Mathematical modeling the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 infection with antibody-dependent enhancement.

The advent and swift global spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) transmitted by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have caused massive deaths and economic devastation worldwide. Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) is a common phenomenon in virology that directly affects the effectiveness of the vaccine, and there is no fully effective vaccine for diseases. In order to study the potential role of ADE on SARS-CoV-2 infection, we establish the SARS-CoV-2 infection dynamics model with ADE. The basic reproduction number is computed. We prove that when R 0 < 1 , the infection-free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable, and the system is uniformly persistent when R 0 > 1 . We carry out the sensitivity analysis by the partial rank correlation coefficients and the extended version of the Fourier amplitude sensitivity test. Numerical simulations are implemented to illustrate the theoretical results. The potential impact of ADE on SARS-CoV-2 infection is also assessed. Our results show that ADE may accelerate SARS-CoV-2 infection. Furthermore, our findings suggest that increasing antibody titers can have the ability to control SARS-CoV-2 infection with ADE, but enhancing the neutralizing power of antibodies may be ineffective to control SARS-CoV-2 infection with ADE. Our study presumably contributes to a better understanding of the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 infection with ADE.

Evaluation of Effectiveness of Global COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign.

To model estimated deaths averted by COVID-19 vaccines, we used state-of-the-art mathematical modeling, likelihood-based inference, and reported COVID-19 death and vaccination data. We estimated that >1.5 million deaths were averted in 12 countries. Our model can help assess effectiveness of the vaccination program, which is crucial for curbing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bioinformatics Analysis Reveals Hub Genes That May Reduce Inflammation and Complications After Cardiopulmonary Bypass.

Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), though indispensable in many cardiac surgery procedures, has several undesirable consequences. The aim of this study was to identify potential genes that may reduce the inflammatory response and complications after CPB. The GSE132176 dataset was selected from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and included 10 patients with tetralogy of Fallot and 10 patients with an atrial septal defect who underwent CPB surgery. TSV files were downloaded after GEO2R processing. Protein-protein interaction analysis of common differentially expressed genes (DEGs) was performed using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes. Gene modules and hub genes were visualized in the protein-protein interaction network using Cytoscape. Enrichment analysis was performed for all important DEGs, modular genes, and hub genes. A total of 72 DEGs were screened, including two functional and one hub gene module. FOS modular genes were primarily enriched in NGF-stimulated transcription, spinal cord injury, and PID AP1 pathway. The ATF3 modular gene was mainly enriched in cytomegalovirus infection and transcriptional misregulation in cancer. Hub gene modules were primarily enriched in the PID AP1 pathway, positive regulation of pri-miRNA transcription by RNA polymerase II, and the PID ATF2 pathway. FOS, JUN, ATF3, and EGR1 were the four most important hub genes; the top three hub genes were involved in the formation of AP-1 and enriched in the AP-1 pathway. Finally, we measured the expression levels of these four genes in patients undergoing CPB via qRT-PCR, and the results were consistent with those obtained in bioinformatic analysis. FOS, JUN, ATF3, and EGR1 and the AP-1 pathway may play key roles in inflammation and complications caused by CPB.

Research on Hazardous Waste Removal Management: Identification of the Hazardous Characteristics of Fluid Catalytic Cracking Spent Catalysts.

Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) spent catalysts are the most common catalysts produced by the petroleum refining industry in China. The National Hazardous Waste List (2016 edition) lists FCC spent catalysts as hazardous waste, but this listing is very controversial in the petroleum refining industry. This study collects samples of waste catalysts from seven domestic catalytic cracking units without antimony-based passivation agents and identifies their hazardous characteristics. FCC spent catalysts do not have the characteristics of flammability, corrosiveness, reactivity, or infectivity. Based on our analysis of the components and production process of the FCC spent catalysts, we focused on the hazardous characteristic of toxicity. Our results show that the leaching toxicity of the heavy metal pollutants nickel, copper, lead, and zinc in the FCC spent catalyst samples did not exceed the hazardous waste identification standards. Assuming that the standards for antimony and vanadium leachate are 100 times higher than that of the surface water and groundwater environmental quality standards, the leaching concentration of antimony and vanadium in the FCC spent catalyst of the G set of installations exceeds the standard, which may affect the environmental quality of surface water or groundwater. The quantities of toxic substances in all spent FCC catalysts, except those from G2, does not exceed the standard. The acute toxicity of FCC spent catalysts in all installations does not exceed the standard. Therefore, we exclude "waste catalysts from catalytic cracking units without antimony-based passivating agent passivation nickel agent" from the "National Hazardous Waste List."

Estimation of COVID-19 outbreak size in Harbin, China.

Since the first level response to public health emergencies was launched on January 25, 2020, in Heilongjiang province, China, the outbreak of COVID-19 seems to be under control. However, an outbreak of COVID-19 caused by imported cases developed in Harbin during April 2020. A mathematical model is established to investigate the transmission of COVID-19 in Harbin. Based on the dynamical analysis and data fitting, the research investigates the outbreak of COVID-19 in Harbin and estimates the outbreak size of COVID-19 in Harbin. The outbreak size estimated of COVID-19 in Harbin reaches 174, where 54% of infected cases were identified while 46% of infected cases were not found out. We should maintain vigilance against unfound infected people. Our findings suggest that the effective reproduction number decreased drastically in contrast with the value of 3.6 on April 9; after that the effective interventions were implemented by the Heilongjiang province government. Finally, the effective reproduction number arrived at the value of 0.04 which is immensely below the threshold value 1, which means that the Heilongjiang province government got the outbreak of COVID-19 in Harbin under control.

Quercetin attenuates reduced uterine perfusion pressure -induced hypertension in pregnant rats through regulation of endothelin-1 and endothelin-1 type A receptor.

BACKGROUND: Quercetin was reported to be crucial for a broad range of activities, including attenuating inflammation, platelet aggregation, capillary permeability, and lipid peroxidation. However, the effect of quercetin in hypertension during pregnancy, was not fully understood. METHODS: The model of hypertension in pregnancy was established in rats by reduced uterine perfusion pressure (RUPP). Quercetin was administrated by gavage. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured using the CODA 6 BP system. Plasma concentrations of Endothelin-1 (ET-1), soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. The mRNA and protein levels of ET-1 and endothelin-1 type A receptor (ETAR) were determined by RT-PCR and Western blotting. The ETAR antagonist BQ-123 was performed by osmotic minipumps. RESULTS: In RUPP induced rats, quercetin treatment decreased SBP and DBP, fetal resorptions percentage, plasma ET-1 and sFlt-1 concentrations, ET-1 and ETAR levels, but increased fetal body weight and VEGF expression. BQ-123 administration attenuated SBP and DBP, suppressed fatal resorptions percentage, and increased fetal body weight of RUPP rats. CONCLUSION: Quercetin attenuates RUPP induced hypertension in pregnant rats through the regulation of ET-1 and ETAR.

Using traveller-derived cases in Henan Province to quantify the spread of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China.

Wuhan shutdown was implemented on January 23 and the first level response to public health emergencies (FLRPHE) was launched over the country, and then China got the outbreak of COVID-19 under control. A mathematical model is established to study the transmission of COVID-19 in Wuhan. This research investigates the spread of COVID-19 in Wuhan and assesses the effectiveness of control measures including the Wuhan city travel ban and FLRPHE. Based on the dynamical analysis and data fitting, the transmission of COVID-19 in Wuhan is estimated and the effects of control measures including Wuhan city travel ban and FLRPHE are investigated. According to the assumptions, the basic reproduction number for COVID-19 estimated that for Wuhan equal to 7.53 and there are 4.718 × 10 4 infectious people in Wuhan as of January 23. The interventions including the Wuhan city travel ban and FLRPHE reduce the size of peak and the cumulative number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wuhan by 99%. The extraordinary efforts implemented by China effectively contain the transmission of COVID-19 and protect public health in China.

MicroRNA-200a-3p suppresses tumor proliferation and induces apoptosis by targeting SPAG9 in renal cell carcinoma.

Sperm-associated antigen 9(SPAG9), as a well-recognized oncogene protein, has a critical effect on renal cell carcinoma (RCC) progression. Our study tried to explore the mediator of miR-200a-3p, a tumor suppressing miRNA on SPAG9 expression and renal cell proliferation and apoptosis. We found the expression of miR-200a-3p was significantly lower in RCC specimens. Based on in vitro assays, we found miR-200a-3p significantly inhibit cancer cell proliferation by inducing apoptosis. In addition, our study uncovered that miR-200a-3p directly regulates oncogenic SPAG9 in 786-O and ACHN cells. Silencing of SPAG9 resulted in significantly decreased in the growth and the cell cycle of the renal cancer cell lines. Understanding of oncogenic SPAG9 regulated by miR-200a-3p might be beneficial to reveal new therapeutic targets for RCC.

Photocatalytic Decarboxylative Hydroxylation of Carboxylic Acids Driven by Visible Light and Using Molecular Oxygen.

This paper discloses the first example of photocatalytic direct decarboxylative hydroxylation of carboxylic acids. It enables the conversion of a variety of readily available carboxylic acids to alcohols in moderate to high yields. This unprecedented protocol is accomplished under extremely mild reaction conditions using molecular oxygen (O2) as a green oxidant and using visible light as a driving force.

Visible Light Photocatalytic Radical-Radical Cross-Coupling Reactions of Amines and Carbonyls: A Route to 1,2-Amino Alcohols.

An intermolecular radical-radical cross-coupling reaction of secondary and tertiary amines with aryl ketones and aldehydes has been developed using visible light photoredox catalysis. This reaction provides an efficient and straightforward approach to some useful 1,2-amino alcohols in moderate to good yields under mild conditions.

A lost piece of the puzzle of the alkane cracking mechanism: a carbanion pathway on a solid base catalyst.

The alkane cracking mechanism has been a subject of intense scrutiny, with carbonium and free radical mechanisms being two well-established pathways which correlate to solid acid catalysis and thermal cracking, respectively. However, despite an understanding of these two mechanisms, certain intricacies remain unexplored, especially when it comes to alternative reaction routes over solid base materials. This gap in the knowledge hinders optimization of the desired product selectivity of alkane cracking processes. In this work, solid superbases were first prepared by impregnation of NaNO3 on MgO. The Na/MgO catalysts were characterized by XRD, BET, XPS and CO2-TPD techniques. To investigate the role of solid base materials, propane cracking was conducted over MgO and Na/MgO. SiO2 was chosen as a representative of thermal cracking. Na/MgO showed better selectivity for light olefins than MgO or SiO2. Ethylene and light olefin selectivity could reach about 65.8% and 91.7%, respectively. Meanwhile, in terms of Na/MgO, the ratio of ethylene selectivity and propylene selectivity is greater than 2, exhibiting the advantage of selectivity for ethylene, which is obviously different from MgO and SiO2. Propane cracking over Na/MgO with different loading amounts of NaNO3 was investigated further. The conversion rates of the samples presented a "volcano curve" with increasing Na content. Furthermore, DFT calculation showed that the base-catalyzed process of the propane cracking reaction follows a carbanion mechanism. The better product distribution and stronger surface base sites can be ascribed to charge transfer arising from the loading of NaNO3.

Aggregation-induced emission-active iridium (III)-based mitochondria-targeting nanoparticle for two-photon imaging-guided photodynamic therapy.

The efficacy of imaging-guided photodynamic therapy (PDT) is compromised by the attenuation of fluorescence and decline in reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation efficiency in the physiological environment of conventional photosensitizers, limited near-infrared (NIR) absorption, and high systemic cytotoxicity. This paper presents the synthesis of two cyclometalated Ir (III) complexes (Ir-thpy and Ir-ppy) by using a triphenylamine derivative (DPTPA) as the primary ligand and their encapsulation into an amphiphilic phospholipid to form nanoparticles (NPs). These complexes exhibit aggregation-induced emission features and remarkably enhanced ROS generation compared to Chlorin e6 (Ce6). Moreover, Ir-thpy NPs possess the unique ability to selectively target mitochondria, leading to depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane potential and ultimately triggering apoptosis. Notably, Ir-thpy NPs exhibit exceptional photocytotoxicity even towards cisplatin-resistant A549/DDP tumor cells. In vivo two-photon imaging verified the robust tumor-targeting efficacy of Ir-thpy NPs. The in vivo results unequivocally demonstrate that Ir-thpy NPs exhibit excellent tumor ablation along with remarkable biocompatibility. This study presents a promising approach for the development of multifunctional Ir-NPs for two-photon imaging-guided PDT and provides novel insights for potential clinical applications in oncology.

Pseudomonas-associated bacteria play a key role in obtaining nutrition from bamboo for the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca).

Gut microbiota plays a vital role in obtaining nutrition from bamboo for giant pandas. However, low cellulase activity has been observed in the panda's gut. Besides, no specific pathway has been implicated in lignin digestion by gut microbiota of pandas. Therefore, the mechanism by which they obtain nutrients is still controversial. It is necessary to elucidate the precise pathways employed by gut microbiota of pandas to degrade lignin. Here, the metabolic pathways for lignin degradation in pandas were explored by comparing 209 metagenomic sequencing data from wild species with different feeding habits. Lignin degradation central pathways, including beta-ketoadipate and homogentisate pathway, were enriched in the gut of wild bamboo-eating pandas. The gut microbiome of wild bamboo-eating specialists was enriched with genes from pathways implicated in degrading ferulate and p-coumarate into acetyl-CoA and succinyl-CoA, which can potentially provide the raw materials for metabolism in pandas. Specifically, Pseudomonas, as the most dominant gut bacteria genus, was found to be the main bacteria to provide genes involved in lignin or lignin derivative degradation. Herein, three Pseudomonas-associated strains isolated from the feces of wild pandas showed the laccase, lignin peroxidase, and manganese peroxidase activity and extracellular lignin degradation ability in vitro. A potential mechanism for pandas to obtain nutrition from bamboo was proposed based on the results. This study provides novel insights into the adaptive evolution of pandas from the perspective of lignin metabolism. IMPORTANCE: Although giant pandas only feed on bamboo, the mechanism of lignin digestion in pandas is unclear. Here, the metabolic pathways for lignin degradation in wild pandas were explored by comparing gut metagenomic from species with different feeding habits. Results showed that lignin degradation central pathways, including beta-ketoadipate and homogentisate pathway, were enriched in the gut of wild bamboo-eating pandas. Genes from pathways involved in degrading ferulate and p-coumarate via beta-ketoadipate pathway were also enriched in bamboo-eating pandas. The final products of the above process, such as acetyl-CoA, can potentially provide the raw materials for metabolism in pandas. Specifically, Pseudomonas, as the most dominant gut bacteria genus, mainly provides genes involved in lignin degradation. Herein, Pseudomonas-associated strains isolated from the feces of pandas could degrade extracellular lignin. These findings suggest that gut microbiome of pandas is crucial in obtaining nutrition from lignin via Pseudomonas, as the main lignin-degrading bacteria.

Efficacy of using telecare services for community-dwelling people with diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), blood pressure, self-efficacy, and quality of life efficacy of using telecare services for community-dwelling people with diabetes. METHODS: Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PsycINFO, PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Scopus databases were systematically searched from their inception dates to June 22, 2023. Two evaluators independently selected and evaluated eligible studies. A protocol was registered in PROSPERO. RESULTS: An analysis of 17 studies that included 3586 subjects showed that telecare significantly improved the management of patients with diabetes. Compared to controls, intervention care had significant benefits regarding HbA1c (MD = -0.30, 95 % CI = -0.44 - -0.17, 16 studies), systolic blood pressure (MD = -2.45, 95 % CI = -4.53 - -0.36, P = 0.02), self-efficacy (MD = 0.36, 95 % CI = 0.04 - 0.67, P = 0.03) and quality of life (MD = 0.37, 95 % CI = 0.05 - 0.70, P = 0.02). However, diastolic blood pressure (MD = -1.37, 95 % CI = -3.34 - -0.61, P = 0.17) was not found to be significantly affected. CONCLUSIONS: Telecare is effective in improving self-management among community-dwelling people with diabetes, suggesting an effective means for them to achieve self-management.

Clinical Characteristics of persistent geotropic horizontal direction-changing positional nystagmus: Experience in 189 participants.

BACKGROUND: The etiology and mechanism of persistent geotropic horizontal direction-changing positional nystagmus (DCPN) are still unclear. Whether this pattern of nystagmus is a subtype of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) remains controversial. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to observe the clinical characteristics of persistent geotropic horizontal DCPN involving the lateral semicircular canal. METHODS: The analysis was performed to participants with episodic positional vertigo in our clinic from 2014 to 2021. Participants were included via positional test. We observed and summarized the distribution data, vertigo history, follow-up tests, and recurrence situations of 189 persistent geotropic horizontal DCPN participants. RESULTS: The mean age at the first time showing of persistent geotropic horizontal DCPN was 56±14.7 and more women than men were affected by persistent geotropic horizontal DCPN (female-to-male ratio 2.4 : 1). Overall, 58.7% (57/94) of participants who came for the first-week follow-up test were asymptomatic. Thirty-three participants experienced recurrence (female-to-male ratio: 4.5 : 1). Fifty-three (28.0%) participants experienced the conversion of the patterns of DCPN in the history, the follow-up tests and the recurrence compared to the first showing of persistent geotropic horizontal DCPN. 24(12.1%) participants still experienced persistent geotropic horizontal DCPN attack in the follow-up tests and the recurrences without benign paroxysmal positional vertigo history. CONCLUSION: Persistent geotropic horizontal DCPN affected more women than men. The persistent geotropic horizontal DCPN that with conversion to transient geotropic horizontal DCPN or to persistent apogeotropic horizontal DCPN might be a subtype of BPPV or in a stage of BPPV process. However, the persistent geotropic horizontal DCPN without conversion might be an independent disease that is not related to BPPV.

Engineering Z-Scheme FeOOH/PCN with Fast Photoelectron Transfer and Surface Redox Kinetics for Efficient Solar-Driven CO2 Reduction.

Solar-driven conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) without sacrificial agents offers an attractive alternative in sustainable energy research; nevertheless, it is often retarded by the sluggish water oxidation kinetics and severe charge recombination. To this end, a Z-scheme iron oxyhydroxide/polymeric carbon nitride (FeOOH/PCN) heterojunction, as identified by quasi in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, is constructed. In this heterostructure, the two-dimensional FeOOH nanorod provides rich coordinatively unsaturated sites and highly oxidative photoinduced holes to boost the sluggish water decomposition kinetics. Meanwhile, PCN acts as a robust agent for CO2 reduction. Consequently, FeOOH/PCN achieves efficient CO2 photoreduction with a superior selectivity of CH4 (>85%), together with an apparent quantum efficiency of 2.4% at 420 nm that outperforms most two-step photosystems to date. This work offers an innovative strategy for the construction of photocatalytic systems toward solar fuel production.

FSAD-Net: Feedback Spatial Attention Dehazing Network.

Recent dehazing networks learn more discriminative high-level features by designing deeper networks or introducing complicated structures, while ignoring inherent feature correlations in intermediate layers. In this article, we establish a novel and effective end-to-end dehazing method, named feedback spatial attention dehazing network (FSAD-Net). FSAD-Net is based on the recurrent structure and consists of four modules: a shallow feature extraction block (SFEB), a feedback block (FB), multiple advanced residual blocks (ARBs), and a reconstruction block (RB). FB is designed to handle feedback connections, and it can improve the dehazing performance by exploiting the dependencies of deep features across stages. ARB implements a novel attention-based estimation on a residual block to adapt to pixels with different distributions. Finally, RB helps restore haze-free images. It can be seen from the experimental results that FSAD-Net almost outperforms the state-of-the-arts in terms of five quantitative metrics. Moreover, the qualitatively comparisons on real-world images also demonstrate the superiority of the proposed FSAD-Net. Considering the efficiency and effectiveness of FSAD-Net, it can be expected to serve as a suitable image dehazing baseline in the future.

Serum Raman spectroscopy combined with convolutional neural network for rapid diagnosis of HER2-positive and triple-negative breast cancer.

Breast cancer is common in women, and its number of patients ranks first among female malignant tumors. Breast cancer is highly heterogeneous, and different types of breast cancer have different biological behaviors and prognoses. Therefore, identifying the different types of breast cancer is of great help in formulating individualized treatment plans. Based on serum Raman spectroscopy and deep learning algorithms, we propose a fast and low-cost diagnosis method for screening triple-negative breast cancer, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer, and healthy controls. We collected 75 serum samples in this study, including 23 triple-negative breast cancers, 22 HER2-positive breast cancers, and 30 healthy controls. Using the preprocessed Raman spectra as the input of deep learning, three deep learning models, neural network language model (NNLM), bidirectional long-short-term memory network (BiLSTM), and convolutional neural network (CNN), were established, and the accuracy rates of the three models were 87.78%, 90.37%, and 91.11%, respectively. The experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of serum Raman spectroscopy combined with deep learning algorithms to diagnose breast cancer, which can be used as an effective auxiliary diagnosis method for breast cancer.

[Retracted] TRIM16 suppresses the progression of prostate tumors by inhibiting the Snail signaling pathway.

Following the publication of this paper, it was drawn to the Editor's attention by concerned readers that the western blotting data shown in Figs. 4C and 7B and D, the scratch­wound assay images shown in Figs. 5A and 6A, and certain of the cell migration and invasion assay data shown in Figs. 5B and 6B were strikingly similar to data that had previously appeared in different form in other articles by different authors. Owing to the fact that the contentious data in the above article had already been published elsewhere, or were already under consideration for publication, prior to its submission to International Journal of Molecular Medicine, the Editor has decided that this paper should be retracted from the Journal. After having been in contact with the authors, they accepted the decision to retract the paper. The Editor apologizes to the readership for any inconvenience caused. [International Journal of Molecular Medicine 38: 1734­1742, 2016; DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.2016.2774].

Modelling and stability analysis of ASFV with swill and the virus in the environment.

African swine fever (ASF) is an acute, hemorrhagic and severe infectious disease caused by the African swine fever virus (ASFV), and leads to a serious threat to the pig industry in China. Yet the impact of the virus in the environment and contaminated swill on the ASFV transmission is unclear in China. Then we build the ASFV transmission model with the virus in the environment and swill. We compute the basic reproduction number, and prove that the disease-free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable when $ R_0 < 1 $ and the unique endemic equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable when $ R_0 > 1 $. Using the public information, parameter values are evaluated. PRCCs and eFAST sensitivity analysis reveal that the release rate of ASFV from asymptomatic and symptomatic infectious pigs and the proportion of pig products from infectious pigs to swill have a significant impact on the ASFV transmission. Our findings suggest that the virus in the environment and contaminated swill contribute to the ASFV transmission. Our results may help animal health to prevent and control the ASFV transmission.