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Abstract A diverse antibody repertoire is essential for humoral immunity. Antibody diversification requires the introduction of deoxyuridine (dU) mutations within immunoglobulin genes to initiate somatic hypermutation (SHM) and class switch recombination (CSR). dUs are normally recognized and excised by the base excision repair (BER) protein uracil-DNA glycosylase 2 (UNG2). However, FAM72A downregulates UNG2 permitting dUs to persist and trigger SHM and CSR. How FAM72A promotes UNG2 degradation is unknown. Here, we show that FAM72A recruits a C-terminal to LisH (CTLH) E3 ligase complex to target UNG2 for proteasomal degradation. Deficiency in CTLH complex components result in elevated UNG2 and reduced SHM and CSR. Cryo-EM structural analysis reveals FAM72A directly binds to MKLN1 within the CTLH complex to recruit and ubiquitinate UNG2. Our study further suggests that FAM72A hijacks the CTLH complex to promote mutagenesis in cancer. These findings show that FAM72A is an E3 ligase substrate adaptor critical for humoral immunity and cancer development.

Abstract The demand for larger and lighter mechanisms for next-generation space missions necessitates using deployable structures. High-strain fiber polymer composites show considerable promise for such applications due to their exceptional strength-to-weight ratio, manufacturing versatility, packaging efficiency, and capacity for self-deployment using stored strain energy. However, a significant challenge in using composite deployable structures for space applications arises from the unavoidable extended stowage periods before they are deployed into their operational configuration in orbit. During the stowage period, the polymers within the composites experience material degradation due to their inherent viscoelastic and/or plastic properties, causing stress relaxation and accumulation of plastic strains, thereby reducing the deployment capability and resulting in issues related to recovery accuracy. This paper aims to give a state-of-the-art review of recent advances in the design, modeling, and manufacturing of high-strain composites for deployable structures in space applications, emphasizing the long-term stowage effects. This review is intended to initiate discussion of future research to enable efficient, robust, and accurate design of composite deployable structures that account for the enduring challenges posed by long-term stowage effects.

Abstract Burley tobacco, a chlorophyll‐deficient mutant with impaired nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), generally requires three to five times more nitrogen fertilization than flue‐cured tobacco to achieve a comparable yield, which generates serious environmental pollution and negatively affects human health. Therefore, exploring the mechanisms underlying NUE is an effective measure to reduce environmental pollution and an essential direction for burley tobacco plant improvement. Physiological and genetic factors affecting tobacco NUE were identified using two tobacco genotypes with contrasting NUE in hydroponic experiments. Nitrogen use inefficient genotype (TN90) had lower nitrogen uptake and transport efficiencies, reduced leaf and root biomass, lower nitrogen assimilation and photosynthesis capacity, and lower nitrogen remobilization ability than the nitrogen use efficient genotype (K326). Transcriptomic analysis revealed that genes associated with photosynthesis, carbon fixation, and nitrogen metabolism are implicated in NUE. Three nitrate transporter genes in the leaves (NPF2.11, NPF2.13, and NPF3.1) and three nitrate transporter genes (NPF6.3, NRT2.1, and NRT2.4) in roots were down‐regulated by nitrogen starvation, all of which showed lower expression in TN90 than in K326. In addition, the protein–protein interaction (PPI) network diagram identified eight key genes (TPIP1, GAPB, HEMB, PGK3, PSBO, PSBP2, PSAG, and GLN2) that may affect NUE. Less advantageous changes in nitrogen uptake, nitrogen assimilation in combination with nitrogen remobilization, and maintenance of photosynthesis in response to nitrogen deficiency led to a lower NUE in TN90. The key genes (TPIP1, GAPB, PGK3, PSBO, PSBP2, PSAG, and GLN2) were associated with improving photosynthesis and nitrogen metabolism in tobacco plants grown under N‐deficient conditions.

Background: To date, a large number of studies have shown correlations between environmental variables and pediatric asthma in short-term lag time. However, their results are inconsistent. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the short-term impact of environmental variables on daily pediatric asthma patients’ visits (DPAPV) in Hangzhou, China, and find the most important risk factor. Methods: Generalized additive distribution lag non-linear model (GAM-DLNM) was applied to explore the effect of environmental variables on DPAPV in single- and multi-variable models in Hangzhou, China from 2014 to 2021. Then, risk factors of pediatric asthma were selected (p

Abstract Exploring vegetation dynamics in arid areas and their responses to different natural and anthropogenic factors is critical for understanding ecosystems. Based on the monthly MOD13Q1 (250 m) remote sensing data from 2000 to 2019, this study analyzed spatio-temporal changes in vegetation cover in the Aksu River Basin and predicted future change trends using one-dimensional linear regression, the Mann–Kendall test, and the Hurst index. Quantitative assessment of the magnitude of anthropogenic and natural drivers was performed using the Geodetector model. Eleven natural and anthropogenic factors were quantified and analyzed within five time periods. The influence of the driving factors on the changes in the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) in each period was calculated and analyzed. Four main results were found. (1) The overall vegetation cover in the region significantly grew from 2000 to 2019. The vegetation cover changes were dominated by expected future improvements, with a Hurst index average of 0.45. (2) Land use type, soil moisture, surface temperature, and potential vapor dispersion were the main drivers of NDVI changes, with annual average q-values above 0.2. (3) The driving effect of two-factor interactions was significantly greater than that of single factors, especially land use type interacts with other factors to a greater extent on vegetation cover. (4) The magnitude of the interaction between soil moisture and potential vapor dispersion and the magnitude of the interaction between anthropogenic factors and other factors showed an obvious increasing trend. Current soil moisture and human activities had a positive influence on the growth of vegetation in the area. The findings of this study are important for ecological monitoring and security as well as land desertification control.

Societal Impact Statement With the rapid development of modern agriculture and its reliance on high‐yielding and genetically uniform varieties, many traditional agricultural systems are gradually being abandoned. The genetic diversity contained in landraces is crucial for modern eco‐agriculture. An indicator evaluation model combined with machine learning could help to locate and conserve these existing traditional agricultural systems, called agricultural heritage systems (AHS). Here, this method provided the first map of potential areas of Tea‐AHS in China. These results could help policymakers to confirm priorities and rationally allocate conservation resources based on the distribution status and endangerment of AHS. This could also help local people to receive additional support for the transfer of germplasm resources and indigenous knowledge. Summary Modern agriculture is overly dependent on high‐yielding and genetically uniform varieties, whereas traditional agricultural systems contain a large number of genetically diverse landraces and the indigenous knowledge associated with them. We call traditional agricultural systems that survive to the present‐day agricultural heritage systems (AHS). Under the impact of modernization, AHS are gradually disappearing. Identifying these systems is the first step towards conserving them, but the potential areas of AHS related to agro‐biodiversity are not yet clear. Using Chinese tea as an example, this paper provides the first universal method for identifying potential areas of AHS based on agro‐biodiversity and the first map of potential areas of Tea‐AHS in China. The map is constructed based on the maximum entropy model (Maxent) of tea germplasm resources and related indicator functions and has been validated by existing Tea‐AHS in China. The study identified 54 potential areas of Tea‐AHS. These potential areas are mainly concentrated in the southern region, in 15 provinces, including Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Hubei, and Hunan. Mangshi, Qimen County, and Chaisang District are among the high potential areas for Tea‐AHS and are the next priority for exploration and conservation work. We have verified the validity of the proposed method, which can help conserve the germplasm resources and traditional wisdom in the global AHS in a timely manner, and contribute to the development of modern and eco‐agriculture.

Background: The application of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) therapy to acute leukemia has been intensively investigated. However, the bibliometric analysis in this field has not been performed. This bibliometric study aimed to comprehensively analyze the research trends and active areas of TCM therapy for acute leukemia from 2000 to 2023.Methods: We searched articles and reviews published between 2000 and 2023 that discussed TCM in acute leukemia from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). Knowledge mapping and bibliometric analysis were conducted using VOSviewer, CiteSpace software, and R-bibliometrix.Results: A total of 1,099 articles were included, with China, the United States, and Korea contributing the most papers. Most papers were published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology. Meanwhile, China saw a steady increase in the number of publications. The three leading institutions that made outstanding contributions were the China Medical University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. Efferth Thomas, Liu Wei, and Liu Jie were the top three productive authors, with Efferth T receiving the most co-citations. The most frequently cited reference was Shen ZX (1997). In the analysis of keywords co-occurrence, ‘survival,’ ‘risk factors,’ ‘nanoparticles,’ and ‘metabolism’ are the active research topics.Conclusion: This bibliometric study provides researchers with a comprehensive overview and significant value in understanding the development of TCM in acute leukemia treatment.

Study region: The Yarlung Zangbo Basin (YZB) on the Tibetan Plateau, the world's highest river basin, features a significant cryosphere with glaciers and seasonal snow cover crucial to its hydrology. The study focuses on the region between the Nuxia and Dexing river gauging stations, where glaciers cover 15.4 % of the area. Study focus: The research quantifies the contributions of snow melt (SM) runoff, glacier melt (GM) runoff, rainfall runoff, and baseflow to the total runoff in the YZB. The Spatial Processes in Hydrology (SPHY) model, enhanced with a cryosphere module, was utilized, calibrated with runoff data from the Nuxia station and evapotranspiration data from 2003 to 2014. New hydrological insights: The study found rainfall runoff to be the primary contributor to annual runoff (66.3 %), followed by snow melt runoff (19.7 %), glacier melt runoff (6.2 %), and baseflow (7.8 %). Snow melt runoff is dominant in early spring, while baseflow prevails in winter. Glacier melt runoff contributes directly to river flow (90.1 %) and replenishes groundwater (9.9 %), which then drains as baseflow. In glacier-rich areas, percolated glacier meltwater significantly recharges groundwater, underscoring its vital role in sustaining river flow in the YZB. This research enhances the understanding of hydrological processes in large alpine river basins and highlights the crucial role of glacier and snow melt in maintaining the Tibetan Plateau's water resources.

Nowadays microplastics have become a significant environmental concern, impacting both freshwater and marine ecosystems. In response to this issue, extensive research has been conducted to explore methods for separating microplastics from water. One area of investigation involves the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models to study hydrocyclones and their intricate flow patterns. In this study, CFD was systematically used to examine various hydrocyclone designs with different geometrical parameters, including the ratios of cylindrical diameter to underflow diameter and overflow diameter, the cone to cylindrical height ratio, and the inlet angle. The efficiency of these hydrocyclones has been evaluated based on key performance metrics, including microplastics recovery percentage, water split percentage, and pressure drop. The results of this study have revealed noteworthy findings. Moreover, statistical analysis, specifically the analysis of variance (ANOVA), was employed to determine the significance of various geometric parameters on microplastics separation within the hydrocyclone. As a result of this comprehensive investigation, an optimized hydrocyclone design was proposed. This optimized hydrocyclone featured an underflow diameter to diameter of the cylindrical ratio of 0.264, an overflow diameter to diameter of the cylindrical ratio of 0.3, a cone to cylindrical height ratio of 13.22:70.78, and a tangential inlet. This configuration achieved a remarkable 76% microplastics recovery, a 52% water split, and a pressure drop of 82,340 Pa.

BackgroundThe cochineal cactus (Opuntia cochenillifera), notable for its substantial agricultural and industrial applications, predominantly undergoes clonal reproduction, which presents significant challenges in breeding and germplasm innovation. Recent developments in mitochondrial genome engineering offer promising avenues for introducing heritable mutations, potentially facilitating selective sexual reproduction through the creation of cytoplasmic male sterile genotypes. However, the lack of comprehensive mitochondrial genome information for Opuntia species hinders these efforts. Here, we intended to sequence and characterize its mitochondrial genome to maximize the potential of its genomes for evolutionary studies, molecular breeding, and molecular marker developments.ResultsWe sequenced the total DNA of the O. cochenillifera using DNBSEQ and Nanopore platforms. The mitochondrial genome was then assembled using a hybrid assembly strategy using Unicycler software. We found that the mitochondrial genome of O. cochenillifera has a length of 1,156,235 bp, a GC content of 43.06%, and contains 54 unique protein-coding genes and 346 simple repeats. Comparative genomic analysis revealed 48 homologous fragments shared between mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes, with a total length of 47,935 bp. Additionally, the comparison of mitochondrial genomes from four Cactaceae species highlighted their dynamic nature and frequent mitogenomic reorganizations.ConclusionOur study provides a new perspective on the evolution of the organelle genome and its potential application in genetic breeding. These findings offer valuable insights into the mitochondrial genetics of Cactaceae, potentially facilitating future research and breeding programs aimed at enhancing the genetic diversity and adaptability of O. cochenillifera by leveraging its unique mitochondrial genome characteristics.

Abstract Accumulated evidence supports the beneficial role of inulin in alleviating metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) by modulating gut microbiota. However, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Here we used high-fat diet (HFD)-induced laying hen model of MAFLD to investigate the effect of inulin on ameliorating MAFLD and found that the inulin-enriched Megamonas genus was inversely correlated with hepatic steatosis-related parameters. Oral administration of a newly isolated commensal bacterium by culturomics, M. funiformis CML154, to HFD-fed hens and mice ameliorated MAFLD, changed liver gene expression profiles, and increased intestinal propionate concentration. Further evidence demonstrated that the anti-MAFLD effect of M. funiformis CML154 is attributed to propionate-mediated activation of the APN-AMPK-PPARα signaling pathway, thereby inhibiting fatty acid de novo synthesis and promoting β-oxidation. These findings establish the causal relationships among inulin, M. funiformis, and MAFLD, and suggest that M. funiformis CML154 is a probiotic candidate for preventative or therapeutic intervention of MAFLD.

The breeding of high-quality beef cattle breeds is crucial for the development of animal husbandry, and whole-genome resequencing is widely applicated in the field of molecular breeding. Advantages in growth and reproductive traits exist in Pinan cattle compared with other cattle breeds, but there is limited research on its genomic mechanism. Using whole-genome resequencing, the genetic structure and genomic selection signatures in Pinan cattle were investigated in this study. Phylogenetic, cluster, and admixture analysis results indicated that Pinan cattle have a closer genetic relationship with Kholmogory cattle and China north cattle breeds. Through a selective sweep strategy, 207 and 54 candidate genes related to growth and reproduction and immunity, respectively, were identified in the Pinan cattle population. Given the crucial role of the glutamate–cysteine ligase catalytic (GCLC) gene in muscle antioxidative defense, the high frequency of allele T of the GCLC c.429 C>T locus in the Pinan cattle population might partially contribute to the advantages of Pinan cattle in growth performance. This study laid the foundation for the genetic improvement in Chinese local beef cattle and provide background for the studies on the growth and development of Pinan cattle.

Abstract Background Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) is evidenced to be effective in the prevention and alleviation of metabolic disorders, including obesity, diabetes and fatty liver disease. However, the role of GBE in alleviating fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome (FLHS) in laying hens and the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Here, we investigated the effects of GBE on relieving FLHS with an emphasis on the modulatory role of GBE in chicken gut microbiota. Results The results showed that GBE treatment ameliorated biochemical blood indicators in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced FLHS laying hen model by decreasing the levels of TG, TC, ALT and ALP. The lipid accumulation and pathological score of liver were also relieved after GBE treatment. Moreover, GBE treatment enhanced the antioxidant activity of liver and serum by increasing GSH, SOD, T-AOC, GSH-PX and reducing MDA, and downregulated the expression of genes related to lipid synthesis (FAS, LXRα, GPAT1, PPARγ and ChREBP1) and inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, TLR4 and NF-κB) in the liver. Microbial profiling analysis revealed that GBE treatment reshaped the HFD-perturbed gut microbiota, particularly elevated the abundance of Megasphaera in the cecum. Meanwhile, targeted metabolomic analysis of SCFAs revealed that GBE treatment significantly promoted the production of total SCFAs, acetate and propionate, which were positively correlated with the GBE-enriched gut microbiota. Finally, we confirmed that the GBE-altered gut microbiota was sufficient to alleviate FLHS by fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). Conclusions We provided evidence that GBE alleviated FLHS in HFD-induced laying hens through reshaping the composition of gut microbiota. Our findings shed light on mechanism underlying the anti-FLHS efficacy of GBE and lay foundations for future use of GBE as additive to prevent and control FLHS in laying hen industry.

Abstract Background Alginate oligosaccharide (AOS) holds great potential as a novel feed supplement in farm animals. However, the effects of AOS on chicken health and the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. This study aimed to optimize the enzymatic preparation of AOS by using bacterial alginate lyases expressed in yeast, investigate the effects of the prepared AOS on the growth performance and gut health of broiler chickens, and reveal the underlying mechanisms. Results Five alginate lyases from bacteria were cloned into Pichia pastoris GS115 and the alginate lyase PDE9 was expressed at relatively high yield, activity and stability in P. pastoris. Animal trials were carried out using 320 1-day-old male Arbor Acres broilers (four groups; 8 replicates/group × 10 chicks/replicate) receiving either a basal diet or the same diet supplemented with 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg PDE9-prepared AOS for 42 d. The results showed that dietary supplementation of 200 mg/kg AOS displayed the highest activity in promoting the birds’ ADG and ADFI (P

Abstract Thermal conductivity is a basic parameter of soil heat transferring, playing an important role in many fields including groundwater withdrawal, ground source heat pump, and heat storage in soils. However, it usually requires a lot of time and efforts to obtain soil thermal conductivity. To conveniently obtain accurate soil thermal conductivity, a new model describes the relationship between soil thermal conductivity (λ) and degree of saturation (S r ) was proposed in this study. Dry soil thermal conductivity (λ dry ) and saturated soil thermal conductivity (λ sat ) were described using a linear expression and a geometric mean model, respectively. A quadratic function with one constant was added to calculate λ beyond the lower λ dry and upper λ sat limit conditions. The proposed model is compared with five other frequently used models and measured data for 51 soil samples ranging from sand to silty clay loam. Results show that the proposed model match the measured data well. The proposed model can be used to determine soil thermal conductivity of a variety of soil textures over a wide range of water content.

Abstract Mantle‐derived volatile degassing lacks quantitative evaluation in continental regions without active magmatism, such as the Tibetan Plateau. Ten new gas abundance and helium isotope data points combined with 286 hydrothermal volatile literature data points in India–Asia continental collision settings demonstrate widespread mantle‐derived volatiles across the thick (∼70 km) crust. The mantle‐derived 3He is best explained by direct mantle volatile input from subcontinental lithospheric mantle (1%–36.5%) or the asthenospheric wedge (1%–27.8%) instead of fossil residual magmatic fluids or Quaternary mantle‐derived melt intrusion into crustal depth. Mantle‐derived 3He is transported from the deep mantle to the surface at an upflow rate of 30–11,700 mm/year based on a newly developed steady‐state one‐dimensional flow model, corresponding to a mantle‐derived 3He flux of 17 to 1.5 × 107 atoms m−2 s−1 (81.7%–99.4% of the total 3He flux) and a mantle‐derived 4He flux from 2.0 × 106 to 1.8 × 1012 atoms m−2 s−1 (1.4%–36.5% of the total 4He flux). The mantle‐derived helium fluxes in the study area are comparable to those of other nonvolcanic hydrothermal systems in the tectonically active regions but lower than those of volcanic fields. The helium transit time ranges from 5.3 ka to 2.3 Ma, indicating that the spatial pattern of 3He/4He ratios in the India‐Asia continental collision settings can provide a snapshot of the state of the Indian mantle lithosphere between those revealed by potassic‐rich mafic rocks (25–8 Ma) and seismic methods (present).

Abstract BackgroundAlthough evidence-based medicine proposes personalized care that considers the best evidence, it still fails to address personal treatment in many real clinical scenarios where the complexity of the situation makes none of the available evidence applicable. “Medicine-based evidence” (MBE), in which big data and machine learning techniques are embraced to derive treatment responses from appropriately matched patients in real-world clinical practice, was proposed. However, many challenges remain in translating this conceptual framework into practice. ObjectiveThis study aimed to technically translate the MBE conceptual framework into practice and evaluate its performance in providing general decision support services for outcomes after congenital heart disease (CHD) surgery. MethodsData from 4774 CHD surgeries were collected. A total of 66 indicators and all diagnoses were extracted from each echocardiographic report using natural language processing technology. Combined with some basic clinical and surgical information, the distances between each patient were measured by a series of calculation formulas. Inspired by structure-mapping theory, the fusion of distances between different dimensions can be modulated by clinical experts. In addition to supporting direct analogical reasoning, a machine learning model can be constructed based on similar patients to provide personalized prediction. A user-operable patient similarity network (PSN) of CHD called CHDmap ResultsUsing 256 CHD cases, CHDmap was evaluated on 2 different types of postoperative prognostic prediction tasks: a binary classification task to predict postoperative complications and a multiple classification task to predict mechanical ventilation duration. A simple poll of the k ConclusionsWithout individual optimization, CHDmap demonstrates competitive performance compared to clinical experts. In addition, CHDmap has the advantage of enabling clinicians to use their superior cognitive abilities in conjunction with it to make decisions that are sometimes even superior to those made using artificial intelligence models. The MBE approach can be embraced in clinical practice, and its full potential can be realized.

ABSTRACT Growing evidence has shown a close connection between gut microbiota and chicken growth performance; however, the crosstalk between microbes and chicken host remains elusive. Here, we integrated multi-omics approaches, fecal microbiota transplantation, and body weight-associated bacterial consortium to investigate the host-microbiota interactions in different body weight chickens. Microbial profiling analysis showed that uncultured Barnesiellaceae, Lactobacillus, Bacillus, Ruminococcaceae UCG-004, and Ruminococcaceae UCG-014 were highly enriched in the high body weight (HBW) chickens. The combination of Lactobacillus and Bacillus had 95.1% accuracy in discriminating HBW from low body weight chickens. Lipids and lipid-like molecules were found to be more abundant in the HBW chickens, and the differentially expressed cecal genes were enriched in the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathway and calcium signaling pathway. Correlations among the weight-associated genera, gut content metabolites, and gut gene expression were established, and fecal microbiota transplantation from HBW microbiota to newly born chicks increased the chicken antioxidant status, gut sugar transport, and immunity. A total of 67 strains belonging to Lactobacillus and Bacillus were isolated from the HBW chickens by the targeted culturomics method. Among six pairwise combinations of four selected strains, the consortium consisting of Limosilactobacillus reuteri CML393 and Bacillus velezensis CML396 significantly improved the chicken growth performance and gut health and influenced the cecal microbiota, metabolites, and gene expression. Further in vitro and in silico analyses indicated that L. reuteri CML393 and B. velezensis CML396 were less competitive but more cooperative than other pairwise combinations tested.IMPORTANCEThe improvement of chicken growth performance is one of the major concerns for the poultry industry. Gut microbes are increasingly evidenced to be associated with chicken physiology and metabolism, thereby influencing chicken growth and development. Here, through integrated multi-omics analyses, we showed that chickens from the same line differing in their body weight were very different in their gut microbiota structure and host-microbiota crosstalk; microbes in high body weight (HBW) chickens contributed to chicken growth by regulating the gut function and homeostasis. We also verified that a specific bacterial consortium consisting of isolates from the HBW chickens has the potential to be used as chicken growth promoters. These findings provide new insights into the potential links between gut microbiota and chicken phenotypes, shedding light on future manipulation of chicken gut microbiota to improve chicken growth performance.

Drought causes a decrease in tobacco yield and quality as well as a reduction in net photosynthetic rate. Salicylic acid (SA) is involved in the regulation of many physiological processes and has been widely used to improve plant drought tolerance. The hydroponic experiment was carried out on flue-cured tobacco variety K326. SA solutions (0.3 mM) were sprayed on the leaves every day for three days, after which 15% PEG-6000 was used to simulate moderate drought. The results showed that drought stress reduced the photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), and transpiration rate (Tr), while it enhanced the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), malondialdehyde (MDA), proline and protein content. Compared with PEG drought stress, SA improved the Pn, Gs and Tr by 45.74%, 26.82%, and 52.22% respectively. Besides, the activities of SOD, POD, CAT, protein and proline content increased by 44.27%, 50.18%, 25%, 34.69% and 24.88%, respectively, while the MDA content decreased by 23.89%. Furthermore, SA spraying increased the drought tolerance of tobacco by modulating the expression level of the genes associated with photosynthesis, carbon metabolism, and photosynthesis-antenna proteins. Hence, SA spraying reduced the inhibition of drought on photosynthesis and stimulated the antioxidant system, thus improving the drought resistance in tobacco.

Arc welding is a thermal plasma process widely used to join metals. An arc welding model that couples fluid dynamic and electromagnetic equations was initially developed as a research tool. Subsequently, it was applied to improve and optimise industrial implementations of arc welding. The model includes the arc plasma, the electrode, and the workpiece in the computational domain. It incorporates several features to ensure numerical accuracy and reduce computation time and memory requirements. The arc welding code has been refactored into commercial-grade Windows software, ArcWeld, to address the needs of industrial customers. The methods used to develop ArcWeld and its extension to new arc welding regimes, which used the Workspace workflow platform, are presented. The transformation of the model to an integrated software application means that non-experts can now run the code after only elementary training. The user can easily visualise the results, improving the ability to analyse and generate insights into the arc welding process being modelled. These changes mean that scientific progress is accelerated, and that the software can be used in industry and assist welders’ training. The methods used are transferrable to many other research codes.

Abstract Background Photosynthetic pigments in higher plants, including chlorophyll (Chl) and carotenoids, are crucial for photosynthesis and photoprotection. Chl-deficient tobacco seedlings generally have a lower photosynthesis rate and higher nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) content, which causes a profound influence on tobacco yield and quality. In this study, a stable albino leaf mutant (Al) and slight-green leaf mutant (SG) obtained from the common flue-cured tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) cultivar ‘Zhongyan 100’ (ZY100) by mutagenesis with ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) were used as materials. The differences between the Chl-deficient mutants and the wild-type (WT) were analyzed in terms of biomass, photosynthetic fluorescence parameters, and carbon- and nitrogen-related physiological parameters. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) were used to explore the key pathways and candidate genes regulating differentiated chlorophyll and nitrate content. Results The results showed that, when compared to the WT, the Chl content and biomass of mutant plants were considerably lower while the NO3-N content was substantially elevated. The net photosynthetic rate, photosynthetic fluorescence parameters, carbohydrate, soluble protein, and carbon- and nitrogen-related enzyme activities all decreased in leaves of mutants and the development of chloroplasts was abnormal. Applying more nitrogen improved the growth and development of mutants, whereas NO3-N content distinctively increased compared with that of the WT. Through transcriptome sequencing, the downregulated genes in mutants were enriched in plant hormone signal transduction and nitrogen metabolism, which are involved in pigment biosynthesis and the carbon fixation pathway. In addition, two hub genes and seven transcription factors identified from the blue module through WGCNA were likely to be key candidate factors involved in chlorophyll synthesis and nitrate accumulation. Conclusion Our results demonstrated that differences in chlorophyll and nitrate content were caused by the combined effects of chloroplast development, photosynthesis, as well as related biological activity. In addition, transcriptome results provide a bioinformatics resource for further functional identification of key pathways and genes responsible for differences in chlorophyll and nitrate content in tobacco plants.

Abstract Nitrosation of pyridine alkaloids in tobacco generates tobacco‐specific nitrosamines (TSNAs), which are notable toxicants in tobacco products and smoke. Burley tobacco, a chloroplast‐ and nitrogen (N)‐deficient phenotype that accumulates high levels of nitrate‐nitrogen (NO3‐N) in its leaves, is particularly susceptible to TSNAs formation. In this study, reciprocal pot and field grafting experiments were conducted using burley tobacco Eyan No.1 and flue‐cured tobacco K326 to investigate whether grafting burley tobacco scions on flue‐cured tobacco rootstocks could enhance pigment biosynthesis and photosynthesis, while reducing the NO3‐N level in burley tobacco leaves. Grafting burley tobacco scions on flue‐cured tobacco rootstocks significantly increased the total pigment content, photosynthetic rate, biomass, nitrate reductase and glutamine synthetase activities, as well as ammonium‐nitrogen (NH4‐N), total soluble and reducing sugar, and soluble protein levels in burley tobacco leaves compared with burley tobacco self‐rooting, while decreasing the NO3‐N level and nitrate‐N to total N ratio. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that grafting resulted in upregulated expression of genes involved in starch, sucrose, porphyrin, chlorophyll, and N metabolism, as well as carbon fixation and carotenoid biosynthesis. The findings suggest that grafting on high N use efficiency rootstock is an exceptionally promising means of decreasing NO3‐N accumulation by improving photosynthesis and N metabolism in the scion, thereby reducing the levels of harmful TSNAs.

The development of hyperuricemia (HUA) and gout is associated with dysbiosis of the gut microbiota. Quercetin can reduce serum uric acid levels and thus alleviate HUA by modulating the gut microbiota. However, the detailed mechanisms involved in this process are not fully understood. Here, we showed that quercetin significantly reduced the serum uric acid level in a chicken HUA model by altering the chicken cecal microbiota structure and function and increasing the abundance of Lactobacillus aviarius. An L. aviarius strain, CML180, was isolated from the quercetin-treated chicken gut microbiota. Strain characterization indicated that quercetin promoted the growth of L. aviarius CML180 and increased its adhesion, hydrophobicity, and co-aggregation abilities. Gavage of live L. aviarius CML180 to a mouse model of HUA—established by adenosine and potassium oxonate—reduced the serum uric acid level and alleviated HUA. The ability of L. aviarius CML180 to decrease the level of uric acid was due to its degradation of purine nucleosides, which are the precursors for uric acid production. A nucleoside hydrolase gene, nhy69, was identified from the genome of L. aviarius CML180, and the resulting protein, Nhy69, exhibited strong purine nucleoside-hydrolyzing activity at mesophilic temperature and neutral pH conditions. These findings provide mechanistic insights into the potential of quercetin to treat HUA or gout diseases via a specific gut microbe.

Abstract Background Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) apoptosis is a vital manifestation of retinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, yet the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. The contribution of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) to this cellular process is currently being explored. Based on a lncRNA chip assay, we aimed to investigate the role of lncRNA uc007nnj.1 in the pathological process of ischemia-induced RGCs apoptosis. Methods Hank’s balanced salt solution containing 10 µM antimycin A and 2 µM calcium ionophore for 2 h to construct an ischemic model in RGCs, and elevation of intraocular pressure to 120 mm Hg for 1 h was used to construct a mouse model of retinal I/R injury. Results In this study, lncRNA uc007nnj.1 was highly upregulated in response to I/R injury in RGCs and mouse retinas. In addition, lncRNA uc007nnj.1 knockdown reduced retinal neuronal cell apoptosis in vitro and in vivo and significantly improved retinal function. Discussion Mechanistically, the results demonstrated that lncRNA uc007nnj.1 acts as ceRNA competitively binding miR-155-5p, thereby enhancing the expression levels of Tle4, thus aggravating ischemia-related apoptosis in RGCs. Conclusions Finally, our study identifies the lncRNA uc007nnj.1/miR-155-5p/Tle4 axis as a potential target for the prevention of I/R-induced retinal neuronal death.

Abstract Objective To understand the risk factors associated with adverse events during exchange transfusion (ET) in severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Study design We conducted a retrospective study of infants with hyperbilirubinemia who underwent ET within 30 days of birth from 2015 to 2020 in a children’s hospital. Both traditional statistical analysis and state-of-the-art explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) were used to identify the risk factors. Results A total of 188 ET cases were included; 7 major adverse events, including hyperglycemia (86.2%), top-up transfusion after ET (50.5%), hypocalcemia (42.6%), hyponatremia (42.6%), thrombocytopenia (38.3%), metabolic acidosis (25.5%), and hypokalemia (25.5%), and their risk factors were identified. Some novel and interesting findings were identified by XAI. Conclusions XAI not only achieved better performance in predicting adverse events during ET but also helped clinicians to more deeply understand nonlinear relationships and generate actionable knowledge for practice.

Abstract Background The direct application of umbilical cord‐derived mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSCs) for promoting skin wound healing and regeneration is challenging due to strict maintenance requirements and unpredictable differentiation results. Methods We developed dead but functional liquid nitrogen‐treated UCMSCs (LNT‐MSCs) by rapidly immersing live UCMSCs (live‐MSCs) in liquid nitrogen. Results The LNT‐MSCs maintained similar cellular structures and surface markers to those of live‐MSCs. We evaluated the therapeutic effects of both live‐MSCs and LNT‐MSCs on full‐thickness skin wound healing in rats. Our results showed that the LNT‐MSCs accelerated wound closure by enhancing the proliferation and migration of skin cells, promoting angiogenesis, and inducing a favourable macrophage phenotype shift. The regenerative healing effect of LNT‐MSCs was comparable to that of live‐MSCs, making them a potential alternative strategy for accelerating wound closure that avoids unpredictable differentiation results and creates a ready‐to‐use cell bank for clinical applications.

The southeastern part of the Tibetan Plateau (TP), one of the regions with the largest glacier distribution on the plateau, has been experiencing a significant loss in glacier mass balance (GMB) in recent decades due to climate warming. In this study, we used the Spatial Processes in Hydrology (SPHY) model and satellite data from LANDSAT to reconstruct the runoff components and glacier mass balance in the Niyang River basin (NRB). The measured river discharge data in the basin during 2000–2008 were used for model calibration and validation. Then, the validated model was applied to reconstruct the runoff components and GMB in the Niyang River basin for the period 1969–2013. Results showed that rainfall runoff (67%) was the dominant contributor to total runoff, followed by snowmelt runoff (14%), glacier melt runoff (10%), and baseflow (9%). The NRB experienced a severe loss in GMB, with a mean value of −1.26 m w. e./a (corresponding to a cumulative glacier mass loss of −56.72 m w. e.) during 1969–2013. During periods Ⅰ (1969–1983), Ⅱ (1984–1998), and Ⅲ (1999–2013) glacier mass loss was simulated at rates of −1.27 m w. e./a, −1.18 m w. e./a, and −1.33 m w. e./a, respectively. The annual loss of glacier mass in the northern region of the NRB (−1.43 m w. e./a) was significantly greater than that of the southern region (−0.53 m w. e./a) from 1969 to 2013, largely due to temperature variations, especially in summer months. These findings enhance our understanding of how different hydrological processes respond to climate change and provide a potential method to study runoff components and GMB in other glacierized catchments worldwide.

Study region: Jiemayangzong Glacier basin, source of the Yarlung Zangbo, Tibetan Plateau. Study focus: Mountain groundwater is an important water source to recharge rivers. However, there is still a lack of a suitable “climate-glacier-groundwater” modeling framework to project future changes of glacier and the consequent impacts on evolution of groundwater in the Tibetan Plateau (TP). The groundwater model HydroGeoSphere (HGS) is coupled with the glacier retreat method Δh - parameterization to simulate subglacial meltwater recharge to groundwater (SMRG), precipitation recharge to groundwater (PRG), and total groundwater recharge (TGR) in the Jiemayangzong Glacier basin, source of the Yarlung Zangbo. New hydrological insights for the region: Results show that the volume of the Jiemayangzong Glacier would continuously retreat from 2021 to 2100. For the SSP126 and SSP585 climate change scenarios, the glacier volume would maximum decrease to 26.1% and 14.7% in 2100 (reference ∼ 2021), respectively. The simulated rate of annual SMRG is 24 mm/yr, which accounts for 63% of TGR. SMRG and TGR would decrease to 26% and 73% in 2100 under SSP585 climate change scenarios. Although PRG would continuously increase to 151% for SSP585 in 2100, it could not counteract the loss of SMRG. The change in hydraulic head is significant in the glacier terminus and the aquifer shallow zones (elevation above 4000 m). Glacier retreat results from increasing temperature will seriously affect local groundwater resources, particularly for the SSP585 scenario.

The reflective surface accuracy (RSA) of traditional space mesh antennas typically ranges from 0.2 to 6 mmRMS. To improve the RSA, an active control scheme can be employed, although it presents challenges in determining the installation position of the actuator. In this study, we propose a novel design for a semi-rigid cable mesh that combines rigid members and a flexible woven mesh, drawing inspiration from both rigid ribbed antennas and biomimicry. Initially, we investigate the planar mesh topology of spider webs and determine the bionic cable surface’s mesh topology based on the existing hexagonal meshing method, with RSA serving as the evaluation criterion. Subsequently, through motion simulations and careful observation, we establish the offset angle as the key design parameter for the bionic mesh and complete the design of the bionic cable mesh accordingly. Finally, by analyzing the impact of the node quantity on RSA, we determine a layout scheme for the flexible woven mesh with a variable number of nodes, ultimately settling for 26 nodes. Our results demonstrate that the inclusion of numerous rigid components on the bionic cable mesh surface offers viable installation positions for the actuator of the space mesh antenna. The reflector accuracy achieved is 0.196 mmRMS, slightly surpassing the lower limit of reflector accuracy observed in most traditional space-space mesh antennas. This design presents a fresh research perspective on combining active control schemes with reflective surfaces, offering the potential to enhance the RSA of traditional rigid rib antennas to a certain extent.

Abstract Background Eczema is the most common form of dermatitis and also the starting point of atopic march. Although many eczema‐associated allergic and immunologic disorders have been studied, there remains a gap in the systematic quantitative knowledge regarding the relationships between all childhood disorders and eczema. This study aimed to systematically explore eczema‐associated childhood diseases using a real‐world, long‐term clinical dataset generated from millions of children in China. Methods Data were collected at 8,907,735 outpatient healthcare visits from 2,592,147 children between January 1, 2013, and August 15, 2019, at the largest comprehensive pediatric medical center in Zhejiang Province of China. The period prevalence differences in various pediatric diseases between children with and without eczema were used to test the independence of various pediatric disorders and eczema using Fisher's exact test. Bonferroni correction was used to adjust the p value in multiple testing. Odds ratio >2 with 95% confidence interval not including 1 and adjusted p

Abstract Revealing the assembly and succession of the chicken gut microbiota is critical for a better understanding of its role in chicken physiology and metabolism. However, few studies have examined dynamic changes of absolute chicken gut microbes using the quantitative microbiome profiling (QMP) method. Here, we revealed the developmental trajectory of the broiler chicken gut bacteriome and mycobiome by combining high‐throughput sequencing with a microbial load quantification assay. We showed that chicken gut microbiota abundance and diversity reached a plateau at 7 days posthatch (DPH), forming segment‐specific community types after 1 DPH. The bacteriome was more impacted by deterministic processes, and the mycobiome was more affected by stochastic processes. We also observed stage‐specific microbes in different gut segments, and three microbial occurrence patterns including “colonization,” “disappearance,” and “core” were defined. The microbial co‐occurrence networks were very different among gut segments, with more positive associations than negative associations. Furthermore, we provided links between the absolute changes in chicken gut microbiota and their serum metabolite variations. Time‐course untargeted metabolomics revealed six metabolite clusters with different changing patterns of abundance. The foregut microbiota had more connections with chicken serum metabolites, and the gut microbes were closely related to chicken lipid and amino acid metabolism. The present study provided a full landscape of chicken gut microbiota development in a quantitative manner, and the associations between gut microbes and chicken serum metabolites further highlight the impact of gut microbiota in chicken growth and development.

Many air pollutants and climate variables have proven to be significantly associated with pediatric asthma and have worsened asthma symptoms. However, their exact causal effects remain unclear. We explored the causality between air pollutants, climate, and daily pediatric asthma patient visits with a short-term lag effect. Based on eight years of daily environmental data and daily pediatric asthma patient visits, Spearman correlation analysis was used to select the air pollutants and climate variables that correlated with daily pediatric asthma patient visits at any time (with a lag of 1–6 days). We regarded these environmental variables as treatments and built multiple- and single-treatment causal inference models using the Dowhy library (a Python library for causal inference by graphing the model, quantitatively evaluating causal effects, and validating the causal assumptions) to estimate the quantitative causal effect between these correlated variables and daily pediatric asthma patient visits in lag time. The multiple-treatment causal inference model was a model with 8 treatments (Visibility, Precipitation, PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, AQI and CO), 1 outcome (daily pediatric asthma patients visits), and 5 confounders (Humidity, Temperature, Sea level pressure, wind speed and unobserved confounders “U”). Single-treatment causal inference models were 8 models, and each model has 1 treatment, 1 outcome and 12 confounders. Spearman correlation analysis showed that precipitation, wind speed, visibility, air quality index, PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, and CO were significantly associated variables at all times (p

Summary: The effect of host genetics on the gut microbiota is not fully understood. Here, we introduce a protocol that describes the steps necessary to analyze the SNP genotyping and amplicon sequencing data to identify heritable microbes in chicken gut. We apply this protocol to infer the cecal heritable taxa and their associated SNPs in chicken genome sequence. This will be beneficial for the identification of gut microbes that are influenced by host genetics in both humans and animals.For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Feng et al. (2022).1 : Publisher’s note: Undertaking any experimental protocol requires adherence to local institutional guidelines for laboratory safety and ethics.

Abstract Background An increase in the incidence of central venous catheter (CVC)-related thrombosis (CRT) has been reported in pediatric intensive care patients over the past decade. Risk factors for the development of CRT are not well understood, especially in children. The study objective was to identify potential clinical risk factors associated with CRT with novel fusion machine learning models. Methods Patients aged 0–18 who were admitted to intensive care units from December 2015 to December 2018 and underwent at least one CVC placement were included. Two fusion model approaches (stacking and blending) were used to build a better performance model based on three widely used machine learning models (logistic regression, random forest and gradient boosting decision tree). High-impact risk factors were identified based on their contribution in both fusion artificial intelligence models. Results A total of 478 factors of 3871 patients and 3927 lines were used to build fusion models, one of which achieved quite satisfactory performance (AUC = 0.82, recall = 0.85, accuracy = 0.65) in 5-fold cross validation. A total of 11 risk factors were identified based on their independent contributions to the two fusion models. Some risk factors, such as D-dimer, thrombin time, blood acid-base balance-related factors, dehydrating agents, lymphocytes and basophils were identified or confirmed to play an important role in CRT in children. Conclusions The fusion model, which achieves better performance in CRT prediction, can better understand the risk factors for CRT and provide potential biomarkers and measures for thromboprophylaxis in pediatric intensive care settings.

The chemical looping hydrogen production (CLHP) process is a new approach for hydrogen (H2) fuel production. The proposed process consists of three reactors which are air reactor (AR), fuel reactor (FR) and steam reactor (SR). In this study, the gas solid flow behaviour in a cold model of the proposed CLHP process was simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with kinetic theory of granular flow. The effect of drag coefficient models on the pressure profile of each reactor was investigated and the results from the modified Syamlal–O’Brien drag model agreed well with the experimental data. The model was further used to investigate effects of the operating parameters on the hydrodynamics profiles of each reactor. The solid flux increased with the increasing of inlet velocity of AR and FR but decreased with the increasing of the inlet velocity of SR. At the same time, the solid flux increased with the increasing of the solid inventory.

Abstract The increasing number of vehicles brings ubiquitous connectivity and huge information interaction, implementing with limited spectrum resource. Focusing on the higher spectral efficiency requirement, a compressive OFDM system is proposed in this paper. The idea of compressing the transmission of OFDM signal for spectral efficiency enhancement origins from GP extrapolation algorithm for bandlimited signal. In the proposed scheme, a truncation filter with deliberately designed compressed ratio and truncation mode is performed on the OFDM signal to generate the compressive OFDM signal. At the receiver, up-sampling and iterative extrapolation are conducted to recover from the partial signal. Simulation results show that the compressive OFDM signal could be compressed up to 0.5, presenting better compressive capability than the typical nonorthogonal SEFDM system. Further considering the ill-posed problem caused by the noise, a regularization approach is adopted to retain the convergence of recovery. Moreover, the proposed compressive OFDM system possesses the spectrally efficient advantage than SEFDM system. At the compressed ratio 0.5, the compressive OFDM system possesses better BER than SEFDM. At 10 dB $$E_{\mathrm{b}}/N_{0}$$ E b / N 0 , the throughput rate of the compressive OFDM is 2 times and 1.6 times higher than OFDM and SEFDM, respectively.

The application field of space deployable antennas covers mobile communication, navigation, deep space exploration, etc. The traditional space deployable antenna mechanism deploys in a fixed way and mostly in a circular direction in order to expand the space deployable antenna configuration; this paper summarizes the bionic principle that can be used for antenna structure design by studying the tail feather deploying behavior of birds such as peacocks and proposes a new parabolic antenna configuration that imitates the tail feather deploying of birds. The kinematic model of the deployable mechanism is established, and kinematic analysis of the deployable process is carried out on the key rods. The simulation of the rod motion is carried out using ADAMS 2020 software, and the angle change results obtained from the simulation are compared with MATLAB 2020b to verify the correctness of the kinematic equations. The deployment trajectories of the innermost and outermost rib endpoints are analyzed, and the spatial arrangement of the antenna is determined to be in the range of 4 m × 3.5 m. This is a solid foundation for the development of spatially deployable antennas.

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication after pediatric cardiac surgery. And autologous blood transfusion (ABT) is an important predictor of postoperative AKI. Unlike previous studies, which mainly focused on the correlation between ABT and AKI, the current study focuses heavily on the causal relationship between them, thus providing guidance for the treatment of patients during hospitalization to reduce the occurrence of AKI. Methods: A retrospective cohort of 3386 patients extracted from the Pediatric Intensive Care database was used for statistical analysis, multifactorial analysis, and causal inference. Characteristics that were correlated with ABT and AKI were categorized as confounders, instrumental variables, and effect modifiers, and were entered into the DoWhy causal inference model to determine causality. The calculated average treatment effect (ATE) was compared with the results of the multifactorial analysis. Results: The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for ABT volume was obtained by multifactorial analysis as 0.964. The DoWhy model refute test was able to indicate a causal relationship between ABT and AKI. Any ABT reduces AKI about 15.3%–18.8% by different estimation methods. The ATE regarding the amount of ABT was –0.0088, suggesting that every 1 mL/kg of ABT reduced the risk of AKI by 0.88%. Conclusions: Intraoperative transfusion of autologous blood can have a protective effect against postoperative AKI.

Abstract Nitrate is an important precursor of tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) and a remarkable difference in nitrate accumulation between lamina and midrib of flue-cured tobacco has long been observed. However, the physiological and molecular mechanisms underpinning this difference remain poorly understood. In this study, physiological and genetic factors impacting nitrate accumulation were identified in pot experiments using flue-cured tobacco K326 with contrasting nitrate content between lamina and midrib. The results showed that three times higher NO3-N content was observed in midrib than that in the lamina, along with lower pigment, NH4-N content, nitrate reductase activity (NRA), sucrose synthetase activity (SSA), and glutamine synthetase activity (GSA) in midrib. Transcriptome analysis revealed that expression of genes involved in porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism, carotenoid biosynthesis, photosynthesis-antenna proteins, photosynthesis, carbon fixation in photosynthetic organisms, starch and sucrose metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, and biosynthesis of amino acids were significantly lower in midrib than in lamina. qRT-PCR results showed that the expression level of nitrate transporter genes LOC107782967, LOC107806749, LOC107775674, LOC107829632, LOC107799198, LOC107768465 decreased by 2.74, 1.81, 49.5, 3.5, 2.64 and 2.96-folds while LOC107789301 increased by 8.23-folds in midrib but not in lamina. Reduced chlorophyll content might result in low carbohydrate formation which is the source of energy and carbon skeleton supply, then the low capacity of nitrogen reduction, assimilation and transportation, and the poor ability of nitrate reallocation but the high capacity of accumulation might lead to nitrate accumulation in midrib. The results laid the foundation for reducing nitrate content and TSNA formation in tobacco midribs and their products.

DNA methylation is considered to play an important role in the development of diabetic retinopathy. Here, our goal was to investigate the precise role of methyl-CpG binding domain protein 2 (Mbd2) in the apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in the early diabetic retina. Mbd2 was significantly upregulated after high glucose (HG) treatment and played a proapoptotic role in RGCs during HG-induced apoptosis. Combining ChIP and gene microarray datasets, the results showed that Mbd2 possessed potential binding sites for miR-345-5p, thereby elevating the expression levels of miR-345-5p via the enhancement of promoter demethylation. Activating transcription factor 1 (Atf1) played an anti-apoptotic role during the process of apoptosis in RGCs and acted as the target gene for miR-345-5p. Furthermore, the number of surviving RGCs in the diabetic retina was increased in Mbd2-knockout mice when compared with wild-type mice and the visual function became better accordingly. Collectively, our data demonstrated that the HG-induced overexpression of Mbd2 in the retina was partly responsible for the apoptosis of retinal neuronal cells through the miR-345-5p/Atf1 axis. Therefore, the targeting of Mbd2 might represent a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of neurodegeneration in the early diabetic retina.

ObjectiveTo estimate the magnitude of the nocebo response and explore its influencing factors in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).MethodsThe PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched up to March 2021. We performed a random effects meta-analysis of the proportion of adverse events (AEs) in placebo-treated patients with IBS who are involved in parallel-designed, randomized, placebo-controlled trials investigating pharmacological interventions and evaluated the effect of trial characteristics on the magnitude of the nocebo response rate.ResultsA total of 6,107 studies were identified from the databases. After evaluation, 53 met the eligibility criteria and were included. The overall pooled nocebo response rate was 32% (95% CI: 26–38%). The most commonly reported AEs were headache (9%), nasopharyngitis (7%), abdominal pain (4%), and nausea (4%). The nocebo response rate was low compared with that in the treatment group applying probiotics, antispasmodics, and Traditional Chinese medicine, but high compared with that in antibiotic treatment group. The nocebo rate in patients using diaries to record AEs was lower than the average, and was higher in patients recording through checkup.DiscussionPatients with IBS have significant nocebo response intensity in clinical trials. Based on findings in this study, we recommend the researchers pay attention to the common AEs and carefully analyze the relation to the intervention.

Alpine wetlands are one of the most important ecosystems in the Three Rivers Source Area, China, which plays an important role in regulating the regional hydrological cycle and carbon cycle. Accordingly, Wetland area and its distribution are of great significance for wetland management and scientific research. In our study, a new wetland classification model which based on geomorphological types and combine object-oriented and decision tree classification model (ODTC), and used a new wetland classification system to accurately extract the wetland distributed in the Headwater Area of the Yellow River (HAYR) of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), China. The object-oriented method was first used to segment the image into several areas according to similarity in Pixels and Textures, and then the wetland was extracted through a decision tree constructed based on geomorphological types. The wetland extracted by the model was compared with that by other seven commonly methods, such as support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF), and it proved the accuracy was improved by 10%–20%. The overall classification accuracy rate was 98.9%. According to our results, the HAYR’s wetland area is 3142.3 km2, accounting for 16.1% of the study area. Marsh wetlands and flood wetlands accounted for 37.7% and 16.7% respectively. A three-dimensional map of the area showed that alpine wetlands in the research region are distributed around lakes, piedmont groundwater overflow belts, and inter-mountain catchment basin. This phenomenon demonstrates that hydrogeological circumstances influence alpine wetlands’ genesis and evolution. This work provides a new approach to investigating alpine wetlands.

Feng et al. include genome recovery and data analysis of large number of chicken gut metagenomic datasets which significantly expands the reference genomes available from the chicken gut microbial communities, and catalog the genes prevalent in the gut systems. They further depict the countryspecific chicken gut antibiotic resistomes and the effects of geography and host species on the gut resistome.

Due to climate change, drought has caused serious impacts on the eco-environment, hydrology and agriculture, and drought events in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) have become more severer and frequent; therefore, understanding the characteristics and variations of drought is crucial to reduce its eco-environmental and socio-economic impacts. This study used the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) to identify drought and assessed its interannual changes from 1980 to 2020. Then, the Hurst exponent and intensity analysis were used to identify future drought trend and the characteristics of drought intensity. Moreover, Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis was performed to examine the main spatial gathering characteristics. The results indicate that: 1) the QTP was becoming wetter in general, and drying places were mainly distributed in the southeast and northeast of the QTP, as well as the Qaidam Basin accounting for 27% areas of QTP. 2) The trend of wet and dry in the future in most regions would be the same as the present, only 10% of the regions would have the reverse trend. 3) The rate of wet/drought changes was faster in the 1980s and 2000s. 4) The EOF mode1 revealed a gathering distribution structure with negative values in the southeast and east of the QTP and positive values in the center and west. The west was more sensitive to the variation of dry and wet, and most areas will continue to be wet in the future. EOF mode2 and mode3 mainly indicated opposite gathering patterns of southwest-northeast and south-north. The results provide favorable evidence for policymakers to better understand and prevent drought.

Objectives This study aimed to investigate the seasonality of paediatric intussusception and the associations between meteorological factors and paediatric intussusception in Hangzhou, as well as aimed to compare the variance in sex and disease type.Design An 8-year retrospective study was conducted from January 2014 to December 2021 in the Children’s Hospital of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.Setting This was a single-centre retrospective study review of intussusception cases in a large Children’s Hospital in Hangzhou.Participants There were 17 674 patients with intussusception in this study.Methods A Spearman correlation analysis and Poisson regression analysis were used to determine the association between weekly intussusception cases and meteorological factors. The seasonality of paediatric intussusception was demonstrated via the t-test and visualised.Result In January, May and December, there were relatively more intussusception patients. In February, there was a trough in the number of intussusception patients. Both the Spearman correlation analysis and Poisson regression analysis proved that weekly intussusception cases had significant associations with temperature (λ=−0.205, p

Abstract Understanding how groundwater storage (GWS) responds to climate change is essential for water resources management and future water availability in the Tibetan Plateau (TP). However, the dominant factor controlling long‐term GWS changes remains unclear and its responses to climate change are not well understood. Here we combined multi‐source datasets including in‐situ measurements, satellite observations, global models, and reanalysis products to reveal that GWS increased at 5.59 ± 1.44 Gt/yr during 2003–2016 while showing spatial heterogeneities with increasing trends in northern TP and glacial regions and declining trends in central and southern TP. The accelerated transformation from solid water (glaciers, snow, and permafrost; −17.72 ± 1.53 Gt/yr) into liquid water provide more recharge to groundwater, dominating the total GWS increase. This study contributes to a better understanding of the hydrological cycle under climate change and provides key information for projecting water availability under different future scenarios in the TP.