Research in revealing the effects on Cuscuta chinensis to diarrhea type irritable bowel syndrome based on network pharmacology and molecular docking potential mechanism.

To explore the potential mechanism in Cuscuta sinensis on diarrhea-type irritable bowel syndrome using network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques. First, the active components and related targets of Cuscuta were found setting oral utilization >30% and drug-like properties greater than or equal to 0.18 as filter information from TCMSP database. The targets of diarrheal irritable bowel syndrome were compiled by searching DrugBank, GeneCards, OMIM, PharmGkb, and TTD databases. The intersections of drugs and targets related to the disease were taken for gene ontology enrichment and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes enrichment analyses, to elucidate the potential molecular mechanisms and pathway information of Cuscuta sinensis for the treatment of diarrheal irritable bowel syndrome. The protein-protein interaction network was constructed by using the STRING database and visualized with Cytoscape_v3.10.0 software to find the protein-protein interaction network core At last, molecular docking was performed to validate the combination of active compounds with the core target. The target information of Cuscuta and diarrhea-type irritable bowel syndrome was compiled, which can be resulted in 11 active compounds such as quercetin, kaempferol, isorhamnetin, ß-sitosterol, and another 17 core targets such as TP53, IL6, AKT1, IL1B, TNF, EGFR, etc, whose Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes was enriched in the pathways of lipids and atherosclerosis, chemical carcinogenesis-receptor activation, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, and fluid shear stress and atherosclerosis, etc. Docking demonstrated that the core targets and the active compounds were able to be better combined. Cuscuta chinensis may exert preventive effects on diarrhea-type irritable bowel syndrome by reducing intestinal inflammation, protecting intestinal mucosa, and playing an important role in antioxidant response through multi-targets and multi-pathways.

Current advances of chlorinated organics degradation by bioelectrochemical systems: a review.

Chlorinated organic compounds (COCs) are typical refractory organic compounds, having high biological toxicity. These compounds are a type of pervasive pollutants that can be present in polluted soil, air, and various types of waterways, such as groundwater, rivers, and lakes, posing a significant threat to the ecological environment and human health. Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) are an effective strategy for the degradation of bio-refractory compounds. BESs improve the waste treatment efficiency through the application of weak electrical stimulation. This review discusses the processes of BESs configurations and degradation performances in different environmental media including wastewater, soil, waste gas and groundwater. In addition, the degradation mechanisms and performance-enhancing additives are summarized. The future challenges and perspectives on the development of BES for COCs removal are briefly discussed.

Orexin Neurons to Sublaterodorsal Tegmental Nucleus Pathway Prevents Sleep Onset REM Sleep-Like Behavior by Relieving the REM Sleep Pressure.

Proper timing of vigilance states serves fundamental brain functions. Although disturbance of sleep onset rapid eye movement (SOREM) sleep is frequently reported after orexin deficiency, their causal relationship still remains elusive. Here, we further study a specific subgroup of orexin neurons with convergent projection to the REM sleep promoting sublaterodorsal tegmental nucleus (OXSLD neurons). Intriguingly, although OXSLD and other projection-labeled orexin neurons exhibit similar activity dynamics during REM sleep, only the activation level of OXSLD neurons exhibits a significant positive correlation with the post-inter-REM sleep interval duration, revealing an essential role for the orexin-sublaterodorsal tegmental nucleus (SLD) neural pathway in relieving REM sleep pressure. Monosynaptic tracing reveals that multiple inputs may help shape this REM sleep-related dynamics of OXSLD neurons. Genetic ablation further shows that the homeostatic architecture of sleep/wakefulness cycles, especially avoidance of SOREM sleep-like transition, is dependent on this activity. A positive correlation between the SOREM sleep occurrence probability and depression states of narcoleptic patients further demonstrates the possible significance of the orexin-SLD pathway on REM sleep homeostasis.

Layer-by-Layer Assembly of Renal-Targeted Polymeric Nanoparticles for Robust Arginase-2 Knockdown and Contrast-Induced Acute Kidney Injury Prevention.

The mitochondrial enzyme arginase-2 (Arg-2) is implicated in the pathophysiology of contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI). Therefore, Arg-2 represents a candid target for CI-AKI prevention. Here, layer-by-layer (LbL) assembled renal-targeting polymeric nanoparticles are developed to efficiently deliver small interfering RNA (siRNA), knockdown Arg-2 expression in renal tubules, and prevention of CI-AKI is evaluated. First, near-infrared dye-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) anionic cores are electrostatically coated with cationic chitosan (CS) to facilitate the adsorption and stabilization of Arg-2 siRNA. Next, nanoparticles are coated with anionic hyaluronan (HA) to provide protection against siRNA leakage and shielding against early clearance. Sequential electrostatic layering of CS and HA improves loading capacity of Arg-2 siRNA and yields LbL-assembled nanoparticles. Renal targeting and accumulation is enhanced by modifying the outermost layer of HA with a kidney targeting peptide (HA-KTP). The resultant kidney-targeting and siRNA loaded nanoparticles (PLGA/CS/HA-KTP siRNA) exhibit proprietary accumulation in kidneys and proximal tubular cells at 24 h post-tail vein injection. In iohexol-induced in vitro and in vivo CI-AKI models, PLGA/CS/HA-KTP siRNA delivery alleviates oxidative and nitrification stress, and rescues mitochondrial dysfunction while reducing apoptosis, thereby demonstrating a robust and satisfactory therapeutic effect. Thus, PLGA/CS/HA-KTP siRNA nanoparticles offer a promising candidate therapy to protect against CI-AKI.

Electrocatalytic Reforming of Polylactic Acid Plastic Hydrolysate over Dynamically Formed γ-NiOOH.

Upcycling plastic waste into valuable commodity chemicals with clean energy is an appealing strategy for mitigating environmental issues. Polylactic acid (PLA), a biodegradable plastic that is produced annually in millions of tons, can be chemically recycled to valuable products instead of being degraded to carbon dioxide. Here, we demonstrate an electrochemical reforming of PLA hydrolysate to acetate and acetonate using nickel phosphide nanosheets on nickel foam (Ni2P/NF) as the catalyst. The Ni2P/NF catalyst was synthesized by electrochemical deposition and phosphide treatment and showed excellent catalytic activity and ∼100% Faraday efficiency for electroreforming PLA to acetate and acetonate in an H-cell. Moreover, a stable performance of more than 90% Faraday efficiency for value-added organics was achieved for a duration of 100 h in a flow cell at a current density of 100 mA cm-2 and a potential below 1.5 V vs. RHE. In situ characterization revealed that the catalyst underwent electrochemical reforming during the reaction to produce γ-phase NiOOH with high electrochemical activity. This work introduces a new and green solution for the treatment of waste PLA, presenting a low-cost and highly efficient strategy for electrically reforming plastics.

Epidemiological feature analysis of SVEIR model with control strategy and variant evolution.

The complex interactions were performed among non-pharmaceutical interventions, vaccinations, and hosts for all epidemics in mainland China during the spread of COVID-19. Specially, the small-scale epidemic in the city described by SVEIR model was less found in the current studies. The SVEIR model with control was established to analyze the dynamical and epidemiological features of two epidemics in Jinzhou City led by Omicron variants before and after Twenty Measures. In this study, the total population (N) of Jinzhou City was divided into five compartments: the susceptible (S), the vaccinated (V), the exposed (E), the infected (I), and the recovered (R). By surveillance data and the SVEIR model, three methods (maximum likelihood method, exponential growth rate method, next generation matrix method) were governed to estimate basic reproduction number, and the results showed that an increasing tendency of basic reproduction number from Omicron BA.5.2 to Omicron BA.2.12.1. Meanwhile, the effective reproduction number for two epidemics were investigated by surveillance data, and the results showed that Jinzhou wave 1 reached the peak on November 1 and was controlled 7 days later, and that Jinzhou wave 2 reached the peak on November 28 and was controlled 5 days later. Moreover, the impacts of non-pharmaceutical interventions (awareness delay, peak delay, control intensity) were discussed extensively, the variations of infection scales for Omicron variant and EG.5 variant were also discussed. Furthermore, the investigations on peaks and infection scales for two epidemics in dynamic zero-COVID policy were operated by the SVEIR model with control. The investigations on public medical requirements of Jinzhou City and Liaoning Province were analyzed by using SVEIR model without control, which provided a possible perspective on variant evolution in the future.

The Shear-Accelerated II-I Phase Transition of Isotactic Poly(1-Butene).

The II-I phase transition of isotactic poly(1-butene) (iPBu) leads to improved mechanical performance. However, this will take several weeks and increase storage and processing costs. In this work, shear forces are introduced into the supercooled iPBu melt, and the effects of isothermal crystallization temperature (Tc) and shear temperature (Tshear) on crystallization and phase transition are explored. Shear-induced transcrystalline morphology of Form II with a significantly shortened crystallization induction period can be observed at relatively high Tc (105 °C). Besides, the shear-induced Form II can transit to Form I faster than the unsheared one. In addition, the phase transition rate increases as the Tshear decreases, with the fastest rate occurring at Tshear of 120 °C. The half transition time (t1/2) is measured as 6.3 h when Tc = 105 °C, Tshear = 120 °C, which is much shorter than the 20.7 h required for unsheared samples. The accelerated phase transition of iPBu can be attributed to the stretching of molecular chains, resulting from shear treatment. This study provides a quantitative analysis of the influence of the shear treatment and the Tshear on the II-I phase transition rate. It also presents a cost-effective and straightforward approach for expediting the phase transition process.

Bayesian compositional models for ordinal response.

Ordinal response is commonly found in medicine, biology, and other fields. In many situations, the predictors for this ordinal response are compositional, which means that the sum of predictors for each sample is fixed. Examples of compositional data include the relative abundance of species in microbiome data and the relative frequency of nutrition concentrations. Moreover, the predictors that are strongly correlated tend to have similar influence on the response outcome. Conventional cumulative logistic regression models for ordinal responses ignore the fixed-sum constraint on predictors and their associated interrelationships, and thus are not appropriate for analyzing compositional predictors.To solve this problem, we proposed Bayesian Compositional Models for Ordinal Response to analyze the relationship between compositional data and an ordinal response with a structured regularized horseshoe prior for the compositional coefficients and a soft sum-to-zero restriction on coefficients through the prior distribution. The method was implemented with R package rstan using efficient Hamiltonian Monte Carlo algorithm. We performed simulations to compare the proposed approach and existing methods for ordinal responses. Results revealed that our proposed method outperformed the existing methods in terms of parameter estimation and prediction. We also applied the proposed method to a microbiome study HMP2Data, to find microorganisms linked to ordinal inflammatory bowel disease levels. To make this work reproducible, the code and data used in this paper are available at https://github.com/Li-Zhang28/BCO.

Study on the transformation of nitrate nitrogen by manganese-catalyzed iron-carbon micro-electrolysis and microbial coupling.

Nitrate-nitrogen pertains to the nitrogen component of the overall nitrate present in a given sample in order to reduce nitrate nitrogen pollution in water, nitrate nitrogen removal methods based on iron-carbon micro-electrolysis have become a key research focus. The process and mechanism of nitrate nitrogen removal by microbial coupling was comprehensively explored in a novel iron-carbon micro-electrolysis (ICME) system. In order to establish the transformation pathway of nitrate nitrogen in water, the transformation paths of nitrate nitrogen in water before and after coupling microorganisms in three groups of continuous flow reaction devices, namely sponge iron (s-Fe0), sponge iron + biochar (s-Fe0/BC) and sponge iron + biochar + manganese sand (s-Fe0/BC/MS), were studied. The morphology and composition changes of sponge iron were analyzed by means of characterization, and the microbial population changes in the three groups were analyzed by high-throughput sequencing. Results showed that the nitrate conversion rate in the s-Fe0, s-Fe0/BC and s-Fe0/BC/MS systems reached 99.48%, 99.57% and 99.36%, respectively, with corresponding ammonia nitrogen generation, rates of 3.77%, 9.34% and 11.24% and nitrogen generation rates of 95.71%, 90.23% and 88.12%. Scanning electron microscopy imaging showed that in the s-Fe0/BC and s-Fe0/BC/MS systems the surface of sponge iron was highly corroded, with granular substances in the corrosion product clusters. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis found that the relative contents of Fe2O3 in the surface oxides of sponge iron after microbial coupling were 38.02% and 71.27% in the s-Fe0/BC and s-Fe0/BC/MS systems, while the relative Fe3O4 contents were 61.98% and 28.72%, respectively. Microbial high-throughput sequencing analysis revealed that the Chao and Ace index values in the s-Fe0 system were 871.89 and 880.78, while in the s-Fe0/BC system they were 1012.05 and 1017.29, and in the s-Fe0/BC/MS system were 1241.09 and 1198.29, respectively. The relative proportion of Thauera in the s-Fe0, s-Fe0/BC, and s-Fe0/BC/MS systems was 16.76%,14.25% and 10.01%, while the proportion of Acetoanaerobium was 15.36%, 13.27% and 11.11%, and the proportion of Chloroflexi was 0%, 1.11% and 2.18%, respectively. Furthermore, FAPROTAX function annotation found that the expression levels of chemoheterotrophs in the s-Fe0, s-Fe0/BC and s-Fe0/BC/MS systems were 43 316 OTU, 37 289 OTU and 34 205 OTU, while nitrate respiration expression levels were 16 230 OTU, 15 483 OTU and 9149 OTU, with nitrogen respiration expression levels of 16 328 OTU, 15 493 OTU and 9154 OTU, respectively. These findings suggest that nitrate is converted into nitrogen gas and ammonia nitrogen through the actions of the coupled system of sponge iron/biochar/manganese sand and microorganisms. The catalytic effect of MnO2 promotes the conversion of Fe2+ to Fe3+, generating more electrons, allowing denitrifying bacteria to reduce more nitrate nitrogen, effectively coupling the manganese-catalyzed ICME reaction and microbial denitrification. The micro-electrolysis system and the addition of manganese sand enhanced biodiversity within the s-Fe0/BC/MS system. The heterotrophic bacteria Thauera and Acetoanaerobium were the dominant microorganisms in all three systems, although the micro-electrolysis system with added manganese sand significantly reduced the proportion of facultative bacteria Thauera and Acetoanaerobium and promoted the growth of autotrophic Chloroflexi bacteria. The ecological functions of the three systems were mainly nitrate respiration and nitrogen respiration. By comparing the expression levels of nitrate respiration and nitrogen respiration in s-Fe0/BC and s-Fe0/BC/MS systems, it can be seen that the addition of manganese sand reduced microbial activity.

Capsicum leaf protein-based bionanocomposite films for packaging application: Effect of corn starch content on film properties.

The addition of corn starch (CS) enhances the interfacial adhesion of the film-forming liquids (FFLs), weakening the internal relative molecular motion. As a result, the rheological properties and zeta potential values of the FFLs were affected. A tight spatial network structure between capsicum leaf protein (CLP), lignocellulose nanocrystals (LNCs) and CS can be formed through intermolecular entanglement and hydrogen bonding interactions. The crystallinity, thermal degradation temperature, tensile strength and water contact angle of the protein-based bionanocomposite films (PBBFs) increased with increasing CS addition. This is due to the transformation of the secondary space structure of the CLP inside the PBBFs and the increase in cohesion. However, the excessive addition of CS forms aggregated clusters on the surface of PBBFs, which increases the surface roughness of PBBFs and causes more light scattering. Therefore, the brightness and yellowness values of the PBBFs increase, and the transmittance decreases.

Correction: Liu et al. Emergent Peptides of the Antifibrotic Arsenal: Taking Aim at Myofibroblast Promoting Pathways. Biomolecules 2023, 13, 1179.

There was an error in the original publication [...].

Effects of landfill void fraction and moisture content on the formation of aerobic areas in a semi-aerobic bioreactor.

The main disposal method for municipal solid waste (MSW), including the growing worldwide volumes of kitchen waste, involves transport to landfills. Because kitchen waste is mainly composed of organic matter and has a high moisture content, large amounts of leachate and landfill gas are generated when it is sent to landfills. Therefore, rapid waste stabilization is essential. In this study, four semi-aerobic bioreactors (named NS, SS, MS, and LS) were established with void fractions of 33.76%, 39.84%, 44.62%, and 41.31%, respectively. The results showed that the void fractions of landfill directly affected the gas flow path. When the landfill void fraction was small (e.g., NS), most airflow traveled directly through the pipeline and minimal airflow entered the waste layer. When the landfill void fraction was large (e.g., MS), air easily entered the waste layer and some air flowed into the gas vent with the landfill gas. As the reaction proceeded, the void fraction gradually decreased due to gravity-induced sedimentation. During the water addition experiment, the voids were occupied by water, leading to formation of an anaerobic area. Among the four bioreactors, only MS had negligible formation of an anaerobic zone in the center. Methane (CH4) generation was detected only at the connection between the gas vent and the leachate collection pipe. A larger void fraction led to formation of a smaller anaerobic zone. The ratio of air flowing in pipeline was lowest in MS. These results indicated that a large void fraction promotes the decomposition of organic matter.

Effects of capsaicin loads on the properties of capsicum leaf protein-based nanocellulose composite films.

This study aims to enhance the functionality of conventional protein-based nanocellulose composite films (PNCF) to meet the high demand for natural antimicrobial packaging films. Capsicum leaf protein (CLP) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) extracted from capsicum leaves were used as raw materials. Capsaicin, an essential antibacterial active ingredient in the capsicum plant, was used as an additive. The influence of different capsaicin loads on PNCF physicochemical and material properties was investigated under alkaline conditions. The results show that all film-forming liquids (FFLs) are non-Newtonian fluids with shear thinning behavior. When the capsaicin loading exceeds 20 %, the surface microstructure of PNCF changes from dense lamellar to rod-like. Capsaicin did not alter the PNCF crystal structure, thermal stability or chemical bonding. Capsaicin can be loaded onto the PNCF surface by intermolecular hydrogen bonding reactions with CLP and CNC, preserving capsaicin's biological activity. With increasing capsaicin loads from 0 % to 50 %, the mechanical and hydrophobic properties of PNCF decreased, whereas the diameter of the inhibition zone increased. All PNCFs have UV-blocking properties with potential applications in developing biodegradable food packaging materials. The results of this study provide a theoretical basis for the high-value utilization of capsicum cultivation waste and the preparation of novel PNCF.

Exposure to early-life adversity and long-term trajectories of multimorbidity among older adults in China: analysis of longitudinal data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify long-term distinct trajectories of multimorbidity with ageing from 50 to 85 years among Chinese older adults and examine the relationship between exposure to early-life adversity (ELA; including specific types of adversity and accumulation of different adversities) and these long-term multimorbidity trajectories. DESIGN: The group-based trajectory models identified long-term multimorbidity trajectories. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to examine the relationship between ELA and the identified multimorbidity trajectories. SETTING: This study used data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS, 2011-2018) and the 2014 Life History Survey. PARTICIPANTS: We used data from 9112 respondents (aged 60 and above) of the 2018 wave of CHARLS. OUTCOME MEASURES: Each respondent's history of chronic conditions and experiences of ELA were collected from the 2011-2018 waves of CHARLS and the 2014 Life History Survey. RESULTS: Four heterogeneous long-term trajectories of multimorbidity development were identified: 'maintaining-low' (19.1%), 'low onset-rapidly increasing' (23.3%), 'middle onset-moderately increasing' (41.5%) and 'chronically-high' (16.2%). Our findings indicated that the heterogeneity can be explained by ELA experiences. Across various types of different ELA experiences, exposure to food insufficiency (relative risk ratios from 1.372 (95% CI 1.190 to 1.582) to 1.780 (95% CI 1.472 to 2.152)) and parental quarrel/divorce (relative risk ratios from 1.181 (95% CI 1.000 to 1.394) to 1.262 (95% CI 1.038 to 1.536)) had the most prominent associations with health deterioration. The accumulation of more different ELA experiences was associated with a higher relative risk of developing more severe multimorbidity trajectories (relative risk ratio for five to seven ELAs and chronically high trajectory: 7.555, 95% CI 4.993 to 11.431). CONCLUSIONS: There are heterogeneous long-term trajectories of multimorbidity in Chinese older adults, and the risk of multimorbidity associated with ELA accumulates over the lifespan. Our findings highlight the role of a supportive early-life family environment in promoting health development across the lifespan, advocating for the integration of life-course approaches to implementing health disparity interventions.

Tri-frequency simultaneous ultrasound pickling for the acceleration of the NaCl content and quality improvement of pork (longissimus dorsi).

BACKGROUND: The pickling process with NaCl is an essential step for pork preservation. This study aimed to investigate the effect of different ultrasonic intensities of tri-frequency simultaneous ultrasound (TSIU) pickling on the NaCl content and quality of pork (longissimus dorsi). After 30 min pickling, the NaCl content, moisture content, pickling yield, cooking loss, textural properties, color, pH, moisture migration and distribution as well as microstructure of pork were assessed. RESULTS: Results showed that among all the ultrasonic treatment intensities (85-150 W L-1 ), the NaCl content of the sample pickled by an intensity of 101.3 W L-1 was higher than that of other intensities. TSIU 101.3 W L-1 showed 59.95% higher NaCl content than the control sample. In addition, the sample treated with TSIU of 101.3 W L-1 had higher pickling yield and moisture content, better textural properties of pork (including hardness and chewiness), and less cooking loss. The results of the low-field nuclear magnetic resonance showed that, compared with the control group, the relaxation time T21 of the ultrasound-assisted pickling samples increased, while the proportion of T22 (A22 ) reduction ranged from 175.0% to 379.9%. The microstructure designated that the ultrasonic treatment could facilitate changes in meat texture. CONCLUSION: Ultrasound marination of different intensities promoted the diffusion of NaCl and affected the quality of pork tenderloins. The TSIU at 101.3 W L-1 could better accelerate NaCl transport and homogeneous distribution on meat, thereby improving the sample quality. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Application of ultrasound treatment in pork marination: Effects on moisture migration and microstructure.

To better understanding the effects of ultrasonic marination on the porcine tissue, the moisture migration and microstructure were investigated in this study. Additionally, the acoustic field distribution was analysis using COMSOL Multiphysics. The low-filed NMR results demonstrated that ultrasonic curing induced a leftward shift in T21 and a rightward shift in T22, accompanied by a significant reduction in A22, thereby enhancing the water-holding capacity of pork. The SEM and TEM observation showed that the presence of larger interstitial gaps between muscle fibers facilitated the diffusion of NaCl. The simulation analysis revealed that the acoustic field at 26.8 kHz showed minimal standing wave effects and more pronounced cavitation, which was the main reason for the best curing effect at this frequency. The scale-up test showed the NaCl content in pork reached 1% after ultrasound curing, indicating the potential application of ultrasonic marination technology in domestic refrigerators.

PSMOT: Online Occlusion-Aware Multi-Object Tracking Exploiting Position Sensitivity.

Models based on joint detection and re-identification (ReID), which significantly increase the efficiency of online multi-object tracking (MOT) systems, are an evolution from separate detection and ReID models in the tracking-by-detection (TBD) paradigm. It is observed that these joint models are typically one-stage, while the two-stage models become obsolete because of their slow speed and low efficiency. However, the two-stage models have naive advantages over the one-stage anchor-based and anchor-free models in handling feature misalignment and occlusion, which suggests that the two-stage models, via meticulous design, could be on par with the state-of-the-art one-stage models. Following this intuition, we propose a robust and efficient two-stage joint model based on R-FCN, whose backbone and neck are fully convolutional, and the RoI-wise process only involves simple calculations. In the first stage, an adaptive sparse anchoring scheme is utilized to produce adequate, high-quality proposals to improve efficiency. To boost both detection and ReID, two key elements-feature aggregation and feature disentanglement-are taken into account. To improve robustness against occlusion, the position-sensitivity is exploited, first to estimate occlusion and then to direct the post-process for anti-occlusion. Finally, we link the model to a hierarchical association algorithm to form a complete MOT system called PSMOT. Compared to other cutting-edge systems, PSMOT achieves competitive performance while maintaining time efficiency.

Research and analysis of energy consumption and energy saving in buildings based on photovoltaic photothermal integration.

In order to reduce the energy consumption of buildings, an air source heat pump assisted rooftop photovoltaic-thermal integration system is designed. The installation area of photovoltaic modules and collectors will not only affect the power side, but also affect the thermal side. Therefore, the basic architecture of the photovoltaic photothermal integration system is first established, and then the improved whale algorithm is used to optimize the photovoltaic photothermal integration system with the daily operating cost as the optimization goal. At the same time, the influence of the installation area of the photovoltaic photothermal module on the comprehensive performance of the system is analyzed, and the environmental and economic benefits of the photovoltaic photothermal system are analyzed. The results of the example show that the roof of the building has significant benefits in environmental protection and investment recovery period when the photovoltaic photothermal system with the optimal area ratio is installed on the roof of the building. The solar photovoltaic power generation system can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 147.11 t within 25 years, and the solar collector system can save 170.5 thousand yuan in 1 year. It has achieved the purpose of saving energy, reducing carbon dioxide emissions and protecting the environment.

Sleep and the Social Profiles of Individuals With Rett Syndrome.

BACKGROUND: This study investigates the distinctive social behaviors observed in individuals with Rett syndrome (RTT), characterized by the loss of spoken language, impaired eye gaze communication, gait abnormalities, and sleep issues. The research aims to identify social profiles in RTT and explore their correlation with sleep, sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), and daytime sleepiness. METHODS: Standard overnight sleep macrostructure and respiratory parameters were assessed. Extracting 25 social-related items and one for daytime sleepiness from the Rett Syndrome Behavioral Questionnaire, factor analysis was applied to establish latent social profiles. These profiles were then correlated with sleep parameters. The nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test compared social profiles based on the presence of SDB (defined by an apnea-hypopnea index greater than one per hour) and daytime sleepiness. RESULTS: The study involved 12 female subjects with confirmed RTT diagnoses and MECP2 mutations, aged 8.54 ± 5.30 years. The Rett Syndrome Behavioral Questionnaire revealed a total average score of 25.83 ± 12.34, indicating varying degrees of social impairments. Comprising 25 social-related items, factor analysis yielded four social profiles: "interactive motricity," "mood change," "anxiety/agitation," and "gazing." Longer sleep onset latency correlated with increased socio-behavioral impairments, particularly in interactive motricity reduction. Conversely, higher rapid eye movement sleep was associated with fewer interactive socio-motor behaviors. No significant differences in social profiles were found concerning the presence of SDB or daytime sleepiness. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest four distinct social profiles in RTT individuals, hinting at shared disrupted circuits between sensorimotor functioning and sleep-related neuronal pathways. Despite the absence of differences in SDB or daytime sleepiness, the study highlights the relationship between sleep parameters, such as sleep onset latency and rapid eye movement sleep, and socio-behavioral outcomes in RTT with MECP2 mutations.

Chitosan alleviates ovarian aging by enhancing macrophage phagocyte-mediated tissue homeostasis.

BACKGROUND: Age-related changes in the ovarian microenvironment are linked to impaired fertility in women. Macrophages play important roles in ovarian tissue homeostasis and immune surveillance. However, the impact of aging on ovarian macrophage function and ovarian homeostasis remains poorly understood. METHODS: Senescence-associated beta-galactosidase staining, immunohistochemistry, and TUNEL staining were used to assess senescence and apoptosis, respectively. Flow cytometry was employed to evaluate mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and apoptosis in granulosa cells lines (KGN), and macrophages phagocytosis. After a 2-month treatment with low molecular weight Chitosan (LMWC), ovarian tissues from mice were collected for comprehensive analysis. RESULTS: Compared with the liver and uterus, the ovary displayed accelerated aging in an age-dependent manner, which was accompanied by elevated levels of inflammatory factors and apoptotic cells, and impaired macrophage phagocytic activity. The aged KGN cells exhibited elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) and apoptotic levels alongside decreased MMP. H2O2-induced aging macrophages showed reduced phagocytosis function. Moreover, there were excessive aging macrophages with impaired phagocytosis in the follicular fluid of patients with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR). Notably, LMWC administration alleviated ovarian aging by enhancing macrophage phagocytosis and promoting tissue homeostasis. CONCLUSIONS: Aging ovarian is characterized by an accumulation of aging and apoptotic granulosa cells, an inflammatory response and macrophage phagocytosis dysfunction. In turn, impaired phagocytosis of macrophage contributes to insufficient clearance of aging and apoptotic granulosa cells and the increased risk of DOR. Additionally, LMWC emerges as a potential therapeutic strategy for age-related ovarian dysfunction.