Metagenomic perspectives on antibiotic resistance genes in tap water: The environmental characteristic, potential mobility and health threat.

As an emerging environmental contaminant, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in tap water have attracted great attention. Although studies have provided ARG profiles in tap water, research on their abundance levels, composition characteristics, and potential threat is still insufficient. Here, 9 household tap water samples were collected from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) in China. Additionally, 75 sets of environmental sample data (9 types) were downloaded from the public database. Metagenomics was then performed to explore the differences in the abundance and composition of ARGs. 221 ARG subtypes consisting of 17 types were detected in tap water. Although the ARG abundance in tap water was not significantly different from that found in drinking water plants and reservoirs, their composition varied. In tap water samples, the three most abundant classes of resistance genes were multidrug, fosfomycin and MLS (macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin) ARGs, and their corresponding subtypes ompR, fosX and macB were also the most abundant ARG subtypes. Regarding the potential mobility, vanS had the highest abundance on plasmids and viruses, but the absence of key genes rendered resistance to vancomycin ineffective. Generally, the majority of ARGs present in tap water were those that have not been assessed and are currently not listed as high-threat level ARG families based on the World Health Organization Guideline. Although the current potential threat to human health posed by ARGs in tap water is limited, with persistent transfer and accumulation, especially in pathogens, the potential danger to human health posed by ARGs should not be ignored.

Automated data collection tool for real-world cohort studies of chronic hepatitis B: Leveraging OCR and NLP technologies for improved efficiency.

Background: Collecting and standardizing clinical research data is a very tedious task. This study is to develop an intelligent data collection tool, named CHB-EDC, for real-world cohort studies of chronic hepatitis B (CHB), which can assist in standardized and efficient data collection. Methods: CHB_EDC is capable of automatically processing various formats of data, including raw data in image format, using internationally recognized data standards, OCR, and NLP models. It can automatically populate the data into eCRFs designed in the REDCap system, supporting the integration of patient data from electronic medical record systems through commonly used web application interfaces. This tool enables intelligent extraction and aggregation of data, as well as secure and anonymous data sharing. Results: For non-electronic data collection, the average accuracy of manual collection was 98.65 %, with an average time of 63.64 min to collect information for one patient. The average accuracy CHB-EDC was 98.66 %, with an average time of 3.57 min to collect information for one patient. In the same data collection task, CHB-EDC achieved a comparable average accuracy to manual collection. However, in terms of time, CHB-EDC significantly outperformed manual collection (p < 0.05). Our research has significantly reduced the required collection time and lowered the cost of data collection while ensuring accuracy. Conclusion: The tool has significantly improved the efficiency of data collection while ensuring accuracy, enabling standardized collection of real-world data.

Role of Enterococcus mundtii in gut of the tomato leaf miner (Tuta absoluta) to detoxification of Chlorantraniliprole.

Chlorantraniliprole (CAP) is applied worldwide for the control of caterpillars (Lepidoptera). However, with the overuse of CAP, the resistance problem in pest control is becoming increasingly serious. Recent studies have indicated a central role of the gut symbiont in insect pest resistance to pesticides and these may apply to the tomato leaf miner Tuta absoluta, is one of the most destructive insects worldwide. Here, we successfully isolated seven strains of tolerant CAP bacterium from the CAP-resistant T. absoluta gut, of which Enterococcus mundtii E14 showed the highest CAP tolerance, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 1.6 g/L and CAP degradation rate of 42.4%. Through transcriptomics and metabolism analysis, we studied the detoxification process of CAP by the E. mundtii E14, and found that CAP can be degraded by E. mundtii E14 into non-toxic compounds, such as 3,4-dihydroxy-2-(5-hydroxy-3,7-dimethylocta-2,6-dien-1-yl) benzoic acid and 2-pyridylacetic acid. Additionally, 2-pyridylacetic acid was detected both intracellular and extracellular in E. mundtii E14 treated with CAP. Meanwhile, we identified 52 up-regulated genes, including those associated with CAP degradation, such as RS11670 and RS19130. Transcriptome results annotated using KEGG indicated significant enrichment in up-regulated genes related to the glyoxylate cycle, nitrogen metabolism, and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. Additionally, we observed that reinfection with E. mundtii E14 may effectively enhance resistance of T. absoluta to CAP. The LC50 values of the antibiotic treatment population of T. absoluta reinfection with E. mundtii E14 is 0.6122 mg/L, which was 18.27 folds higher than before reinfection. These findings offer new insights into T. absoluta resistance to CAP and contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between insecticide resistance and gut symbionts of T. absoluta, which may play a pivotal role in pest management.

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Furopyridone Derivatives as Potent Cytotoxic Agents against Esophageal Cancer.

Cancer continues to be a major global health issue, ranking among the top causes of death worldwide. To develop novel antitumor agents, this study focused on the synthesis of a series of 21 novel furanopyridinone derivatives through structural modifications and functional enhancements. The in vitro anti-tumor activities of these compounds were investigated through the cytotoxicity against KYSE70 and KYSE150 and led to the identification of compound 4c as the most potent compound. At a concentration of 20 µg/mL, compound 4c demonstrated a remarkable 99% inhibition of KYSE70 and KYSE150 cell growth after 48 h. IC50 was 0.655 µg/mL after 24 h. Additionally, potential anti-tumor cellular mechanisms were explored through molecular docking, which was used to predict the binding mode of 4c with METAP2 and EGFR, suggesting that the C=O part of the pyridone moiety likely played a crucial role in binding. This study provided valuable insights and guidance for the development of novel anticancer drugs with novel structural scaffolds.

Extracellular vesicles from a novel Lactiplantibacillus plantarum strain suppress inflammation and promote M2 macrophage polarization.

Background: Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) is known for its probiotic properties, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Recent studies have highlighted the role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) from prokaryotic cells in anti-inflammatory effects. Objective: This study aims to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of extracellular vesicles derived from a newly isolated strain of L. plantarum (LP25 strain) and their role in macrophage polarization. Methods: The LP25 strain and its extracellular vesicles were isolated and identified through genomic sequencing, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA). RAW 264.7 cells were treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and/or LP25-derived extracellular vesicles (LEV). Morphological changes in the cells were observed, and the expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6)、iNOS and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10) 、Arg-1 were measured using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). Flow cytometry was used to detect the expression of Arg-1 in the treated cells. Results: Treatment with LP25 EVs led to significant morphological changes in RAW 264.7 cells exposed to LPS. LP25 EVs treatment resulted in increased expression of Arg-1 and anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10, and decreased expression of iNOS and surface markers protein CD86. Flow cytometry confirmed the increased expression of the M2 macrophage marker Arg-1 in the LP25 EVs-treated group. Conclusion: Extracellular vesicles from Lactiplantibacillus plantarum LP25 can suppress inflammatory responses and promote the polarization of macrophages toward the anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype. These findings provide new evidence supporting the anti-inflammatory activity of L. plantarum-derived EVs.

[The surgical outcomes in management of jugular foramen paragangliomas with tension free anterior rerouting of the facial never and tunnel packing of the inferior petrous sinus].

Objective:The aim of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of surgical interventions ofjugular foramen paragangliomas（JFP） utilizing modified surgical techniques, tensionfree anterior rerouting of the facial nerve and tunnel-packing or push-packing of the inferior petrous sinus. Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on a cohort of 88 patients diagnosed with JFP and treated at the Eye Ear Nose and Throat Hospital of Fudan University（in Shanghai, China） from October 2010 to June 2021. The surgical outcomes were analyzed for tumor classification, intraoperative conditions, and function of the postoperative facial nerve（FN） and lower cranial nerve（LCN）. Results:The study included a total of 88 patients, gross total resection was achieved in 70 patients（79.5%）, near total resection was obtained in 17 patients（19.3%）, and one patient undergoing subtotal resection. The average of intraoperative blood loss was 448.3 mL. Additionally, 24 patients underwent surgical total anterior rerouting（TAR）, 18 patients underwent surgical total FN tension free anterior rerouting（TF-TAR）, and 18 patients underwent surgical FN partial FN tension free anterior rerouting（TF-PAR）. Good postoperative FN function（House-Brackmann Ⅰ-Ⅱ） was achieved in 62.5% of TAR group. In the TF-TAR and PF_TAR groups, good postoperative FN function was demonstrated in 88.9% patients. It showed a significantly improvement of the FN function following application of tension-free FN anterior rerouting technique（P=0.007）. Twenty patients（22.7%） suffered from at least one LCN deficit in the preoperative evaluation. The postoperative LCN deficits was correlated with the Fisch classification of tumors, which showed a lower incidence of LCN dysfunction in classes C1-C2（4.9%, 2/41cases） and poorer outcomes of LCN dysfunction in classes C3-D（8.5%,4/47cases ）, it was likely less impacted the LCN function in the early stage tumor. Conclusion:The application of modified surgical techniques of FN tension-free anterior rerouting and tunnel-packing of the inferior petrous sinus has been shown to effectively preserve the function of the FN and LCN, decrease intraoperative blood loss, and ultimately improve patients' postoperative quality of life.

Elevational distribution patterns and drivers factors of fungal community diversity at different soil depths in the Abies georgei var. smithii forests on Sygera Mountains, southeastern Tibet, China.

Introduction: Soil fungal communities play a crucial role in maintaining the ecological functions of alpine forest soil ecosystems. However, it is currently unclear how the distribution patterns of fungal communities in different soil layers of alpine forests will change along the elevational gradients. Material and methods: Therefore, Illumina MiSeq sequencing technology was employed to investigate fungal communities in three soil layers (0-10, 10-20, and 20-30 cm) along an elevational gradient (3500 m to 4300 m) at Sygera Mountains, located in Bayi District, Nyingchi City, Tibet. Results and discussion: The results indicated that: 1) Soil depth had a greater impact on fungal diversity than elevation, demonstrating a significant reduction in fungal diversity with increased soil depth but showing no significant difference with elevation changes in all soil layers. Within the 0-10 cm soil layer, both Basidiomycota and Ascomycota co-dominate the microbial community. However, as the soil depth increases to 10-20 and 20-30 cm soil layers, the Basidiomycota predominantly dominates. 2) Deterministic processes were dominant in the assembly mechanism of the 0-10 cm fungal community and remained unchanged with increasing elevation. By contrast, the assembly mechanisms of the 10-20 and 20-30 cm fungal communities shifted from deterministic to stochastic processes as elevation increased. 3) The network complexity of the 0-10 cm fungal community gradually increased with elevation, while that of the 10-20 and 20-30 cm fungal communities exhibited a decreasing trend. Compared to the 0-10 cm soil layer, more changes in the relative abundance of fungal biomarkers occurred in the 10-20 and 20-30 cm soil layers, indicating that the fungal communities at these depths are more sensitive to climate changes. Among the key factors driving these alterations, soil temperature and moisture soil water content stood out as pivotal in shaping the assembly mechanisms and network complexity of fungal communities. This study contributes to the understanding of soil fungal community patterns and drivers along elevational gradients in alpine ecosystems and provides important scientific evidence for predicting the functional responses of soil microbial ecosystems in alpine forests.

Essential features of weak current for excellent enhancement of NOx reduction over monoatomic V-based catalyst.

Human society is facing increasingly serious problems of environmental pollution and energy shortage, and up to now, achieving high NH3-SCR activity at ultra-low temperatures (<150 °C) remains challenging for the V-based catalysts with V content below 2%. In this study, the monoatomic V-based catalyst under the weak current-assisted strategy can completely convert NOx into N2 at ultra-low temperature with V content of 1.36%, which shows the preeminent turnover frequencies (TOF145 °C = 1.97×10-3 s-1). The improvement of catalytic performance is mainly attributed to the enhancement catalysis of weak current (ECWC) rather than electric field, which significantly reduce the energy consumption of the catalytic system by more than 90%. The further mechanism research for the ECWC based on a series of weak current-assisted characterization means and DFT calculations confirms that migrated electrons mainly concentrate around the V single atoms and increase the proportion of antibonding orbitals, which make the V-O chemical bond weaker (electron scissors effect) and thus accelerate oxygen circulation. The novel current-assisted catalysis in the present work can potentially apply to other environmental and energy fields.

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α promotes macrophage functional activities in protecting hypoxia-tolerant large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) against Aeromonas hydrophila infection.

The immune system requires a high energy expenditure to resist pathogen invasion. Macrophages undergo metabolic reprogramming to meet these energy requirements and immunologic activity and polarize to M1-type macrophages. Understanding the metabolic pathway switching in large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) macrophages in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation and whether this switching affects immunity is helpful in explaining the stronger immunity of hypoxia-tolerant L. crocea. In this study, transcript levels of glycolytic pathway genes (Glut1 and Pdk1), mRNA levels or enzyme activities of glycolytic enzymes [hexokinase (HK), phosphofructokinase (PFK), pyruvate kinase (PK), and lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA)], aerobic respiratory enzymes [pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH), isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH), and succinate dehydrogenase (SDH)], metabolites [lactic acid (LA) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP)], levels of bactericidal products [reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO)], and transcripts and level changes of inflammatory factors [IL1ß, TNFα, and interferon (IFN) γ] were detected in LPS-stimulated L. crocea head kidney macrophages. We showed that glycolysis was significantly induced, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle was inhibited, and metabolic reprogramming occurred, showing the Warburg effect when immune cells were activated. To determine the potential regulatory mechanism behind these changes, LcHIF-1α was detected and found to be significantly induced and transferred to the nucleus after LPS stimulation. LcHif-1α interference led to a significant reduction in glycolytic pathway gene transcript expression, enzyme activity, metabolites, bactericidal substances, and inflammatory factor levels; a significant increase in the aerobic respiration enzymes; and decreased migration, invasion, and phagocytosis. Further ultrastructural observation by electron microscopy showed that fewer microspheres contained phagocytes and that more cells were damaged after LcHif-1α interference. LcHif-1α overexpression L. crocea head kidney macrophages showed the opposite trend, and promoter activities of Ldha and Il1ß were significantly enhanced after LcHif-1α overexpression in HEK293T cells. Our data showed that LcHIF-1α acted as a metabolic switch in L. crocea macrophages and was important in polarization. Hypoxia-tolerant L. crocea head kidney showed a stronger Warburg effect and inhibited the TCA cycle, higher metabolites, and bactericidal substance levels. These results collectively revealed that LcHif-1α may promote the functional activities of head kidney macrophages in protecting hypoxia-tolerant L. crocea from Aeromonas hydrophila infection.

Colorimetric and Fluorometric Determination of Fluoride in Tetrahydrofuran and Dimethyl Sulfoxide Using a 4-Hydroxypyrene Probe.

F- ions (fluoride ions) are crucial in various chemical waste and environmental safety contexts. However, excessive fluoride exposure can pose a threat to human well-being. In this study, a simple 4-substituted pyrene derivative known as 4-hydroxypyrene (4-PyOH) was designed as a colorimetric probe for detecting F- through the formation of hydrogen bonds between F- and a hydroxyl group. The probe 4-PyOH exhibited exceptional sensitivity and selectivity towards F- ions and was successfully utilized as test strips for detecting F- ions in organic solvents. The detection limit reached an impressively low level of 3.06 × 10-7 M in the organic solvent. The recognition mechanism was confirmed through 1H NMR titration.

DDP-FedFV: A Dual-Decoupling Personalized Federated Learning Framework for Finger Vein Recognition.

Finger vein recognition methods, as emerging biometric technologies, have attracted increasing attention in identity verification due to their high accuracy and live detection capabilities. However, as privacy protection awareness increases, traditional centralized finger vein recognition algorithms face privacy and security issues. Federated learning, a distributed training method that protects data privacy without sharing data across endpoints, is gradually being promoted and applied. Nevertheless, its performance is severely limited by heterogeneity among datasets. To address these issues, this paper proposes a dual-decoupling personalized federated learning framework for finger vein recognition (DDP-FedFV). The DDP-FedFV method combines generalization and personalization. In the first stage, the DDP-FedFV method implements a dual-decoupling mechanism involving model and feature decoupling to optimize feature representations and enhance the generalizability of the global model. In the second stage, the DDP-FedFV method implements a personalized weight aggregation method, federated personalization weight ratio reduction (FedPWRR), to optimize the parameter aggregation process based on data distribution information, thereby enhancing the personalization of the client models. To evaluate the performance of the DDP-FedFV method, theoretical analyses and experiments were conducted based on six public finger vein datasets. The experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm outperforms centralized training models without increasing communication costs or privacy leakage risks.

Regulation of post-translational modification of PD-L1 and associated opportunities for novel small-molecule therapeutics.

PD-L1 is overexpressed on the surface of tumor cells and binds to PD-1, resulting in tumor immune escape. Therapeutic strategies to target the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway involve blocking the binding. Immune checkpoint inhibitors have limited efficacy against tumors because PD-L1 is also present in the cytoplasm. PD-L1 of post-translational modifications (PTMs) have uncovered numerous mechanisms contributing to carcinogenesis and have identified potential therapeutic targets. Therefore, small molecule inhibitors can block crucial carcinogenic signaling pathways, making them a potential therapeutic option. To better develop small molecule inhibitors, we have summarized the PTMs of PD-L1. This review discusses the regulatory mechanisms of small molecule inhibitors in carcinogenesis and explore their potential applications, proposing a novel approach for tumor immunotherapy based on PD-L1 PTM.

[Box: see text].

The intrabulbar or extrabulbar growth pattern and its surgical outcomes of jugular foramen paragangliomas.

OBJECTIVE: This study is to define a subclassification system of jugular foramen paragangliomas (JFPs) and to demonstrate corresponding microsurgical outcomes of JFPs. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: A single-center study. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of the clinical data of 44 patients with JFPs who underwent surgical management. Extrabulbar(Be) tumor and intrabulbar(Bi) tumor are defined based on the growth patterns, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of the imaging profile were generated and was confirmed based on intraoperative findings. Area Under Curve (AUC), accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity for diagnostic imaging were revealed. We also compared the correlation between the two growth patterns with Fisch's classification, blood loss, lower cranial nerves (LCNs) deficit. RESULTS: There are 27 (69%) cases of Bi tumor and 17 (39%) cases of Be tumor. Significant radiomics features between the two growth patterns were demonstrated, ROC curves achieved excellent AUCs for MRI sequences (T1W1 MRI, MR contrast-enhanced sequence, MR complex sequences and MR complex + DSA by 0.833, 0.833, 0.875, 0.944) and had statistically significant in diagnosis of two growth patterns (P<0.05). There was no statistical correlation between growth patterns of JFPs and intra-operative blood loss. Preoperative LCNs deficits and Fisch's classification of tumors were correlated with the growth patterns of JFPs (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: We proposetd two growth patterns of JFPs in term of the inferior petrous sinus involvement. Identification of Bi or Be growth patterns preoperatively is helpful to design optimal surgical strategies and minimize postoperative complications.

Disparities in Genetic Diversity Drive the Population Displacement of Two Invasive Cryptic Species of the Bemisia tabaci Complex in China.

Within the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) complex, two cryptic species, namely Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) and Mediterranean (MED), are important invasive pests affecting global agriculture and horticulture. They were introduced into China sequentially in the mid-1990s and around 2003, respectively. Subsequently, the latter invader MED has outcompeted the earlier invader MEAM1, becoming the dominant population in the field. Although extensive studies have explored the underlying mechanisms driving this shift, the contribution of population genetics remains notably underexplored. In this study, we analyzed the genetic diversity and structure of 22 MED and 8 MEAM1 populations from various regions of China using mitochondrial DNA sequencing and microsatellite genotyping. Our results indicate low and moderate levels of genetic differentiation among geographically separate populations of MED and MEAM1, respectively. Median-joining network analysis of mtCOI gene haplotypes revealed no clear geographic structuring for either, with common haplotypes observed across provinces, although MED had more haplotypes. Comparative analyses revealed that MED presented greater genetic diversity than MEAM1 on the basis of two markers. Furthermore, analysis of molecular variance supported these findings, suggesting that while some genetic variation exists between populations, a significant amount is also present within populations. These findings reveal the population genetics of the two invasive cryptic species of the B. tabaci complex in China and suggest that the disparities in genetic diversity drive the displacement of their populations in the field. This work also provides valuable information on the genetic factors influencing the population dynamics and dominance of these invasive whitefly species.

Genome-Wide Identification, Evolution, and Female-Biased Expression Analysis of Odorant Receptors in Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae).

The tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), is a highly destructive invasive pest targeting Solanaceae crops. Its olfactory system plays a crucial role in host location, mate finding, and other behavioral activities. However, there is a notable gap in the literature regarding the characterization of its chemosensory genes. In this study, we conducted a genome-wide identification of 58 odorant receptors (ORs) of T. absoluta. The identified ORs exhibit coding sequence (CDS) lengths ranging from 1062 bp to 1419 bp, encoding proteins of 354 to 473 amino acids. Gene structure analysis showed that the majority of these ORs consist of five, seven, eight, or nine exons, collectively representing 67% of the total ORs identified. Through chromosomal mapping, we identified several tandemly duplicate genes, including TabsOR12a, TabsOR12b, TabsOR12c, TabsOR21a, TabsOR21b, TabsOR34a, TabsOR34b, TabsOR34c, TabsOR62a, and TabsOR62b. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that six TabsORs were clustered within the lepidopteran sex pheromone receptor clade, while an expansion clade containing ten TabsORs resulted from tandem duplication events. Additionally, five TabsORs were classified into a specific OR clade in T. absoluta. Furthermore, through RNA-Seq and RT-qPCR analyses, we identified five TabsORs (TabsOR21a, TabsOR26a, TabsOR34a, TabsOR34c, and TabsOR36) exhibiting female-antennae-biased expression. Our study provides a valuable foundation to further investigations into the molecular and ecological functions of TabsORs, particularly in relation to oviposition behavior. These findings provide foundational data for the future exploration of the functions of female-biased expression OR genes in T. absoluta, thereby facilitating the further development of eco-friendly attract-and-kill techniques for the prevention and control of T. absoluta.

Improvement of the YOLOv8 Model in the Optimization of the Weed Recognition Algorithm in Cotton Field.

Due to the existence of cotton weeds in a complex cotton field environment with many different species, dense distribution, partial occlusion, and small target phenomena, the use of the YOLO algorithm is prone to problems such as low detection accuracy, serious misdetection, etc. In this study, we propose a YOLOv8-DMAS model for the detection of cotton weeds in complex environments based on the YOLOv8 detection algorithm. To enhance the ability of the model to capture multi-scale features of different weeds, all the BottleNeck are replaced by the Dilation-wise Residual Module (DWR) in the C2f network, and the Multi-Scale module (MSBlock) is added in the last layer of the backbone. Additionally, a small-target detection layer is added to the head structure to avoid the omission of small-target weed detection, and the Adaptively Spatial Feature Fusion mechanism (ASFF) is used to improve the detection head to solve the spatial inconsistency problem of feature fusion. Finally, the original Non-maximum suppression (NMS) method is replaced with SoftNMS to improve the accuracy under dense weed detection. In comparison to YOLO v8s, the experimental results show that the improved YOLOv8-DMAS improves accuracy, recall, mAP0.5, and mAP0.5:0.95 by 1.7%, 3.8%, 2.1%, and 3.7%, respectively. Furthermore, compared to the mature target detection algorithms YOLOv5s, YOLOv7, and SSD, it improves 4.8%, 4.5%, and 5.9% on mAP0.5:0.95, respectively. The results show that the improved model could accurately detect cotton weeds in complex field environments in real time and provide technical support for intelligent weeding research.

Drinking water safety improvement and future challenge of lakes and reservoirs.

To meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 6.1, China has undertaken significant initiatives to address the uneven distribution of water resources and to enhance water quality. Since 2000, China has invested heavily in the water infrastructure of numerous reservoirs, with a total storage capacity increase of 4.704 × 1011 m3 (an increase of 90.8%). These reservoirs have significantly enhanced the available freshwater resources for drinking water. Concurrently, efforts to improve water quality in lakes and reservoirs, facilitated by nationwide water quality monitoring, have been successful. As a result, an increasing lakes and reservoirs are designated as centralized drinking water sources (CDWSs) in China. Among the 3,441 CDWSs across all provinces, 40.8% are sourced from lakes and reservoirs, 32.6% from rivers, and 26.6% from groundwater in 2023. Notably, from 2016 to 2023, the percentage of lakes and reservoirs categorized as CDWSs has increased consistently across all 29 provinces. This progress has enabled 561.4 million urban residents to access improved drinking water sources in 2022, compared to 303.4 million in 2004. Our findings underscore the pivotal role of water infrastructure construction and water quality improvement jointly promoting lakes and reservoirs as vital drinking water sources. Nevertheless, the nationwide occurrence of algal blooms has surged by 113.7% from the 2000s to the 2010s , which is a considerable challenge to drinking water safety. Fortunately, algal blooms have been markedly alleviated in past four years. However, it is still crucial to acknowledge that lakes and reservoirs face the challenges of algal blooms, and associated toxic microcystin and odor compounds.

Turning sublimed sulfur and bFGF into a nanocomposite to accelerate wound healing via co-activate FGFR and Hippo signaling pathway.

Clinical treatment of diabetic refractory ulcers is impeded by chronic inflammation and cell dysfunction associated with wound healing. The significant clinical application of bFGF in wound healing is limited by its instability in vivo. Sulfur has been applied for the treatment of skin diseases in the clinic for antibiosis. We previously found that sulfur incorporation improves the ability of selenium nanoparticles to accelerate wound healing, yet the toxicity of selenium still poses a risk for its clinical application. To obtain materials with high pro-regeneration activity and low toxicity, we explored the mechanism by which selenium-sulfur nanoparticles aid in wound healing via RNA-Seq and designed a nanoparticle called Nano-S@bFGF, which was constructed from sulfur and bFGF. As expected, Nano-S@bFGF not only regenerated zebrafish tail fins and promoted skin wound healing but also promoted skin repair in diabetic mice with a profitable safety profile. Mechanistically, Nano-S@bFGF successfully coactivated the FGFR and Hippo signalling pathways to regulate wound healing. Briefly, the Nano-S@bFGF reported here provides an efficient and feasible method for the synthesis of bioactive nanosulfur and bFGF. In the long term, our results reinvigorated efforts to discover more peculiar unique biofunctions of sulfur and bFGF in a great variety of human diseases.

Spatial Transcriptome-Wide Profiling of Small Cell Lung Cancer Reveals Intra-Tumoral Molecular and Subtype Heterogeneity.

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a highly aggressive malignancy characterized by rapid growth and early metastasis and is susceptible to treatment resistance and recurrence. Understanding the intra-tumoral spatial heterogeneity in SCLC is crucial for improving patient outcomes and clinically relevant subtyping. In this study, a spatial whole transcriptome-wide analysis of 25 SCLC patients at sub-histological resolution using GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiling technology is performed. This analysis deciphered intra-tumoral multi-regional heterogeneity, characterized by distinct molecular profiles, biological functions, immune features, and molecular subtypes within spatially localized histological regions. Connections between different transcript-defined intra-tumoral phenotypes and their impact on patient survival and therapeutic response are also established. Finally, a gene signature, termed ITHtyper, based on the prevalence of intra-tumoral heterogeneity levels, which enables patient risk stratification from bulk RNA-seq profiles is identified. The prognostic value of ITHtyper is rigorously validated in independent multicenter patient cohorts. This study introduces a preliminary tumor-centric, regionally targeted spatial transcriptome resource that sheds light on previously unexplored intra-tumoral spatial heterogeneity in SCLC. These findings hold promise to improve tumor reclassification and facilitate the development of personalized treatments for SCLC patients.

Acesulfame potassium triggers inflammatory bowel disease via the inhibition of focal adhesion pathway.

Acesulfame potassium (ACK) was generally regarded as innocuous and extensively ingested. Nevertheless, ACK has recently gained attention as a burgeoning pollutant that has the potential to induce a range of health hazards, particularly to the digestive system. Herein, we uncover that ACK initiates inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in mice and zebrafish, as indicated by the aggregation of macrophages in the intestine and the inhibition of intestinal mucus secretion. Transcriptome analysis of mice and zebrafish guts revealed that exposure to ACK typically impacts the cell cycle, focal adhesion, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways. Using pharmacological approaches, we demonstrate that the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) triggered by cell division are not significant factors in the initiation of IBD caused by ACK. Remarkably, inhibition of the focal adhesion pathway is responsible for the IBD onset induced by ACK. Our results indicate the detrimental impacts and possible underlying mechanisms of ACK on the gastrointestinal system and provide insights for making informed choices about everyday dietary habits.