral data can accurately and reliably estimate and classify vegetation structural parameters, and reveal the type, quantity, and diversity of vegetation, thus providing a sufficient basis for the assessment and improvement of vegetation after restoration.

Mining-induced ground fissures are the main type of geological disasters found on the Loess Plateau, China, and cause great impacts on the soil properties around ground fissures. However, little research has been conducted on the quantitative relationship between ground fissures and changes in soil properties. To address this, 40 ground fissures in the Yungang mining area, Datong City, Shanxi Province, China, were investigated, and changes in soil properties (soil organic matter, soil moisture, field capacity, bulk density, soil porosity, and grain compositions) were revealed by the difference in soil properties between the edge and contrast points around ground fissures. Redundancy analyses were used to illustrate the relationships between the value (Si_DV) and percentage (Si_DP) of the difference in soil properties between the edge and contrast points, as well as the ground fissures. The characteristics of ground fissures that had a significant correlation according to Pearson correlation analysis with Si_DP were selected and analyzed via multivariate linear fitting model, random forest model, and Back Propagation (BP) neural network model, respectively. Results show that soil organic matter, soil moisture content, bulk density, field capacity, and the content of clay at the edge points were significantly less than those at the contrast points; conversely, soil porosity at the edge points was significantly greater. The average percentage of the difference between the edge points and contrast points of ground fissures in these six properties was 15.27%, while soil moisture content showed the greatest change (20.65%). The Si_DP was significantly correlated with the width, slope, and vegetation coverage of ground fissures; however, the vegetation coverage was the determining factor. BP neural network model had the greatest performance in revealing the relationships between ground fissures and changes in soil properties. The model for soil organic matter had the highest accuracy (R2 = 0.89), and all others were above 0.5. This research provides insights into the quantitative relationship between ground fissures and their impacts on soil physical properties, which can be used in conjunction with remote sensing images to rapidly assess soil erosion risks caused by mining on a large scale, given that soil physical properties are closely related to topsoil stability.

Abstract Background Autophagy regulation through exogenous materials has aroused intensive attention to develop treatment protocols according to diverse human diseases. However, to the best of our knowledge, few examples have been reported to selectively control autophagy process and ultimately achieve efficient therapeutic potential. Results In this study, monolayers of poly (acryloyl-l, d and racemic valine) (l-PAV-AuNPs, d-PAV-AuNPs and l/d-PAV-AuNPs) chiral molecules were anchored on the surfaces of gold nanoparticles (PAV-AuNPs), and the subsequent chirality-selective effects on autophagy activation were thoroughly studied. The cytotoxicity induced by PAV-AuNPs towards MDA-MB-231 cells (Breast cancer cells) was achieved mainly through autophagy and showed chirality-dependent, with d-PAV-AuNPs exhibiting high autophagy-inducing activity in vitro and in vivo. In contrast, the PAV-AuNPs exhibited autophagy inactivation for normal cells, e.g., 3T3 fibroblasts and HBL-100 cells. The chirality-selective autophagy activation effect in MDA-MB-231 cells was likely attributed to the chirality-variant ROS generation, cellular uptake and their continuous autophagy stimulus. Furthermore, the intratumoral injection of d-PAV-AuNPs could largely suppress the tumor growth but exhibit negligible toxicity in vivo. Conclusions As the first exploration on stereospecific NPs for autophagy induction, this work not only substantiates that chiral polymer coated NPs can selective induce autophagy-specific in cancer cells and achieve a high tumor eradication efficiency in vivo, but also opens up a new direction in discovering unprecedented stereospecific nanoagents for autophagy-associated tumor treatment.

Deep learning approaches to estimating full 3D orientations of objects, in addition to object classes, are limited in their accuracies, due to the difficulty in learning the continuous nature of three-axis orientation variations by regression or classification with sufficient generalization. This paper presents a novel progressive deep learning framework, herein referred to as 3D POCO Net, that offers high accuracy in estimating orientations about three rotational axes yet with efficiency in network complexity. The proposed 3D POCO Net is configured, using four PointNet-based networks for independently representing the object class and three individual axes of rotations. The four independent networks are linked by in-between association subnetworks that are trained to progressively map the global features learned by individual networks one after another for fine-tuning the independent networks. In 3D POCO Net, high accuracy is achieved by combining a high precision classification based on a large number of orientation classes with a regression based on a weighted sum of classification outputs, while high efficiency is maintained by a progressive framework by which a large number of orientation classes are grouped into independent networks linked by association subnetworks. We implemented 3D POCO Net for full three-axis orientation variations and trained it with about 146 million orientation variations augmented from the ModelNet10 dataset. The testing results show that we can achieve an orientation regression error of about 2.5° with about 90% accuracy in object classification for general three-axis orientation estimation and object classification. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a pre-trained 3D POCO Net can serve as an orientation representation platform based on which orientations as well as object classes of partial point clouds from occluded objects are learned in the form of transfer learning.

Abstract Background Neospora caninum is an intracellular parasite that causes significant economic losses in cattle industry. Understanding the host resistance mechanisms in the innate immune response to neosporosis could facilitate the exploration of approaches for controlling N. caninum infection. The NLR inflammasome is a multiprotein platform in the cell cytoplasm and plays critical roles in the host response against microbes. Methods Neospora caninum-infected wild-type (WT) macrophages and Nlrp3 −/− macrophages, and inhibitory approaches were used to investigate inflammasome activation and its role in N. caninum infection. Inflammasome RT Profiler PCR Arrays were used to identify the primary genes involved in N. caninum infection. The expression of the sensor protein NLRP3, processing of caspase-1, secretion of IL-1β and cell death were detected. Neospora caninum replication in macrophages was also assessed. Results Many NLR molecules participated in the recognition of N. caninum, especially the sensor protein NLRP3, and further study revealed that the NLRP3 distribution became punctate in the cell cytoplasm, which facilitated inflammasome activation. Inflammasome activation-mediated caspase-1 processing and IL-1β cleavage in response to N. caninum infection were observed and were correlated with the time of infection and number of infecting parasites. LDH-related cell death was also observed, and this death was regarded as beneficial for the clearance of N. caninum. Treatment of N. caninum-infected macrophages with caspase-1, pan-caspase and NLRP3 inhibitors led to the impaired release of active IL-1β and a failure to restrict parasite replication. And Neospora caninum infected peritoneal macrophages from Nlrp3-deficient mice displayed greatly decreased release of active IL-1β and the failure of caspase-1 cleavage. Conclusions The NLRP3 inflammasome can be activated in N. caninum-infected macrophages, and plays a protective role in the host response to control N. caninum.

In order to solve the problem of high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of the sharing signal for radar-communication integration based on quadrature amplitude modulation-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing modulation, according to the theoretical model of the sharing signal, the authors analyse the PAPR, subsequently employing the active constellation extension algorithm to suppress the PAPR of the sharing signal. The simulation results show that, with designing the number of iterations reasonably, the active constellation expansion algorithm will effectively reduce the PAPR of the sharing signal. Meanwhile, for radar sub-systems, the target detection performance and the transmitter power are less affected. For communication sub-systems, the error vector magnitude is small, and the bit error rate of the system is comparable to the original signal.

Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) spp. are important nosocomial and community-acquired opportunistic pathogens, which cause various infections. We observed that K. pneumoniae strain K7 abruptly mutates to rough-type phage-resistant phenotype upon treatment with phage GH-K3. In the present study, the rough-type phage-resistant mutant named K7RR showed much lower virulence than K7. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) analysis indicated that WcaJ and two undefined glycosyltransferases (GTs)- named GT-1, GT-2- were found to be down-regulated drastically in K7RR as compared to K7 strain. GT-1, GT-2, and wcaJ are all located in the gene cluster of capsular polysaccharide (CPS). Upon deletion, even of single component, of GT-1, GT-2, and wcaJ resulted clearly in significant decline of CPS synthesis with concomitant development of GH-K3 resistance and decline of virulence of K. pneumoniae, indicating that all these three GTs are more likely involved in maintenance of phage sensitivity and bacterial virulence. Additionally, K7RR and GT-deficient strains were found sensitive to endocytosis of macrophages. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway of macrophages was significantly activated by K7RR and GT-deficient strains comparing with that of K7. Interestingly, in the presence of macromolecular CPS residues (>250 KD), K7(ΔGT-1) and K7(ΔwcaJ) could still be bounded by GH-K3, though with a modest adsorption efficiency, and showed minor virulence, suggesting that the CPS residues accumulated upon deletion of GT-1 or wcaJ did retain phage binding sites as well maintain mild virulence. In brief, our study defines, for the first time, the potential roles of GT-1, GT-2, and WcaJ in K. pneumoniae in bacterial virulence and generation of rough-type mutation under the pressure of bacteriophage.

Forest monitoring is critical to the management and successful evaluation of ecological restoration in mined areas. However, in the past, available monitoring has mainly focused on traditional parameters and lacked estimation of the spatial structural parameters (SSPs) of forests. The SSPs are important indicators of forest health and resilience. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of estimating the SSPs of restored forest in semi-arid mine dumps using Worldview-2 imagery. We used the random forest to extract the dominant feature factor subset; then, a regression model and mind evolutionary algorithm-back propagation (MEA-BP) neural network model were established to estimate the forest SSP. The results show that the textural features found using 3 × 3 window have a relatively high importance score in the random forest model. This indicates that the 3 × 3 texture factors have a relatively strong ability to explain the restored forest SSPs when compared with spectral factors. The optimal regression model has an R2 of 0.6174 and an MSRE of 0.1001. The optimal MEA-BP neural network model has an R2 of 0.6975 and an MSRE of 0.0906, which shows that the MEA-BP neural network has greater accuracy than the regression model. The estimation shows that the tree–shrub–grass mode with an average of 0.7351 has the highest SSP, irrespective of the restoration age. In addition, the SSP of each forest configuration type increases with the increase in restoration age except for the single grass configuration. The increase range of SSP across all modes was 0.0047–0.1471 after more than ten years of restoration. In conclusion, the spatial structure of a mixed forest mode is relatively complex. Application cases show that Worldview-2 imagery and the MEA-BP neural network method can support the effective evaluation of the spatial structure of restored forest in semi-arid mine dumps.

Microorganisms are the driving force behind the circulation and transformation of the soil substance. The development of soil bacterial communities is critical for ecosystem restoration and evolution. In the Loess Plateau, coal mining activities have aggravated the deterioration of the fragile local ecological environment. The adaptive development of soil bacterial communities in response to different ecological processes caused by coal mining activities was explored through high-throughput sequencing technology and an ecological network analysis of the mining subsidence area of the Daliuta Coal Mine and vegetation rehabilitation area of the Heidaigou Coal Mine in the Loess Plateau. The results showed that while mining subsidence was inhibited, vegetation rehabilitation promoted the soil physicochemical properties. Soil organic matter, available phosphorus and available potassium in the subsidence area decreased significantly (P < 0.05), while soil organic matter, soil water, pH and EC in the vegetation rehabilitation area increased significantly (P < 0.05). The diversity index in the subsidence area decreased by about 20%, while that in the vegetation rehabilitation area increased by 63%. Mining subsidence and vegetation rehabilitation had a distinct influence on the molecular ecological networks of the soil bacteria, which tended to be more complex after the mining subsidence, and the number of connections in the network increased otherwise significantly enhanced interactive relationships. After the vegetation rehabilitation, the number of modules in the ecological network increased, but the contents of modules tended to be simpler. Soil bacterial communities adapted to the changes by changing the relationships between bacteria in response to different ecological processes. This study provides new insights into the monitoring and abatement of the damaged ecological environment in mines.