Cropping with Vicia villosa and native grass improves soil's bacterial structure and ecological network in a jujube orchard.

In a jujube orchard, cropping withgrass may influence bacterial diversity and ecological networks due to changes of physicochemical properties in soil, which has a serious effect on the stability of soil ecosystems. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of different cultivation methods (CK: cleaning tillage; NG: cropping with native grass; VV: cropping with Vicia villosa) on the soil's bacterial structure and its co-occurrence network in a jujube orchard. The results showed that the highest moisture content, total nitrogen, and organic matter in the rhizosphere soil of a jujube orchard was found in the VV group. The soil's moisture content, total nitrogen, and organic matter in the VV group were 2.66%, 0.87 g kg-1, and 5.55 mg kg-1 higher than that found in the CK group. Compared to the CK group, the number of unique species in the rhizosphere soil in the NG and the VV groups increased by 7.33% and 21.44%. The PICRUSt and FAPROTAX analysis showed that sown grass had a greater influence on the ecological function of the soil's bacteria. Cropping with Vicia villosa and native grass significantly increased aerobic chemoheterotrophy, nitrogen respiration, nitrate reduction related to biochemical cycles, and the relative abundance of genes related to carbohydrate metabolism and the biodegradation of xenobiotics. The bacterial network complexity in the NG group was higher than that in the CK and VV groups and was greatest in the hub nodes (OTU42, Bacteroidota; OTU541, Nitrospiraceae). In this study, the ecological benefit seen in the soil's microbial function provides support to the theory that cropping with grass (Vicia villosa) increases the sustainable development of a jujube orchard.

Changes in the serum metabolomics of polycystic ovary syndrome before and after compound oral contraceptive treatment.

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is both a common endocrine syndrome and a metabolic disorder that results in harm to the reproductive system and whole-body metabolism. This study aimed to investigate differences in the serum metabolic profiles of patients with PCOS compared with healthy controls, in addition to investigating the effects of compound oral contraceptive (COC) treatment in patients with PCOS. Materials and methods: 50 patients with PCOS and 50 sex-matched healthy controls were recruited. Patients with PCOS received three cycles of self-administered COC treatment. Clinical characteristics were recorded, and the laboratory biochemical data were detected. We utilized ultra-performance liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry to study the serum metabolic changes between patients with PCOS, patients with PCOS following COC treatment, and healthy controls. Result: Patients with PCOS who received COC treatment showed significant improvements in serum sex hormone levels, a reduction in luteinising hormone levels, and a significant reduction in the levels of biologically active free testosterone in the blood. Differential metabolite correlation analysis revealed differences between PCOS and healthy control groups in N-tetradecanamide, hexadecanamide, 10E,12Z-octadecadienoic acid, and 13-HOTrE(r); after 3 months of COC treatment, there were significant differences in benzoic acid, organic acid, and phenolamides. Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to analyse blood serum in each group, the characteristic changes in PCOS were metabolic disorders of amino acids, carbohydrates, and purines, with significant changes in the levels of total cholesterol, uric acid, phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and glutamate. Conclusion: Following COC treatment, improvements in sex hormone levels, endocrine factor levels, and metabolic levels were better than in the group of PCOS patients receiving no COC treatment, indicating that COC treatment for PCOS could effectively regulate the levels of sex hormones, endocrine factors, and serum metabolic profiles.

Effects of 1, 2-bis (2,4, 6-tribromophenoxy) ethane and bis (2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate on serum metabolic and lipid profiles in male rats.

This study explored the effects of 1, 2-bis (2,4, 6-tribromophenoxy) ethane (BTBPE) and bis (2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate (TBPH) on serum metabolites and lipids in male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Rats were orally gavaged 250 mg/kg bw of BTBPE and 500 mg/kg bw of TBPH for 28 consecutive days. Serum samples were collected for metabolomics and lipidomics analysis. Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) was used to explore changes in rat metabolic patterns. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression models were established using serum levels of total thyroxine (TT4), free thyroxine (FT4), and rats' grouping information as variables to screen for robust differential substances. SuperPred was the database to obtain potential targets. The metabolomics and lipidomics results showed that BTBPE and TBPH had an impact on rat metabolic patterns, affecting pathways such as vitamin B6 synthesis. For BTBPE treatment, pyridoxal and ceramide (Cer) 24:0;4O were selected as differential substances related to thyroid hormones. For TBPH treatment, dehydroascorbic acid, acylcarnitine (CAR) 19:0, and diglyceride (DG) 38:4 were selected as differential substances related to thyroid hormones. Serotonin 2c receptor and cyclooxygenase-2 were chosen as potential targets of BTBPE and TBPH, respectively. In conclusion, this study found that BTBPE and TBPH impacted the metabolism of rats, and this effect may be related to changes in thyroid function.

RNA editing landscape of adipose tissue in polycystic ovary syndrome provides insight into the obesity-related immune responses.

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common reproductive-endocrine disorder with wide-ranging metabolic implications, including obesity. RNA editing, a post-transcriptional modification, can fine-tune protein function and introduce heterogeneity. However, the role of RNA editing and its impact on adipose tissue function in PCOS remain poorly understood. Methods: This study aimed to comprehensively analyze RNA-editing events in abdominal and subcutaneous adipose tissue of PCOS patients and healthy controls using high-throughput whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and RNA sequencing. Results: Our results revealed that PCOS patients exhibited more RNA-editing sites, with adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) editing being prevalent. The expression of ADAR genes, responsible for A-to-I editing, was also higher in PCOS. Aberrant RNA-editing sites in PCOS adipose tissue was enriched in immune responses, and interleukin-12 biosynthetic process. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling, nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling, Notch signaling, terminal uridylyl transferase 4 (TUT4), hook microtubule tethering protein 3 (HOOK3), and forkhead box O1 (FOXO1) were identified to be of significant differences. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in PCOS adipose tissue were enriched in immune responses compared with controls, and the DEGs between subcutaneous and abdominal adipose tissue were also enriched in immune responses suggesting the important role of subcutaneous adipose tissue. Furthermore, we identified the correlations between RNA editing levels and RNA expression levels of specific genes, such as ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma translocation protein 1 (MALT1) in inflammation pathways and ATM, TUT4, and YTH N6-methyladenosine RNA-binding protein C2 (YTHDC2) in oocyte development pathway. Conclusions: These findings suggest that RNA-editing dysregulation in PCOS adipose tissue may contribute to inflammatory dysregulations. Understanding the interplay between RNA editing and adipose tissue function may unveil potential therapeutic targets for PCOS management. However, further research and validation are required to fully elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying these associations.

1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 reduces early mortality post severe burn injury via alleviating endotoxemia, oxidative stress and inflammation.

Severe burn patients frequently suffer from 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25-[OH]2-D3) deficiency. In this study, we investigated the effect of 1,25-[OH]2-D3 on early mortality post severe burn and potential underlying mechanisms. Our results indicate that 1,25-[OH]2-D3 significantly reduced early mortality in mice post severe burn injury. A decrease in serum lipopolysaccharide levels and an increase in serum superoxide dismutase activity were found after administration of 1,25-[OH]2-D3. Furthermore, 1,25-[OH]2-D3 demonstrated protective effects on both intestinal and lung histology and ameliorated lung inflammation. Its anti-inflammatory effect was further confirmed in airway epithelial cells. In conclusion, our study provides evidence that 1,25-[OH]2-D3 has a significant impact on the reduction of early mortality post severe burn injury, possibly through its ability to alleviate endotoxemia, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Our findings highlight the potential of 1,25-[OH]2-D3 to protect the intestinal mucosal barrier in the early stage following major burn injury and opens up new avenues for clinical application of 1,25-[OH]2-D3 in burn patients.

Mechanism and use strategy of uric acid-lowering drugs on coronary heart disease.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a serious cardiovascular illness, for which an elevated uric acid (UA) level presents as a considerable risk factor. This can be treated with UA-lowering drugs such as allopurinol and benzbromarone, which can reduce UA levels by the inhibition of UA production or by promoting its excretion. Such drugs can also be beneficial to CHD in other ways, such as reducing the degree of coronary arteriosclerosis, improving myocardial blood supply and alleviating ventricular remodeling. Different UA-lowering drugs are used in different ways: allopurinol is preferred as a single agent in clinical application, but in absence of the desired response, a combination of drugs such as benzbromarone with ACE inhibitors may be used. Patients must be monitored regularly to adjust the medication regimen. Appropriate use of UA-lowering drugs has great significance for the prevention and treatment of CHD. However, the specific mechanisms of the drugs and individualized drug use need further research. This review article expounds the mechanisms of UA-lowering drugs on CHD and their clinical application strategy, thereby providing a reference for further optimization of treatment.

Molybdenum diselenide/polymeric carbon nitride dual-homojunction photocatalyst with multi-step charge transfer for efficient catalytic carbon dioxide reduction.

Due to the high dissociation energy of carbon dioxide (CO2) and sluggish charge transfer dynamics, photocatalytic CO2 reduction with high performance remains a huge challenge. Herein, we report a novel dual-homojunction photocatalyst comprising of cyano/cyanamide groups co-modified carbon nitride (CN-TH) intramolecular homojunction and 1 T/2H-MoSe2 homojunction (denoted as 1 T/2H-MoSe2/CN-TH) for enhanced photocatalytic CO2 reduction. In this dual-homojunction photocatalyst, the intramolecular CN-TH homojunction could promote the intralayer charge separation and transfer owing to the strong electron-withdrawing capabilities of the two-type cyanamide, while the 1 T/2H-MoSe2 homojunction mainly contributes to a promote interlayer charge transport of CN-TH. This could consequently induce a tandem multi-step charge transfer and accelerate the charge transfer dynamics, resulting in enhanced CO2 reduction activities. Thanks to this tandem multi-step charge transfer, the optimized 1 T/2H-MoSe2/CN-TH dual-homojunction photocatalyst presented a high CO yield of 27.36 µmol·g-1·h-1, which is 3.58 and 2.87 times higher than those of 1 T/2H-MoSe2/CN and 2H-MoSe2/CN-TH single homojunctions, respectively. This work provides a novel strategy for efficient CO2 reduction via achieving a tandem multi-step charge transfer through designing dual-homojunction photocatalyst.

Design and Application of pH-Responsive Liposomes for Site-Specific Delivery of Cytotoxin from Cobra Venom.

Background: Current immunotherapies with unexpected severe side effects and treatment resistance have not resulted in the desired outcomes for patients with melanoma, and there is a need to discover more effective medications. Cytotoxin (CTX) from Cobra Venom has been established to have favorable cytolytic activity and antitumor efficacy and is regarded as a promising novel anticancer agent. However, amphiphilic CTX with excellent anionic phosphatidylserine lipid-binding ability may also damage normal cells. Methods: We developed pH-responsive liposomes with a high CTX load (CTX@PSL) for targeted acidic-stimuli release of drugs in the tumor microenvironment. The morphology, size, zeta potential, drug-release kinetics, and preservation stability were characterized. Cell uptake, apoptosis-promoting effects, and cytotoxicity were assessed using MTT assay and flow cytometry. Finally, the tissue distribution and antitumor effects of CTX@PSL were systematically assessed using an in vivo imaging system. Results: CTX@PSL exhibited high drug entrapment efficiency, drug loading, stability, and a rapid release profile under acidic conditions. These nanoparticles, irregularly spherical in shape and small in size, can effectively accumulate at tumor sites (six times higher than free CTX) and are rapidly internalized into cancer cells (2.5-fold higher cell uptake efficiency). CTX@PSL displayed significantly stronger cytotoxicity (IC50 0.25 µg/mL) and increased apoptosis in than the other formulations (apoptosis rate 71.78±1.70%). CTX@PSL showed considerably better tumor inhibition efficacy than free CTX or conventional liposomes (tumor inhibition rate 79.78±5.93%). Conclusion: Our results suggest that CTX@PSL improves tumor-site accumulation and intracellular uptake for sustained and targeted CTX release. By combining the advantages of CTX and stimuli-responsive nanotechnology, the novel CTX@PSL nanoformulation is a promising therapeutic candidate for cancer treatment.

Influence of Air Quality on Lung Cancer in People Who Have Never Smoked.

OBJECTIVE: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death. The percentage of people who have never smoked with lung cancer has risen recently, but alternative risk factors require further study. Our goal was to determine the impact of air quality on incidence of lung cancer in people who have smoked or never smoked. METHODS: The Cancer Registry from a large urban medical center was queried to include every new diagnosis of lung cancer from 2013 to 2021. Air quality and pollution data for the county were obtained from the United States Environmental Protection Agency from 1980 to 2018. Patient demographics, location of residence, smoking history and tumor stage were recorded. Bivariate comparison analyses were conducted in R. RESULTS: A total of 2,223 new cases of lung cancer were identified. Mean age was 69.2 years. There was a nonsmoking rate of 8.1 percent. A total of 37 percent of patients identified as a racial minority. People who have never smoked were more likely to be diagnosed at an advanced stage. When analyzing geographic distribution, incidence of lung cancer among people who have never smoked was more closely associated with highly polluted areas. People who have never smoked with lung cancer had significantly higher exposure levels of multiple pollutants. CONCLUSIONS: Newly diagnosed lung cancer appears to be more related to poor air quality among people who have never smoked than people who have smoked. Future studies are needed to examine the associations of specific pollutants with lung cancer incidence.

Staphyloccocus aureus biofilm, in absence of planktonic bacteria, produces factors that activate counterbalancing inflammatory and immune-suppressive genes in human monocytes.

Staphyloccocus aureus (S. aureus) is a major bacterial pathogen in orthopedic periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). S. aureus forms biofilms that promote persistent infection by shielding bacteria from immune cells and inducing an antibiotic-tolerant metabolic state. We developed an in vitro system to study S. aureus biofilm interactions with primary human monocytes in the absence of planktonic bacteria. In line with previous in vivo data, S. aureus biofilm induced expression of inflammatory genes such as TNF and IL1B, and their anti-inflammatory counter-regulator IL10. S. aureus biofilm also activated expression of PD-1 ligands, and IL-1RA, molecules that have the potential to suppress T cell function or differentiation of protective Th17 cells. Gene induction did not require monocyte:biofilm contact and was mediated by a soluble factor(s) produced by biofilm-encased bacteria that was heat resistant and >3 kD in size. Activation of suppressive genes by biofilm was sensitive to suppression by Jak kinase inhibition. These results support an evolving paradigm that biofilm plays an active role in modulating immune responses, and suggest this occurs via production of a soluble vita-pathogen-associated molecular pattern, a molecule that signals microbial viability. Induction of T cell suppressive genes by S. aureus biofilm provides insights into mechanisms that can suppress T cell immunity in PJI.

Regional trends in diagnosis of advanced lung cancer in Michigan over 33 years.

Background: Lung cancer is the most common cancer killer worldwide. Nearly 80 percent of lung cancers are diagnosed at advanced stages. Lack of access to medical care and undwerutilized lung cancer screening are key reasons for advanced diagnoses. We sought to understand the regional differences in presentation of lung cancer across Michigan. Utilizing a comprehensive cancer registry over 33 years, our goal was to examine associations between sociodemographic patient factors and diagnoses at advanced stages. Methods: The Michigan Cancer Registry was queried from 1985 to 2018 to include all new diagnoses of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using International Classification of Diseases for Oncology (ICD-O) version 3 codes. NSCLC was categorized as early, regional and distant disease. Advanced disease was considered to be any disease that was regional or distant. NSCLC rates were calculated and mapped at the zip code level using the 2010 population as the denominator and spatial empirical Bayes methodology. Regional hospital service areas were constructed using travel time to treatment from the patient's zip code centroid. Logistic regression models were estimated to investigate the significance of rural vs. urban and travel time on level of disease at presentation. Kaplan-Meier and multivariate survival analysis was performed to evaluate the association between distance from the nearest medical center and length of survival controlling for known risk factors for lung cancer. Results: From 1985 to 2018, there were 141,977 patients in Michigan diagnosed with NSCLC. In 1985, men were 2.2 times more likely than women to be diagnosed but by 2018 women and men developed disease at equal rates. Mean age was 67.8 years. Among all patients with known stage of disease, 72.5% of patients were diagnosed with advanced disease. Regional and distant NSCLC rates were both higher in the northern parts of the state. Longer drive times in rural regions also significantly increased the likelihood of advanced NSCLC diagnoses, in particular regional lung cancer. Patients with longer drive times also experienced overall worse survival after controlling for other factors. Conclusions: Regional disparities exist in Michigan for diagnoses of NSCLC at advanced stages. Factors such as lack of screening in urban regions and distances to treating institutions in rural areas likely contribute to the increased likelihood of advanced NSCLC. Future interventions should target the specific needs of residents to detect disease at earlier stages and improve overall outcomes.

Lung Cancer and Air Quality in a Large Urban County in the United States.

Lung cancer is the leading cancer-related killer in the United States. The incidence varies geographically and may be affected by environmental pollutants. Our goal was to determine associations within time series for specific air pollutants and lung cancer cases over a 33-year period in Wayne County, Michigan, controlling for population change. Lung cancer data for Wayne County were queried from the Michigan Cancer Registry from 1985 to 2018. Air pollutant data were obtained from the United States Environmental Protection Agency from 1980 to 2018. Autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) models were estimated to investigate time lags in years between specific air pollution levels and lung cancer development. A total of 58,866 cases of lung cancer were identified. The mean age was 67.8 years. Females accounted for 53 percent of all cases in 2018 compared to 44 percent in 1985. Three major clusters of lung cancer incidence were detected with the most intense clusters in downtown Detroit and the heavily industrialized downriver area. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) had the strongest statistically significant relationship with lung cancer, showing both short- and long-term effects (lag range, 1-15 years). Particulate matter (PM2.5) (lag range, 1-3 years) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) (lag range, 2-4 years) had more immediate effects on lung cancer development compared to carbon monoxide (CO) (lag range, 5-6 years), hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) (lag range, 9 years) and lead (Pb) (lag range, 10-12 years), which had more long-term effects on lung cancer development. Areas with poor air quality may benefit from targeted interventions for lung cancer screening and reductions in environmental pollution.

Non-Destructive Testing of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Plastics (CFRPs) Using a Resonant Eddy Current Sensor.

Eddy current testing (ECT) is commonly used for the detection of defects inside metallic materials. In order to achieve the effective testing of CFRP materials, increasing the operating frequency or improving the coil structure is a common method used by researchers. Higher or wider operating frequencies make the design of the ADC's conditioning circuit complex and difficult to miniaturize. In this paper, an LC resonator based on inductance-to-digital converters (LDCs) is designed to easily detect the resonant frequency response to the state of the material under test. The reasonableness of the coil design is proven by simulation. The high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and detection sensitivity of the LC resonator are demonstrated through comparison experiments involving multiple probes. The anti-interference capability of the LC resonator in CFRP defect detection is demonstrated through various interference experiments.

Transperineal 3-Core Magnetic Resonance Imaging Ultrasound Fusion Targeted Plus Laterally 6-Core Systematic Biopsy in Prostate Cancer Diagnosis.

INTRODUCTION: It is important to explore strategies reducing the number of SB cores taken to minimize biopsy-related morbidity and patient's discomfort during biopsy. This study aims to optimize prostate biopsy procedures by reducing the number of systematic biopsy (SB) cores while preserving cancer detection rates in the era of combined biopsy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We prospectively recruited patients with ≥1 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) lesions and they underwent transperineal combined 12-core SB+3-core targeted prostate biopsy (TB, reference standard). New strategy was defined as a laterally 6-core SB+3-core TB. Patients were served as their own control. Detection rates for overall prostate cancer (PCa) and clinically significant PCa (csPCa) were compared among the standard SB, MRI-TB, 6-core SB +3-core TB, and reference standard. Pathology consistency was assessed using the Kappa test. RESULTS: A total of 204 men were included, of which 111 (54.41%) and 92 (45.10%) harbored overall PCa and csPCa. Referenced combined biopsy detected significantly 6.86% (P = .0005) or 4.90% (P = .0044) more csPCa than performing only SB or 3-core TB, but was comparable to the new biopsy strategy. (45.10% vs. 43.14%, P = .1336) Similar results persisted when limiting patients in biopsy-naïve men or stratified by Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System scores, PSAD, and index lesion parameters. Additionally, performing 6-core SB+3-core TB demonstrated high consistency with reference standard in grade group distribution (Kappa coefficient: 0.952 for all, 0.961 for biopsy-naïve men) and achieved superior sensitivity of 95.7% (All: 95% CI: 89.2%-99.8%) and 96.9% (Biopsy-naïve: 95% CI: 91.1%-99.7%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The 6-core SB+3-core TB approach maintains expected detection rates while reducing the total core count, offering a promising alternative to the reference standard, which may help to tailor transperineal combined biopsy procedures.

Integrating attention mechanism and multi-scale feature extraction for fall detection.

Addressing the critical need for accurate fall event detection due to their potentially severe impacts, this paper introduces the Spatial Channel and Pooling Enhanced You Only Look Once version 5 small (SCPE-YOLOv5s) model. Fall events pose a challenge for detection due to their varying scales and subtle pose features. To address this problem, SCPE-YOLOv5s introduces spatial attention to the Efficient Channel Attention (ECA) network, which significantly enhances the model's ability to extract features from spatial pose distribution. Moreover, the model integrates average pooling layers into the Spatial Pyramid Pooling (SPP) network to support the multi-scale extraction of fall poses. Meanwhile, by incorporating the ECA network into SPP, the model effectively combines global and local features to further enhance the feature extraction. This paper validates the SCPE-YOLOv5s on a public dataset, demonstrating that it achieves a mean Average Precision of 88.29 %, outperforming the You Only Look Once version 5 small by 4.87 %. Additionally, the model achieves 57.4 frames per second. Therefore, SCPE-YOLOv5s provides a novel solution for fall event detection.

Impaired Reactive Control But Preserved Proactive Control in Hyperactive Children.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the manifestation of cognitive control deficit of children with different levels of hyperactivity, an "at risk" dimension for ADHD. METHOD: A group of children with high hyperactivity (N = 40) and another group of children with low levels of hyperactivity (N = 38) performed a modified stop-signal anticipation task, a revised Go/NoGo task, and the AX-continuous performance test (AX-CPT). RESULTS: Children with higher levels of hyperactivity displayed: (1) significantly prolonged stop signal reaction time (SSRT) in the modified stop-signal anticipation task; (2) no notable differences in commission errors in the revised Go/NoGo task; (3) increased reaction time (RT) in stop-signal task and Go/NoGo task with increased probabilities of stop or NoGo signal; and (4) positive proactive behavioral index scores in AX-CPT. CONCLUSION: The results suggested that children with heightened hyperactivity exhibited impaired reactive control, especially for responses already underway, but preserved proactive control. Further studies concerning these children are warranted.

Enhanced anammox performance under lower nitrite accumulation in modified partial nitritation-anammox (PN/A) process.

Higher nitrite accumulation, which is challenging to achieve reliably, is always sought to obtain better nitrogen removal performance in traditional partial nitritation-anammox (PN/A) process. This study developed a modified PN/A process by introducing nitrite-oxidizing bacteria and endogenous metabolism. Advanced nitrogen removal performance of 95.5 % was achieved at a low C/N ratio of 2.7 under nitrite accumulation ratio (NAR) fluctuations. Higher nitrate accumulation at lower NAR (70 âˆ¼ 40 %) resulted in superior anammox contribution (60 âˆ¼ 75 %) and nitrogen removal performance (93 âˆ¼ 98 %). This was attributed to the higher nitrogen removal efficiency of the post-anoxic endogenous partial denitrification coupling anammox process, although the PN/A process occurring first possessed a faster anammox rate of 2.0 mg NH4+-N /(g VSS⋅h). The introduction of nitrate allowed more nitrite flow to anammox, promoting a high enrichment of anammox bacteria (Ca. Brocadia, 0.3 % to 2.8 %). This study provides new insights into the practical application of the PN/A process.

Features of attention network impairment in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy: Evidence from eye-tracking and electroencephalogram.

AIM: To explore multiple features of attention impairments in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). METHODS: A total of 93 patients diagnosed with TLE at Xiangya Hospital during May 2022 and December 2022 and 85 healthy controls were included in this study. Participants were asked to complete neuropsychological scales and attention network test (ANT) with recording of eye-tracking and electroencephalogram. RESULTS: All means of evaluation showed impaired attention functions in TLE patients. ANT results showed impaired orienting (p < 0.001) and executive control (p = 0.041) networks. Longer mean first saccade time (p = 0.046) and more total saccadic counts (p = 0.035) were found in eye-tracking results, indicating abnormal alerting and orienting networks. Both alerting, orienting and executive control networks were abnormal, manifesting as decreased amplitudes (N1 & P3, p < 0.001) and extended latency (P3, p = 0.002). The energy of theta, alpha and beta were all sensitive to the changes of alerting and executive control network with time, but only beta power was sensitive to the changes of orienting network. CONCLUSION: Our findings are helpful for early identification of patients with TLE combined with attention impairments, which have strong clinical guiding significance for long-term monitoring and intervention.

Integrating bimetallic borides with g-C3N4 containing cyanamide defects for efficient photocatalytic nitrogen fixation.

The sustainable generation of ammonia by photocatalytic nitrogen fixation under mild conditions is fascinating compared to conventional industrial processes. Nevertheless, owing to the low charge transfer efficiency, the insufficient light absorption capacity and limited active sites of the photocatalyst cause the difficult adsorption and activation of N2 molecules, thereby resulting in a low photocatalytic conversion efficiency. Herein, a novel bimetallic CoMoB nanosheets (CoMoB) co-catalyst modified carbon nitride with dual moiety defects (CN-TH3/3) Schottky junction photocatalyst is designed for photocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR). The photocatalytic nitrogen reduction rate of the optimized CoMoB/CN-TH3/3 photocatalyst is 4.81 mM·g-1·h-1, which is 6.2 and 2.2 times higher than carbon nitride (CN) (0.78 mM·g-1·h-1) and CN-TH3/3 (2.21 mM·g-1·h-1), respectively. The excellent photocatalytic NRR performance is ascribed not only to the introduction of dual moiety defects (cyano and cyanamide groups) that extends the visible light absorption range and promotes exciton polarization dissociation, but also to the formation of interfacial electric field between CoMoB and CN-TH3/3, which effectively facilitates the interfacial charge transfer. Thus, the synergistic interaction between CN-TH3/3 and CoMoB further increases the electron numble of CoMoB active sites, which effectively strengthens the adsorption and activation of N2 and weakens the NN triple bond, thereby enhancing the photocatalytic NRR activity. This work highlights the introduced dual moiety defects and bimetallic CoMoB co-catalyst to synergistically enhance the photocatalytic nitrogen reduction performance.

Gelatin methacryloyl microneedle loaded with 3D-MSC-Exosomes for the protection of ischemia-reperfusion.

Exosomes (Exo) generated from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have great therapeutic potential in ischemia-reperfusion treatment. For best therapeutic effect, high quality Exo product and effective delivery system are indispensable. In this study, we developed a new strategy for ischemia-reperfusion recovery by combining MSCs 3D (3D-MSC) culturing technology to generate Exo (3D-MSC-Exo) and microneedle for topical delivery. Firstly, primary MSCs from neonatal mice were isolated and 3D cultured with gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogel to prepare 3D-MSC-Exo. The 3D-MSC showed better viability and 3D-MSC-Exo exhibited more effective effects of reducing neuroinflammation, inhibiting glial scarring, and promoting angiogenesis. Subsequently, the biocompatible GelMA was used to construct microneedles for 3D-Exo delivery (GelMA-MN@3D-Exo). The results demonstrated GelMA microneedles had excellent 3D-Exo loading capacity and enabled continuous 3D-Exo release to maintain effective therapeutic concentrations. Furthermore, the rat middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model was established to evaluate the therapeutic effect of GelMA-MN@3D-Exo in ischemia-reperfusion in vivo. Animal experiments showed that the GelMA-MN@3D-Exo system could effectively reduce the local neuroinflammatory reaction, promote angiogenesis and minimize glial scar proliferation in ischemia-reperfusion. The underlying reasons for the stronger neuroprotective effect of 3D-Exo was further studied using mass spectrometry and transcriptome assays, verifying their effects on immune regulation and cell proliferation. Taken together, our findings demonstrated that GelMA-MN@3D-Exo microneedle can effectively attenuate ischemia-reperfusion cell damage in the MCAO model, which provides a promising therapeutic strategy for ischemia-reperfusion recovery.