Effects of cadmium and zinc interactions on the physiological biochemistry and enrichment characteristics of Iris pseudacorus.

Compound pollution with cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) is common in nature. The effects of compounded Cd and Zn on the growth and development of Iris pseudacorus in the environment and the plant's potential to remediate heavy metals in the environment remain unclear. In this study, the effects of single and combined Cd and Zn stress on I. pseudacorus growth and the enrichment of heavy metals in I. pseudacorus seedlings were investigated. The results showed that under Cd (160 µM) and Zn (800 µM) stress, plant growth was significantly inhibited and photosynthetic performance was affected. Cd+Zn200 (160 µM + 200 µM) reduced the levels of malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide, and non-protein thiols by 31.29%, 53.20%, and 13.29%, respectively, in the aboveground tissues compared with levels in the single Cd treatment. However, Cd+Zn800 (160 µM + 800 µM) had no effect. Cd and Zn800 inhibited the absorption of mineral elements, while Zn200 had little effect on plants. Compared with that for Cd treatment alone, Cd + Zn200 and Cd+Zn800 reduced the Cd content in aboveground tissues by 54.15% and 49.92%, respectively, but had no significant effect on Cd in the root system. Zn significantly reduced the Cd content in subcellular components and limited the content and proportion of Cd extracted using water and ethanol. These results suggest that a low supply of Zn reduces Cd accumulation in aboveground tissues by promoting antioxidant substances and heavy metal chelating agents, thus protecting the photosynthetic systems. The addition of Zn also reduced the mobility and bioavailability of Cd to alleviate its toxicity in I. pseudacorus.

Towards sustainable management: Exploring the role of internal monitoring in pollution prevention.

Researchers in the field of sustainable management have recently dedicated significant efforts to understand why organizations exhibit diverse responses to environmental responsibilities. Ethical scholars assert that internal management plays a pivotal role in promoting sustainability because of its attitude toward sustainable issues. In alignment with this perspective, our study formulates a framework for internal monitoring that underscores the significance of independent, female, international, and politically connected directors. We investigate how these internal monitors influence a company's commitment to promote sustainable investments for pollution prevention. By employing fixed effect model and generalized method of moments (GMM) on a dataset obtained from the largest emerging market-China over the period 2012 to 2019, our findings indicate that the mentioned monitors demonstrate a stronger commitment to pollution prevention by promoting corporate sustainable investments. In addition, our analysis reveals that when the government withdraws its involvement in enterprises, it has a notable negative impact on the connection between internal monitors and a company's efforts in pollution prevention. Our results imply that implementation of sustainable policies for pollution prevention fundamentally result from not only internal management, but also from powerful stakeholders (like government involvement). Moreover, our study educates the policy makers regarding the social consequences of governmental withdrawal.

Regional disparities, age-related changes and sex-related differences in knee osteoarthritis.

BACKGROUND: The objective of the study is to analyse the regions, age and sex differences in the incidence of knee osteoarthritis (KOA). METHODS: Data were extracted from the global burden of diseases (GBD) 2019 study, including incidence, years lived with disability (YLD), disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) and risk factors. Estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs) were calculated to quantify the temporal trends in age standardized rate (ASR) of KOA. Paired t-test, paired Wilcoxon signed-rank test and spearman correlation were performed to analyze the association of sex disparity in KOA and socio-demographic index (SDI). RESULTS: There were significant regional differences in the incidence of knee osteoarthritis. In 2019, South Korea had the highest incidence of knee osteoarthritis (474.85,95%UI:413.34-539.64) and Thailand had the highest increase in incidence of knee osteoarthritis (EAPC = 0.56, 95%CI = 0.54-0.58). Notably, higher incidence, YLD and DALYs of knee osteoarthritis were associated with areas with a high socio-demographic index (r = 0.336, p < 0.001; r = 0.324, p < 0.001; r = 0.324, p < 0.001). In terms of age differences, the greatest increase in the incidence of knee osteoarthritis was between the 35-39 and 40-44 age groups. (EAPC = 0.52, 95%CI = 0.40-0.63; 0.47, 95%CI = 0.36-0.58). In addition, there were significant sex differences in the disease burden of knee osteoarthritis (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of knee osteoarthritis is significantly different with regions, age and sex.

Comprehensive repair of the alveolar cleft using cortical and cancellous bone layers: A retrospective study.

To retrospectively review the clinical effect of comprehensive treatment of alveolar cleft (CTAC) using the mandible as the bone source. Patients with alveolar clefts who met the inclusion criteria were subjected to a CTAC protocol that included the following: (1) preoperative orthodontic treatment for creating good soft-tissue conditions; (2) 'area-like grafting' with subperiosteal osteogenic chin bone instead of cartilaginous osteogenic iliac bone; (3) simulation of normal bone anatomy via a sandwich-like bone graft consisting of 'cortical bone + cancellous bone + cortical bone'; and (4) strong internal fixation to ensure initial bone block stability. At 6 months postoperatively, the titanium plate was removed and cone-beam computed tomography was performed to evaluate the surgical results. A total of 54 patients underwent treatment with the CTAC protocol. The average age at the initial operation was 10.3 ± 2.1 years, and the average hospital stay was 2.8 ± 0.6 days. At 6 months postoperatively, 49 patients (90.7%) showed good clinical results. The transplanted bone block formed a 'cortical bone + cancellous bone + cortical bone' structure similar to that of the normal jawbone. A mature bone bridge formed, and the impacted permanent teeth continued to erupt and enter the bone graft area. CTAC is a comprehensive restorative solution for alveolar cleft repair that integrates multiple concepts, including orthodontics, embryology, anatomy, and improvements to surgical methods. The method is easy to perform, causes little surgical trauma, and shows a stable success rate, and is thus worth promoting.

Do institutional contingencies matter for green investment?-An institution based view of Chinese listed companies.

Current research in the field of environmental management has placed significant emphasis on understanding the reasons behind varying organizational responses to environmental responsibilities. Governance scholars emphasize the central role of institutional factors in shaping environmental responsibilities, primarily due to the substantial influence exerted by regulatory institutions. Drawing on institutional theory, we investigate how sub-national institutional factors impact a firm's green investment intensity and explore their moderating influence on the relationship between green investment and a firm's financial performance. Using a database of Chinese listed companies from 2012 to 2019, this study employs fixed effect model as a baseline regression. Our analysis demonstrates that sub-national institutions, such as state-owned enterprises (SOEs), regional development, and cross-listing, have significant and positive impact on corporate green investment. Our study further provide an evidence that green investment significantly improve firms' financial performance. Moreover, the positive effect of green investment on financial performance is stronger in SOEs and in firms of developed regions as compared to their counterparts, and weaker in cross listed firms than those of non-cross listed peers. Our study suggest that subnational institutions play an imperative role in improving environmental quality and financial performance by promoting corporate green investment. To make sure that our findings remain robust to endogeneity, we applied generalized method of moments (GMM) and propensity score matching (PSM) method. Our findings further provide implications for emerging economies with similar shareholding patterns and unbalanced regional development.

Identification of Fungicide Combinations for Overcoming Plasmopara viticola and Botrytis cinerea Fungicide Resistance.

Fungal diseases, including downy mildew (caused by Plasmopara viticola) and gray mold (caused by Botrytis cinerea), significantly impact the marketable yield of grapes produced worldwide. Cytochrome b of the mitochondrial respiratory chain of these two fungi is a key target for Quinone outside inhibitor (QoI)-based fungicide development. Since the mode of action (MOA) of QoI fungicides is restricted to a single site, the extensive usage of these fungicides has resulted in fungicide resistance. The use of fungicide combinations with multiple targets is an effective way to counter and slow down the development of fungicide resistance. Due to the high cost of in planta trials, in silico techniques can be used for the rapid screening of potential fungicides. In this study, a combination of in silico simulations that include Schrödinger Glide docking, molecular dynamics, and Molecular Mechanism-Generalized Born Surface Area calculation were used to screen the most potent QoI and non-QoI-based fungicide combinations to wild-type, G143A-mutated, F129L-mutated, and double-mutated versions that had both G143A and F129L mutations of fungal cytochrome b. In silico docking studies indicated that mandestrobin, famoxadone, captan, and thiram have a high affinity toward WT cytochrome b of Botrytis cinerea. Although the QoIs mandestrobin and famoxadone were effective for WT based on in vitro results, they were not broadly effective against G143A-mutated isolates. Famoxadone was only effective against one isolate with G143A-mutated cytochrome b. The non-QoI fungicides thiram and captan were effective against both WT and isolates with G143A-mutated cytochrome b. Follow-up in silico docking and molecular dynamics studies suggested that fungicide combinations consisting of famoxadone, mandestrobin, fenamidone, and thiram should be considered in field testing targeting Plasmopara viticola and Botrytis cinerea fungicide resistance.

HIF-1α-Induced Mitophagy Regulates the Regenerative Outcomes of Stem Cells in Fat Transplantation.

Hypoxia is a crucial factor with type diversity that plays an important role in stem cell transplantation. However, the effects of hypoxia on adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are largely unclear in the autologous fat transplantation (AFT) model, which shows a special type of "acute-progressively resolving hypoxia." Here, an AFT model in nude mice and a hypoxic culture model for ADSCs were combined to explore the link between hypoxia-inducible factor-1 α subunit (HIF-1α) and mitophagy under hypoxic conditions. The results showed that the activity of ADSCs in the first 7 days after grafting was the key stage for volume retention, and the expression of HIF-1α, light chain 3 beta (LC3B), and Beclin1 in ADSCs increased during this period. We also found that hypoxia for longer than 48 h damaged the differentiation and mitochondrial respiration of ADSCs in vitro, but hypoxia signals also activate HIF-1α to initiate mitophagy and maintain the activities of ADSCs. Pre-enhancing mitophagy by rapamycin effectively improves mitochondrial respiration in ADSCs after grafting and ultimately improves AFT outcomes.

Montelukast and Telmisartan as Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant.

Earlier studies with montelukast (M) and telmisartan (T) have revealed their potential antiviral properties against SARS-CoV-2 wild-type (WT) but have not assessed their efficacy against emerging Variants of Concern (VOCs) such as Omicron. Our research fills this gap by investigating these drugs' impact on VOCs, a topic that current scientific literature has largely overlooked. We employed computational methodologies, including molecular mechanics and machine learning tools, to identify drugs that could potentially disrupt the SARS-CoV-2 spike RBD-ACE2 protein interaction. This led to the identification of two FDA-approved small molecule drugs, M and T, conventionally used for treating asthma and hypertension, respectively. Our study presents an additional potential use for these drugs as antivirals. Our results show that both M and T can inhibit not only the WT SARS-CoV-2 but also, in the case of M, the Omicron variant, without reaching cytotoxic concentrations. This novel finding fills an existing gap in the literature and introduces the possibility of repurposing these drugs for SARS-CoV-2 VOCs, an essential step in responding to the evolving global pandemic.

Identification of Fungicide Combinations Targeting Plasmopara viticola and Botrytis cinerea Fungicide Resistance Using Machine Learning.

Downy mildew (caused by Plasmopara viticola) and gray mold (caused by Botrytis cinerea) are fungal diseases that significantly impact grape production globally. Cytochrome b plays a significant role in the mitochondrial respiratory chain of the two fungi that cause these diseases and is a key target for quinone outside inhibitor (QoI)-based fungicide development. Since the mode of action (MOA) of QoI fungicides is restricted to a single active site, the risk of developing resistance to these fungicides is deemed high. Consequently, using a combination of fungicides is considered an effective way to reduce the development of QoI resistance. Currently, there is little information available to help in the selection of appropriate fungicides. This study used a combination of in silico simulations and quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) machine learning algorithms to screen the most potent QoI-based fungicide combinations for wild-type (WT) and the G143A mutation of fungal cytochrome b. Based on in silico studies, mandestrobin emerged as the top binder for both WT Plasmopara viticola and WT Botrytis cinerea cytochrome b. Famoxadone appeared to be a versatile binder for G143A-mutated cytochrome b of both Plasmopara viticola and Botrytis cinerea. Thiram emerged as a reasonable, low-risk non-QoI fungicide that works on WT and G143A-mutated versions of both fungi. QSAR analysis revealed fenpropidin, fenoxanil, and ethaboxam non-QoIs to have a high affinity for G143A-mutated cytochrome b of Plasmopara viticola and Botrytis cinerea. Above-QoI and non-QoI fungicides can be considered for field studies in a fungicide management program against Plasmopara viticola- and Botrytis cinerea-based fungal infections.

Gender and socioeconomic disparities in global burden of chronic kidney disease due to glomerulonephritis: A global analysis.

AIM: To investigate the gender and socioeconomic disparities in the global burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD) due to glomerulonephritis from 1990 to 2019. METHODS: Data were extracted from the global burden of diseases (GBD) 2019 study, including incidence, prevalence and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). Estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs) were calculated to quantify the temporal trends in age-standardized rate (ASR) of CKD due to glomerulonephritis. Paired t-test, paired Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Spearman correlation were performed to analyse the association and gender disparity in CKD due to glomerulonephritis. RESULTS: Globally, incident cases of CKD due to glomerulonephritis increased 81% from 9 557 397 in 1990 to 17 308 071 in 2019. The age-standardized incidence rate increased by 1.47 compared with 1990 and DALYs increased by 1.35 compared with 1990 (per 100 000). The number of patients with CKD due to glomerulonephritis in low-middle SDI (3829917) and middle SDI (6268817) regions accounts for more than 55% of the total cases. CKD due to glomerulonephritis caused a higher burden including the incidence rate (p < .0001) and DALY rate (p < .0001) in men compared to women. The age-standardized DALY rate was negatively correlated with SDI (ρ = -0.64, p < .001). In the analysis of risk factors for DALYs, male individuals had a larger burden of hypertension, high BMI and high sodium diet in the DALY rates than female subjects. CONCLUSION: The burden of CKD due to glomerulonephritis was more skewed towards developing and less developed economies and differed by gender, so certain nations should implement far more focused and targeted policies.

Targeting plant UBX proteins: AI-enhanced lessons from distant cousins.

Across all eukaryotic kingdoms, ubiquitin regulatory X (UBX) domain-containing adaptor proteins control the segregase cell division control protein 48 (CDC48), and thereby also control cellular proteostasis and adaptation. The structures and biological roles of UBX proteins in animals and fungi have garnered considerable attention. However, their counterparts in plants remain markedly understudied. Since 2021, the artificial intelligence (AI)-based algorithm AlphaFold has provided predictions of protein structural features that can be highly accurate. Predictions of the proteomes of all major model organisms are now freely accessible to the entire research community through user-friendly web interfaces. We propose that the combination of cross-kingdom comparison with AF analysis produces a wealth of testable hypotheses to inspire and guide experimental research on plant UBX domain-containing (PUX) proteins.

Clinical application of 3D-printed PEEK implants for repairing mandibular defects.

The aim of this study was to investigate and discuss the efficacy of 3D-printed PEEK implants in personalized reconstruction of mandibular segmental defects. This study was a single-center case series. Six patients who underwent mandibular reconstruction with a custom-made 3D-printed PEEK implant were enrolled. Patient demographics, photographs, computed tomography (CT), and other clinical data were collected and analyzed pre- and postoperatively. The average patient age was 60.0 ± 15.09 years. The mean operative time was 213.33 ± 30.77 min, and the postoperative follow-up time ranged from 10 to 24 months. Mandibular segmental defects ranged from the symphysis to the condyle. Five patients did not have any postoperative complications and were satisfied with the cosmetic and functional results. One patient had to undergo removal of the PEEK implant because of implant exposure at 10 months after surgery. PEEK implants can repair different forms of defect in the mandible, maintaining the original shape of the mandible, whilst not affecting mandible functions, such as mastication and temporomandibular joint movement. However, PEEK implantation requires the strict selection of appropriate indications, especially with regard to the evaluation of soft-tissue conditions in the implanted area.

Oral and Maxillofacial Autologous Fat Transplantation: History, Clinical Application Status and Research Progress.

After more than a century of development, autologous fat transplantation (AFT), a repair method for soft tissue defects and deformities, has the advantages of being simple, rapid, effective and safe, and it is increasingly favoured by plastic surgeons. This article reviews the developmental history of AFT, analyses its clinical application status in the oral and maxillofacial regions, and provides a preliminary summary and discussion of the research progress related to AFT. The hope is that that this technique could be widely applied for oral and maxillofacial diseases as well as facial rejuvenation indications. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE III: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Expression Analysis of Circular RNAs in Young and Sexually Mature Boar Testes.

Testicular development is critical for male animals' reproduction and is tightly regulated by epigenetic factors. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) were recently identified in the testes of humans and bulls. However, the expression profile of circRNAs and their potential biological functions in boar testicular development remain unclear. We identified 34,521 and 31,803 circRNAs in piglet (30 d) and adult (210 d) boar testes by high-throughput sequencing, respectively. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that these circRNAs are widely distributed on autosomes and sex chromosomes. Some of the host genes can generate multiple circRNAs. A total of 2326 differentially expressed circRNAs (DECs) derived from 1526 host genes was found in testicular development, of which 1003 circRNAs were up-regulated in adult boar testes and 1323 circRNAs were down-regulated. Furthermore, gene ontology analysis of host genes of DECs revealed that these circRNAs are mainly involved in regulating spermatogenesis, cilia motility, and hormone biosynthesis. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis revealed that the DECs are markedly enriched to stem cell pluripotency regulation, tight junctions, adhesion junctions, and cAMP signaling pathway. These results indicate that circRNAs are abundantly expressed in boar testes and exhibit dynamic changes during testicular development.

Versatile control of the CDC48 segregase by the plant UBX-containing (PUX) proteins.

In plants, AAA-adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) Cell Division Control Protein 48 (CDC48) uses the force generated through ATP hydrolysis to pull, extract, and unfold ubiquitylated or sumoylated proteins from the membrane, chromatin, or protein complexes. The resulting changes in protein or RNA content are an important means for plants to control protein homeostasis and thereby adapt to shifting environmental conditions. The activity and targeting of CDC48 are controlled by adaptor proteins, of which the plant ubiquitin regulatory X (UBX) domain-containing (PUX) proteins constitute the largest family. Emerging knowledge on the structure and function of PUX proteins highlights that these proteins are versatile factors for plant homeostasis and adaptation that might inspire biotechnological applications.

Sensitivity, Noise and Resolution in a BEOL-Modified Foundry-Made ISFET with Miniaturized Reference Electrode for Wearable Point-of-Care Applications.

Ion-sensitive field-effect transistors (ISFETs) form a high sensitivity and scalable class of sensors, compatible with advanced complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) processes. Despite many previous demonstrations about their merits as low-power integrated sensors, very little is known about their noise characterization when being operated in a liquid gate configuration. The noise characteristics in various regimes of their operation are important to select the most suitable conditions for signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and power consumption. This work reports systematic DC, transient, and noise characterizations and models of a back-end of line (BEOL)-modified foundry-made ISFET used as pH sensor. The aim is to determine the sensor sensitivity and resolution to pH changes and to calibrate numerical and lumped element models, capable of supporting the interpretation of the experimental findings. The experimental sensitivity is approximately 40 mV/pH with a normalized resolution of 5 mpH per µm2, in agreement with the literature state of the art. Differences in the drain current noise spectra between the ISFET and MOSFET configurations of the same device at low currents (weak inversion) suggest that the chemical noise produced by the random binding/unbinding of the H+ ions on the sensor surface is likely the dominant noise contribution in this regime. In contrast, at high currents (strong inversion), the two configurations provide similar drain noise levels suggesting that the noise originates in the underlying FET rather than in the sensing region.

Epidemiological survey of human echinococcosis in east Gansu, China.

Echinococcosis is endemic in pastoral regions of south, west and mid-Gansu province, China. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of echinococcosis in east Gansu, and analyze its associated risk factors. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2011 in 12 villages of Xiaonangou township, Huan County in east Gansu province by ultrasound abdominal scan and auxiliary serotest, and a prevalence surveillance study from 2008 to 2014 was performed in one villages by ultrasonography screening. Questionnaire information analysis indicates that the risk factors are in association with the gender, age, and education level. The cross-sectional survey found a cystic echinococcosis prevalence of 2.21% (107/4837). Higher prevalence was seen in females (χ2 = 4.198, P < 0.05), older ages (> 60 years) (χ2trend = 96.30, P < 0.05), and illiterates (χ2 = 90.101, P < 0.05). Prevalence surveillance showed changing profile of 3.35% in 2011 to 0.88% (1/113) in 2014.

Extended gate field-effect-transistor for sensing cortisol stress hormone.

Cortisol is a hormone released in response to stress and is a major glucocorticoid produced by adrenal glands. Here, we report a wearable sensory electronic chip using label-free detection, based on a platinum/graphene aptamer extended gate field effect transistor (EG-FET) for the recognition of cortisol in biological buffers within the Debye screening length. The device shows promising experimental features for real-time monitoring of the circadian rhythm of cortisol in human sweat. We report a hysteresis-free EG-FET with a voltage sensitivity of the order of 14 mV/decade and current sensitivity up to 80% over the four decades of cortisol concentration. The detection limit is 0.2 nM over a wide range, between 1 nM and 10 µM, of cortisol concentrations in physiological fluid, with negligible drift over time and high selectivity. The dynamic range fully covers those in human sweat. We propose a comprehensive analysis and a unified, predictive analytical mapping of current sensitivity in all regimes of operation.

Estimating salt content of vegetated soil at different depths with Sentinel-2 data.

The accurate and timely monitoring of the soil salt content (SSC) at different depths is the prerequisite for the solution to salinization in the arid and semiarid areas. Sentinel-2 has demonstrated significant superiority in SSC inversion for its higher temporal, spatial and spectral resolution, but previous research on SSC inversion with Sentinel-2 mainly focused on the unvegetated surface soil. Based on Sentinel-2 data, this study aimed to build four machine learning models at five depths (0∼20 cm, 20∼40 cm, 40∼60 cm, 0∼40 cm, and 0∼60 cm) in the vegetated area, and evaluate the sensitivity of Sentinel-2 to SSC at different depths and the inversion capability of the models. Firstly, 117 soil samples were collected from Jiefangzha Irrigation Area (JIA) in Hetao Irrigation District (HID), Inner Mongolia, China during August, 2019. Then a set of independent variables (IVs, including 12 bands and 32 spectral indices) were obtained based on the Sentinel-2 data (released by the European Space Agency), and the full subset selection was used to select the optimal combination of IVs at five depths. Finally, four machine learning algorithms, back propagation neural network (BPNN), support vector machine (SVM), extreme learning machine (ELM) and random forest (RF), were used to build inversion models at each depth. The model performance was assessed using adjusted coefficient of determination (R2 adj ), root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE). The results indicated that 20∼40 cm was the optimal depth for SSC inversion. All the models at this depth demonstrated a good fitting (R2 adj ≈ 0.6) and a good control of the inversion errors (RMSE < 0.16%, MAE < 0.12%). At the depths of 40∼60 cm and 0∼20 cm the inversion performance showed a slight and a great decrease respectively. The sensitivity of Sentinel-2 to SSC at different depths was as follows: 20∼40 cm > 40∼60 cm > 0∼40 cm > 0∼60 cm > 0∼20 cm. All four machine learning models demonstrated good inversion performance (R2 adj > 0.46). RF was the best model with high fitting and inversion accuracy. Its R2 adj at five depths were between 0.5 to 0.68. The SSC inversion capabilities of all the four models were as follows: RF model > ELM model > SVM model > BPNN model. This study can provide a reference for soil salinization monitoring in large vegetated area.