Studying industrial financial portfolio perspectives - BOXPI for the environmental transition of China.

To ease the process of environmental transformation, this study thoroughly examines industrial, financial portfolio views using the novel BOXPI framework. This study uses a secondary data research methodology to investigate how investors have adjusted their portfolios in light of urgent ecological concerns. It uses case studies from various sectors to illuminate the intersection of economics, ecology, and corporate responsibility. This study highlights the need to balance economic goals and environmental concerns, revealing potential routes to sustainable growth. Industries, investors, and legislators are all affected somehow, which can only lead to better, more sustainable decisions overall. Policymakers, financial institutions, and industry stakeholders are navigating this vital confluence of environmental transition; the research might give significant insights and ideas to help them. Future research might look at the long-term financial resilience of sectors undergoing significant environmental shifts or investigate the unique consequences of specific financial instruments.

Contamination and health risks brought by arsenic, lead and cadmium in a water-soil-plant system nearby a non-ferrous metal mining area.

Heavy metal(loid)s contamination prevails in the water-soil-plant system around non-ferrous metal mining areas. The present study aimed to evaluate the heavy metal(loid)s contamination in Nandan Pb-Zn mining area (Guangxi, China). A total of 36 river water samples, 75 paired paddy soil and rice samples, and 128 paired upland soil and plant samples were collected from this area. The concentrations of arsenic (As), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd) in these samples were measured. Results showed that the average water quality indexes (WQIs) at the 12 sampling sites along the main river ranged from 41 to 5008, indicating the water qualities decreasing from "Excellent" to "Undrinkable". The WQIs nearby tailings or industrial park were significantly higher than those at the other sites. 34.0% and 64.5% of soil samples exceeded the risk screening values for As and Cd. The Pb and Cd concentrations in all rice samples exceeded the Chinese food safety limits by 18.7% and 82.7%, respectively. Leafy vegetables had a higher concentration of As, Pb, and Cd than other vegetables, exceeding the maximum permissible limits by 14.1%, 61.2%, and 40.0%, respectively. The biological accumulation coefficient (BAC) of Cd was the highest in rice and lettuce leaves. The hazard quotients (HQs) of As and Cd, indicating non-carcinogenic risks, were 4.15 and 1.76 in adult males, and 3.40 and 1.45 in adult females, all higher than the permitted level (1.0). The carcinogenic probabilities of As and Cd from rice and leafy vegetables consumption were all higher than 1 × 10-4. We conclude that metal(loid)s contamination of the water-soil-plant system has posed great non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks to the local population.

YOLO-IR-Free: An Improved Algorithm for Real-Time Detection of Vehicles in Infrared Images.

In the field of object detection algorithms, the task of infrared vehicle detection holds significant importance. By utilizing infrared sensors, this approach detects the thermal radiation emitted by vehicles, enabling robust vehicle detection even during nighttime or adverse weather conditions, thus enhancing traffic safety and the efficiency of intelligent driving systems. Current techniques for infrared vehicle detection encounter difficulties in handling low contrast, detecting small objects, and ensuring real-time performance. In the domain of lightweight object detection algorithms, certain existing methodologies face challenges in effectively balancing detection speed and accuracy for this specific task. In order to address this quandary, this paper presents an improved algorithm, called YOLO-IR-Free, an anchor-free approach based on improved attention mechanism YOLOv7 algorithm for real-time detection of infrared vehicles, to tackle these issues. We introduce a new attention mechanism and network module to effectively capture subtle textures and low-contrast features in infrared images. The use of an anchor-free detection head instead of an anchor-based detection head is employed to enhance detection speed. Experimental results demonstrate that YOLO-IR-Free outperforms other methods in terms of accuracy, recall rate, and average precision scores, while maintaining good real-time performance.

Prognostic value of coronary CTA-based classifications for predicting major events without obstructive coronary artery disease.

We aim to explore the classifications based on coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) for predicting the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with suspected non-obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) and compare with traditional non-obstructive CAD (NOCAD) classification, Duke prognostic NOCAD index, Non-obstructive coronary artery disease reporting and data system (NOCAD-RADS). 4378 consecutive non-obstructive CAD patients were assessed by coronary CTA for traditional NOCAD classification, Duke prognostic NOCAD index, NOCAD-RADS and a new classification (stenosis proximal involvement, SPI) from two medical centrals. We defined proximal involvement as any plaque was present in the main or proximal segments of coronary artery (left main, left anterior descending artery, left circumflex artery, or right coronary artery). The main outcome was MACE. During a median follow-up of 3.7 years, a total of 310 patients experienced MACE event. Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed the cumulative events increased significantly associated with traditional NOCAD, Duke NOCAD index, NOCAD-RADS and SPI classifications (all P < 0.001). In multivariate Cox regressions, the risk for the events increased from HR 1.20 (95% CI 0.78-1.83, P = 0.408) for SPI 1 to 1.35 (95% CI 1.05-1.73, P = 0.019) for SPI 2, using SPI 0 as the reference group. Coronary CTA based SPI classification provided important prognostic information for all cause-mortality risk and MACE prediction in patients with non-obstructive CAD, which was non-inferior than traditional NOCAD, Duke NOCAD Index and NOCAD-RADS classifications. The plaque location information by coronary CTA may provide additional risk prediction in patients with non-obstructive CAD.

Prokaryotic expression of the V protein of the peste des petits ruminants virus and development of an indirect ELISA.

In this study, we recombinantly expressed the V protein of the peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) and evaluated its diagnostic value for PPRV infection using an indirect ELISA (i-ELISA). The optimal concentration of the coated antigen of V protein was 15 ng/well at a serum dilution of 1:400, and the optimal positive threshold value was 0.233. A cross-reactivity assay showed that the V protein-based i-ELISA was specific to PPRV with consistent reproducibility and showed a specificity of 82.6% and a sensitivity of 100% with a virus neutralization test. Using the recombinant V protein as an antigen in ELISA is useful for seroepidemiological studies of PPRV infections.

Non-obstructive CAD and Risk of All-cause Mortality in Middle-aged and Older Patients: a Nine-Year Follow-up and Multicentre Study.

AIM: We aimed to examine all-cause mortality risk in relation to the extent of non-obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) by coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) in Chinese middle-aged and older patients in a multicenter study with nine-year follow-up. METHODS: This was a retrospective, observational, multicentre study. The study population consisted of 3,240 consecutive middle-aged and older patients (age ≥ 40 years) with suspected CAD who underwent coronary CTA between June 2011 and December 2013 at three hospitals in Wuhan, China. Patients were grouped according to CAD extent for the final analysis: no CAD, 1-vessel non-obstructive CAD, 2-vessels non-obstructive CAD, and 3-vessels non-obstructive CAD. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality. Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used for analysis. RESULTS: A total of 2,522 patients were included in the present analysis. Of these, 188 (7.5%) deaths occurred during the median 9.0 years (interquartile range 8.6-9.4) of study follow-up. The annualized all-cause mortality rate was 0.54 (95% CI: 0.44-0.68), 0.91 (95% CI: 0.68-1.21), 1.44 (95% CI: 1.01-1.93), and 2.00 (95% CI: 1.46-2.69) for the no CAD, 1-vessel non-obstructive CAD, 2-vessels non-obstructive CAD, and 3-vessels non-obstructive CAD group, respectively. Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed a significant increase in the cumulative events associated with the extent of non-obstructive CAD (P < 0.001). In multivariate Cox regression, after adjustment for age and sex, the presence of 3-vessels non-obstructive CAD was a significant predictor of all-cause mortality (HR 1.60, 95% CI: 1.04-2.45, P = 0.032). CONCLUSION: In this cohort of Chinese middle-aged and older patients undergoing coronary CTA, the presence and extent of non-obstructive CAD, compared to no CAD, were associated with a significantly greater nine-year risk of all-cause mortality. The present findings suggest the clinical importance of the stage of non-obstructive CAD and warrant investigation of the optimal risk stratification to improve outcomes among these patients.

Bioinspired PROTAC-induced macrophage fate determination alleviates atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis is a major cause of death and disability in cardiovascular disease. Atherosclerosis associated with lipid accumulation and chronic inflammation leads to plaques formation in arterial walls and luminal stenosis in carotid arteries. Current approaches such as surgery or treatment with statins encounter big challenges in curing atherosclerosis plaque. The infiltration of proinflammatory M1 macrophages plays an essential role in the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis plaque. A recent study shows that TRIM24, an E3 ubiquitin ligase of a Trim family protein, acts as a valve to inhibit the polarization of anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages, and elimination of TRIM24 opens an avenue to achieve the M2 polarization. Proteolysis-targeting chimera (PROTAC) technology has emerged as a novel tool for the selective degradation of targeting proteins. But the low bioavailability and cell specificity of PROTAC reagents hinder their applications in treating atherosclerosis plaque. In this study we constructed a type of bioinspired PROTAC by coating the PROTAC degrader (dTRIM24)-loaded PLGA nanoparticles with M2 macrophage membrane (MELT) for atherosclerosis treatment. MELT was characterized by morphology, size, and stability. MELT displayed enhanced specificity to M1 macrophages as well as acidic-responsive release of dTRIM24. After intravenous administration, MELT showed significantly improved accumulation in atherosclerotic plaque of high fat and high cholesterol diet-fed atherosclerotic (ApoE-/-) mice through binding to M1 macrophages and inducing effective and precise TRIM24 degradation, thus resulting in the polarization of M2 macrophages, which led to great reduction of plaque formation. These results suggest that MELT can be considered a potential therapeutic agent for targeting atherosclerotic plaque and alleviating atherosclerosis progression, providing an effective strategy for targeted atherosclerosis therapy.

Impact of Textile Industries on Surface Water Contamination by Sb and Other Potential Toxic Elements: A Case Study in Taihu Lake Basin, China.

Contamination of industry-derived antimony (Sb) is currently of great concern. This study was conducted to identify the source of Sb together with other potential toxic elements (PTEs) in a typical industrial area in China and emphasize the contribution of Sb to ecological risk in the local aquatic environment. By investigating the distribution of nine PTEs in surface water in Wujiang County in dry and wet seasons, this study revealed that textile wastewater was the main source of Sb. The distribution of Sb (0.48~21.4 µg/L) showed the least seasonal variation among the nine elements. Factor analysis revealed that the factor that controlled Sb distribution is unique. In general, Sb was more concentrated in the southeastern part of the study area where there was a large number of textile industries, and was affected by the specific conductivity and total dissolved solids in water (p < 0.01). Sb concentration in 35.71% of samples collected from the drainage outlet exceeded the standard limit of 10 µg/L. Results from three pollution assessment methods suggested that >5% of the sampling sites were slightly too heavily polluted and Sb contributed the most. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the administrative supervision of local textile enterprises and elevate the local standard of textile wastewater emission.

Application of immune checkpoint inhibitors in immunotherapy for gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer is the fifth most common cancer worldwide. With the development of immunotherapy, especially the application of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), the prognosis of advanced gastric cancer has improved. At present, ICIs combined with other therapies or dual ICI strategies in the treatment of advanced gastric cancer have shown clinical effectiveness and controllable safety. In addition, predictive biomarkers facilitate the precise selection of patients. Therefore, it is crucial to explore rational combinations and reliable predictive biomarkers for ICI therapy. This article reviews the recent advances in ICIs and relevant predictive biomarkers in the treatment of gastric cancer.

In recent years, with the application of immunotherapy, clinical efficacy in gastric cancer has been effectively improved. At present, it is encouraging that immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy has become the first choice for the treatment of patients with advanced gastric cancer. However, researchers remain committed to exploring the efficacy of immunotherapy in combination with various therapies. Equally important, the identification of biomarkers can facilitate the selection of patients suitable for immunotherapy. This article summarizes important immunotherapy clinical trials and discusses therapeutic combinations and biomarkers being explored.

Suppression of ambient temperature-caused drift in a laser power stabilization system with a liquid crystal variable retarder in atomic gyroscopes.

Laser power stabilization systems with liquid crystal variable retarders have been employed in miniaturized atomic gyroscopes for the merits of low power consumption and easy integration. However, the long-term power drift of the system output with ambient temperature significantly decreases the long-term performance of atomic gyroscopes. Here, we demonstrated a method of dynamic closed-loop control based on the combination of optical power drift and ambient temperature modeling. For a continuous 45 min operation within an ambient temperature variation range of 23.7-25.3 °C, the relative Allan deviation of the output optical power was decreased by one order of magnitude from 2.29 × 10-4 to 3.35 × 10-5 after 100 s averaging time. The long-term stability of the system was significantly improved. In addition, the scheme requires no additional thermal control device, preventing the introduction of extra electromagnetic interference, which is desirable in a miniaturized atomic gyroscope.

Promoter methylation-regulated miR-148a-3p inhibits lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) progression by targeting MAP3K9.

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) characterized by high metastasis and mortality is the leading subtype of non-small cell lung cancer. Evidence shows that some microRNAs (miRNAs) may act as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes, leading to malignant tumor occurrence and progression. To better understand the molecular mechanism associated with miRNA methylation in LUAD progression and clinical outcomes, we investigated the correlation between miR-148a-3p methylation and the clinical features of LUAD. In the LUAD cell lines and tumor tissues from patients, miR-148a-3p was found to be significantly downregulated, while the methylation of miR-148a-3p promoter was notably increased. Importantly, miR-148a-3p hypermethylation was closely associated with lymph node metastasis. We demonstrated that mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase kinase kinase 9 (MAP3K9) was the target of miR-148a-3p and that MAP3K9 levels were significantly increased in both LUAD cell lines and clinical tumor tissues. In A549 and NCI-H1299 cells, overexpression of miR-148a-3p or silencing MAP3K9 significantly inhibited cell growth, migration, invasion and cytoskeleton reorganization accompanied by suppressing the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. In a nude mouse xenograft assay we found that tumor growth was effectively inhibited by miR-148a-3p overexpression. Taken together, the promoter methylation-associated decrease in miR-148a-3p could lead to lung cancer metastasis by targeting MAP3K9. This study suggests that miR-148a-3p and MAP3K9 may act as novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of LUAD and have potential clinical applications.

Analysis and suppression of the misalignment error for the pumping laser in the atomic comagnetometer.

The misalignment error of the pumping laser in the atomic comagnetometer (ACM) dramatically diminishes the efficiency of the optical pumping process (characterized by the polarization of the hybrid atomic spin ensembles containing electron spins and nuclear spins) and deteriorates the performance of the ACM (characterized by the Allan standard deviation). In this work, a steady-state response model considering the misalignment error of the pumping laser is established and an in-situ evaluation method for this error is proposed. Based on the evaluation method, the influence of this misalignment error on the pumping efficiency and the performance of the ACM is quantitatively analyzed. Furthermore, a pumping laser alignment method based on the second harmonic of a single-beam magnetometer is then proposed, whose effectiveness is verified by experiments. The experimental results show that compared to the original ACM with the severely misaligned pumping laser, the polarization of the hybrid atomic spin ensembles of the ACM with the pumping laser aligned by the proposed method is increased by about 19%, and the corresponding Allan variance at 100s is reduced by about 40%.

Analysis of Inducing Factors of Chronic Pulmonary Heart Disease Caused by Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease at High Altitude through Epidemiological Investigation under Intelligent Medicine and Big Data.

This study explores the risk factors of chronic pulmonary heart disease (CPHD) induced by plateau chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) based on intelligent medical treatment and big data of electrocardiogram (ECG) signal. Based on GPU, a wavelet algorithm is introduced to extract features of ECG signal, and it was combined with generalized regression neural network (GRNN) to improve classification accuracy. From June 2018 to December 2020, 10,185 patients diagnosed with COPD in the plateau area by pulmonary function testing, ECG, and chest X-ray at X Hospital are taken as the research objects to evaluate the distribution of CPHD incidence at different ages and altitudes. The running time of GTX780Ti is about 15 times shorter than that of CPU. The accuracy of N detection based on the GPU-accelerated neural network model reached 98.06%. Accuracy (Acc), sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), and positive rate (PR) of V were 99.03%, 89.17%, 98.92%, and 93.18%, respectively. The Acc, Se, Sp, and PR of S were 99.54%, 86.22%, 99.74%, and 92.56%, respectively. The GRNN classification accuracy was up to 98%. 19% of COPD patients were diagnosed with CPHD, including 1,409 males (72.82%) and 526 females (36.24%). The highest prevalence of CPHD was 64.60% when the altitude was 1,900-2,499 m, and the prevalence was only 2.43% when the altitude was ≥3,500 m. The highest prevalence of CPHD was 63.77% at the age of 61-70 years, and the lowest prevalence at the age of 15∼20 years was only 0.26%. Therefore, the GPU-based neural network model improved the classification accuracy of ECG signals. Age and altitude were risk factors for CPHD induced by high-altitude COPD, which provided a reference for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of CPHD in high-altitude areas.

Retrospective genomic analysis of the first Lumpy skin disease virus outbreak in China (2019).

Lumpy skin disease caused by Lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) is a severe systemic disease affecting cattle and other ruminants. Lumpy skin disease was first reported in northwest China in August 2019 and has severely threatened the cattle breeding industry in China. However, there have been limited genomic studies of LSDV from the first outbreak and its subsequent epidemics. This study aims to characterize the comparative genomic evolution of the LSDV strain from the first outbreak in China. The etiological agent was isolated in a Madin-Darby bovine kidney cell culture and subsequently identified by PCR and Sanger sequencing of six selected genes. The genome sequence was determined using Illumina sequencing and analyzed through genome alignment and phylogenetic tree. The results showed that all six genes were successfully amplified and genetically clustered into LSDV. The virus presented the highest homology to strain China/GD01/2020, which shared 100% identities among 150 open reading frames (ORFs), and 97.1-99.7% identities among additional 6 ORFs. Bayesian inference tree analysis revealed that the virus shared a common ancestor with LSDV strains from China and Vietnam. The study provides an additional genomic data for LSDV tracking and control in China and neighboring countries.

Association of lead and cadmium exposure with kidney stone incidence: A study on the non-occupational population in Nandan of China.

BACKGROUND: Environmental lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) pollution has been considered a risk factor in the etiology of kidney stones. However, the association between Pb and Cd exposure and kidney stone incidence has yet to be determined. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine a possible the association between kidney stones with Pb and Cd exposure (alone or combined) in a non-occupational population. METHODS: Pb and Cd contaminations in soil-plant system were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Health risk assessment of dietary Pb or Cd intake from rice and vegetables were calculated. Kidney stones were diagnosed with urinary tract ultrasonography. Urinary cadmium (UCd) and blood lead (BPb) levels were determined by graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Multivariate logistic regression models were constructed. RESULTS: The hazard indexes (HI) of Pb and Cd were 7.91 and 7.31. The odds ratio (OR) was 2.83 (95 %CI:1.38-5.77) in males with high BPb (BPb ≥ 100 µg/L), compared with those with low BPb (BPb＜100 µg/L). Compared to those with low BPb and low UCd (BPb＜100 µg/L and UCd＜2 µg/g creatinine), the ORs were 2.58 (95 % CI:1.17-5.70) and 3.43 (95 % CI:1.21-9.16) in females and males with high BPb and high UCd (BPb ≥100 µg/L and UCd ≥2 µg/g creatinine), respectively. The OR was 3.16 (95 % CI:1.26-7.88) in males with high BPb and low UCd (BPb ≥ 100 µg/L and UCd ＜2 µg/g creatinine), compared to those with low BPb and low UCd. CONCLUSIONS: Kidney stones incidence was increased by high Pb exposure in males, and by Pb and Cd co-exposure in males and females.

Analysis and suppression of the polarization error for the optical rotation detection system in an atomic comagnetometer.

This paper investigates the laser polarization error in the optical rotation detection system (ORDS) of an atomic comagnetometer (ACM), which will seriously degrade the long-term performance of the ORDS. We first establish an optical transmission model of the ORDS by using Jones matrix concerning the optical imperfection of polarizers. Then, we analyze the polarization error based on this model and propose a novel error suppression method. Finally, we experimentally test the long-term performance of the ORDS and the ACM before and after the polarization error suppression to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The experimental results show that the long-term performance of the ORDS and the ACM can be improved by approximately 3.4 times with the proposed polarization error suppression method.

Non-coding RNAS and colorectal cancer liver metastasis.

More than 50% of colorectal cancer (CRC) deaths are attributed to metastasis, and the liver is the most common distant metastatic site of CRC. The molecular mechanisms underlying CRC liver metastasis are very complicated and remain largely unknown. Accumulated evidence has shown that non-coding RNAs (NcRNAs) play critical roles in tumor development and progression. Here we reviewed the roles and underlying mechanisms of NcRNAs in CRC liver metastasis.

Sophocarpine ameliorates cardiac hypertrophy through activation of autophagic responses.

Mounting evidences indicate that autophagy is an essential homeostatic mechanism to maintain the global cardiac structure function. Sophocarpine (SOP), a major bioactive compound derived from the natural plant Sophora flavescens. However, the role of SOP in cardiac hypertrophy remain to be fully elucidated. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that SOP protects against Ang II-induced cardiac hypertrophy by mediating the regulation of autophagy. The results demonstrated that SOP attenuated the Ang II-induced cardiac hypertrophy, as assessed by measurements of echocardiography parameters, the ratios of heart weight/body weight and left ventricle weight/body weight, histopathological staining, cross-sectional cardiomyocyte area, and the expression levels of cardiac hypertrophic markers. The anti-hypertrophic effect of SOP was mediated by activating autophagy-related pathway, as revealed by reversal of the increased autophagy marker protein expression. These findings reveal a novel mechanism of SOP attenuating cardiac hypertrophy via activating autophagy-related signaling pathways.

Miniaturized optical rotation detection system based on liquid crystal variable retarder in a K-Rb-21Ne gyroscope.

A novel method to control the light intensity stability and modulate the probe light polarization using a liquid crystal variable retarder (LCVR) to detect atomic spin precession simultaneously in a K-Rb-21Ne gyroscope is reported. A sinusoidal driving voltage is applied to drive the LCVR and is skillfully used to produce a high-frequency modulation for the probe light. The modulation helps to avoid electronic detection noise appearing at low frequencies and allows for phase-sensitive detection. The coefficient of rate ramp can be reduced from 1.31 (deg/h)/h to 0.05 (deg/h)/h (Allan deviation), and the bias instability of about 0.08 deg/h at the averaging time of 200 s is achieved. Therefore, the long-term stability of the angular velocity measurement can be improved and other optical modulators can be replaced to facilitate the miniaturization of the gyroscope by using this intensity modulation detection method. This optical rotation detection method also can be applied to other miniaturized atomic sensors, such as atomic magnetometers.

Electronic Properties of Armchair Black Phosphorene Nanoribbons Edge-Modified by Transition Elements V, Cr, and Mn.

The structural, electrical, and magnetic properties of armchair black phosphorene nanoribbons (APNRs) edge-functionalized by transitional metal (TM) elements V, Cr, and Mn were studied by the density functional theory combined with the non-equilibrium Green's function. Spin-polarized edge states introduce great varieties to the electronic structures of TM-APNRs. For APNRs with Mn-stitched edge, their band structures exhibit half-semiconductor electrical properties in the ferromagnetic state. A transverse electric field can then make the Mn-APNRs metallic by shifting the conduction bands of edge states via the Stark effect. The Mn/Cr-APNR heterojunction may be used to fabricate spin p-n diode where strong rectification acts only on one spin.