Quality of childcare and delayed child development in left-behind children in China.

BACKGROUND: Inequalities in job opportunities and income prompts many Chinese parents to leave rural regions to work in urban regions. Their children are left behind in rural regions, subjected to worse quality of childcare that jeopardizes their development. This study aimed to examine the association between quality of childcare and delayed child development in under-three years children left behind in China. METHODS: Cross-sectional national survey was conducted in children left behind in rural China in 2017. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was used to develop a quality of childcare index. Mutlilevel analyses determined factors associated with quality of childcare and child development on a province and individual level. RESULT: The largest population of at-risk children left behind were found in higher-GDP provinces. Children left behind had the lowest mean quality of childcare score. Multilevel analysis found that province level accounted for a great proportion of variance observed. CONCLUSIONS: While migration to urban regions for work may improve household income, a trade-off in worse quality of childcare and developmental delays exists. With improving household income often being the greatest contributing factor for parental migration, policies to reduce inequalities in job opportunities and wealth between rural and urban regions are required. IMPACT: Previous studies identified higher prevalence of developmental delays in children left behind in China. However, quality of childcare has not been examined. Based on WHO's Nurturing Care Framework, we developed a quality of childcare index to assess its association with child development in children left behind. Greatest proportion of children left behind at-risk of developmental delays resided in higher-GDP states, indicating a trade-off in worse quality of childcare and developmental delays. Since improving household income is the main factor for parental migration, policies to close inequalities in job opportunities and wealth between rural and urban regions are required.

Bottom-up Growth of Convex Sphere with Adjustable Cu(0)/Cu(I) Interfaces for Effective C2 Production from CO2 Electroreduction.

One challenge confronting the Cu2O catalysts in the electrocatalysis of carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR) is the reduction of active Cu(I) species, resulting in low selectivity and quick deactivation. In this study, we for the first time introduce a bottom-up growth of convex sphere with adjustable Cu(0)/Cu(I) interfaces (Cux@Cu2O convex spheres). Interestingly, the interfaces are dynamically modulated by varying hydrothermal time, thus regulating the conversion of C1 and C2 products. In particular, the 4 h hydrothermal treatment applied to Cu0.25@Cu2O convex sphere with the favorable Cu(0)/Cu(I) interface results in the highest selectivity for C2 products (90.5 %). In situ Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy measurements and density functional theory calculations reveal that the Cu(0)/Cu(I) interface lowers the energy barrier for the production of ethylene and ethanol while increasing the coverage of localized *CO adsorbate for increased dimerization. This work establishes a novel approach for transforming the state of valence-sensitive electrocatalysts into high-value energy-related engineering products.

Circular RNA PARG adjusts miR-140-3p to influence progression in sepsis.

Sepsis has been characterized as a frequent medical problem with high mortality and severe complication medical problem in the intensive care unit (ICU). Here, qRT-PCR was used to examine circRNA PARG expression levels in patients with sepsis and in human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (HPMEC). Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-simulated HPMEC were hybridized using RNA-Fluorescence in situ hybridization to confirm the location of circRNA PARG and miR-140-3p. The biological role of downregulated circRNA PARGin cellular proliferation, apoptosis, and inflammatory and apoptosis responses was evaluated. performed A dual-luciferase reporter assay was performed to determine the relationship between the circRNA PARG with miR-140-3p. In this study,circRNA PARG aberrant expression was found, and the effects of circRNA PARG on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated apoptosis of HPMEC cells were further investigated. Down-regulated circRNA PARG led to significant alleviation of LPS-simulated cell apoptosis via inhibition of inflammatory and apoptosis-related genes, while upregulated circRNA PARG exhibited the opposite effects. Further findings indicated that circRNA PARG positively modulated the relative level of miR-140-3p, which has been confirmed using the luciferase reporter assay. Upregulated circRNA PARG led to a reversal of LPS-simulated cells after transfection of miR-140-3p mimic. In general, a novel insight into understanding the important effects of circRNA PARG in sepsis is provided.

Role of Melatonin in Bovine Reproductive Biotechnology.

Melatonin has profound antioxidant activity and numerous functions in humans as well as in livestock and poultry. Additionally, melatonin plays an important role in regulating the biological rhythms of animals. Combining melatonin with scientific breeding management has considerable potential for optimizing animal physiological functions, but this idea still faces significant challenges. In this review, we summarized the beneficial effects of melatonin supplementation on physiology and reproductive processes in cattle, including granulosa cells, oocytes, circadian rhythm, stress, inflammation, testicular function, spermatogenesis, and semen cryopreservation. There is much emerging evidence that melatonin can profoundly affect cattle. In the future, we hope that melatonin can not only be applied to cattle, but can also be used to safely and effectively improve the efficiency of animal husbandry.

Highly-Efficient Ion Gating through Self-Assembled Two-Dimensional Photothermal Metal-Organic Framework Membrane.

Biological ion channels regulate the ion flow across cell membrane via opening or closing of the pores in response to various external stimuli. Replicating the function of high ion gating effects with artificial porous materials has been challenging. Herein, we report that the self-assembled two-dimensional metal-organic framework (MOF) membrane can serve as an excellent nanofluidic platform for smart regulation of ion transport. The MOF membrane with good photothermal performance exhibits extremely high ion gating ratio (up to 104 ), which is among the highest values in MOF membrane nanochannels for light-controlled ion gating reported so far. By repeatedly turning on and off the light, the nanofluidic device shows outstanding stability and reversibility that can be applied in the remote light-switching system. This work may spark promising applications of MOF membrane with variety of stimuli responsive properties in ion sieving, biosensing, and energy conversion.

Ultralight Hierarchically Structured RGO Composite Aerogels Embedded with MnO2/Ti3C2Tx for Efficient Microwave Absorption.

Although intensive efforts have been devoted to fabricating Ti3C2Tx MXene composites for microwave absorption, it remains a great challenge to achieve excellent MA performance at low loading and thin thickness. Herein, a three-dimensional (3D) lightweight hierarchically structured MnO2/Ti3C2Tx/RGO composite aerogel with abundant heterointerfaces was fabricated via a hydrothermal and chemical reduction self-assembly method. The RGO aerogel embedded with laminated MnO2/Ti3C2Tx provides a lot of heterogeneous interfaces, 3D porous interconnected conductive networks, and reasonable combination of various loss materials for rich interfacial polarization, conductivity loss, multiple reflections and scattering, and good impedance matching. Benefiting from the synergy of different loss mechanisms, the maximum reflection loss (RL) is up to -66.5 dB (>99.9999% energy absorption) at only 10 wt % loading and 2.0 mm thickness, and even at only 1.5 mm thickness, the maximum RL value remains at -36 dB (>99.9% energy absorption). The work provides a promising route to construct 3D hierarchically heterogeneous composite aerogels for efficient MA at thin thickness and low loading.

Lightweight TiO2@C/Carbon Fiber Aerogels Prepared from Ti3C2Tx/Cotton for High-Efficiency Microwave Absorption.

Carbon fiber aerogel (CFA) derived from cotton wool as a potential microwave absorbing material has received intensive attention owing to the low density, high conductivity, large surface area, and low cost, but its applications are limited by the relatively high complex permittivity. To solve this problem, TiO2@C (derived from Ti3C2Tx) is introduced into CFA to prepare lightweight TiO2@C/CFA composites based on electromagnetic (EM) parameter optimization and enhanced EM wave attenuation performance. The microwave absorption capacity of TiO2@C/CFA-2 composite is obviously better than that of CFA. It is confirmed that good impedance matching derived from the combination of TiO2@C and CFA is the main factor to achieve excellent microwave absorption. Moreover, the improved microwave absorption capabilities are closely related to multiple EM wave absorbing mechanisms including multiple reflections and scattering, dipolar and interfacial polarization, and conductivity loss. TiO2@C/CFA-2 possesses a maximum reflection loss (RL) of -43.18 dB at a low response frequency of 6.0 GHz. As the matching thickness is less than 2.0 mm, the maximum RL values can still exceed -20 dB, and at the same time, the wide effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) below -10 dB achieves 4.36 GHz at only 1.9 mm thickness. Our work confirms that the lightweight and high-performance TiO2@C/CFA composites are promising choices and offer a new approach to design and construct carbon-based microwave absorbents derived from biomass.

Expression of Pinellia pedatisecta Agglutinin PPA Gene in Transgenic Sugarcane Led to Stomata Patterning Change and Resistance to Sugarcane Woolly Aphid, Ceratovacuna lanigera Zehntner.

The sugarcane woolly aphid is one of the main pests of sugarcane worldwide. The Pinellia pedatisecta agglutinin (PPA) gene has been demonstrated to function towards aphid resistance in other crops. In our study, in order to investigate the PPA function towards aphid control in sugarcane and its underlying mechanism, the PPA gene was overexpressed in a sugarcane Zhongzhe 1 (ZZ1) cultivar in independent transgenic sugarcane lines. It was confirmed in this study that PPA transgenic sugarcane can resist aphids via detecting the aphids' development and tracing the survival number on PPA-transgenic sugarcane lines as well as PPA negative control lines. The mechanism of PPA lectin-associated defense against aphids was preliminarily explored. Stomatal patterning differences of sugarcane leaves between PPA-transgenic sugarcane lines and negative control lines were found. PPA overexpression led to an increase in stomata number and a decrease in stomata size that might have changed the transpiration status, which is critical for aphids' passive feeding. Moreover, the antioxidant enzyme, sugar, tannin and chlorophyll content in sugarcane leaves before and after aphid infestation was determined. The results indicated that PPA overexpression in sugarcane resulted in an increase in antioxidant enzyme activity and tannin content, as well as a reduction in the decline of certain sugars. These together may improve sugarcane resistance against the sugarcane woolly aphid.

IL-1ß enhances human placenta-derived mesenchymal stromal cells ability to mediate Th1/Th2 and Th1/CD4+IL-10+ T cell balance and regulates its adhesion, proliferation and migration via PD-L1.

Human placenta-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hPMSCs) are promising candidates for the treatment of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), which is associated with high IL-1ß levels. In this study, the effects of IL-1ß and hPMSCs on each other were investigated by analyzing the proportion of Th1, Th2 and CD4+IL-10+ T cells and PD-L1 expression, as well as the adhesion, migration, and proliferation of hPMSCs. The results showed that hPMSCs decreased IL-1ß levels and downregulated Th1/Th2 and Th1/CD4+IL-10+ T cells ratios in the GVHD model. The in vitro results revealed that IL-1ß strengthened the hPMSCs capacity to reduce the Th1/Th2 and Th1/CD4+IL-10+ T cell ratios, inhibited the adhesion and proliferation of hPMSCs and increased PD-L1 expression on hPMSCs via the JAK and NF-κB pathways. Overall, these findings suggested that hPMSCs alleviate GVHD by decreasing IL-1ß level and maintaining the balance among different T cell subsets. IL-1ß enhanced the ability of hPMSCs to balance different T cell subsets and inhibited hPMSCs adhesion and proliferation by regulating PD-L1 expression via the JAK and NF-κB pathways.

Chronic exposure to ambient particulate matter induces gut microbial dysbiosis in a rat COPD model.

BACKGROUND: The role of the microbiota in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) following exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) is largely unknown. METHODS: Fifty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to clean air, biomass fuel (BMF), or motor vehicle exhaust (MVE) for 4, 12, and 24 weeks. We performed pulmonary inflammation evaluation, morphometric measurements, and lung function analysis in rat lung at three different times points during exposure. Lung and gut microbial composition was assessed by 16S rRNA pyrosequencing. Serum lipopolysaccharide levels were measured and short-chain fatty acids in colon contents were quantified. RESULTS: After a 24-week PM exposure, rats exhibited pulmonary inflammation and pathological changes characteristic of COPD. The control and PM exposure (BMF and MVE) groups showed similar microbial diversity and composition in rat lung. However, the gut microbiota after 24 weeks PM exposure was characterized by decreased microbial richness and diversity, distinct overall microbial composition, lower levels of short-chain fatty acids, and higher serum lipopolysaccharide. CONCLUSION: Chronic exposure to ambient particulate matter induces gut microbial dysbiosis and metabolite shifts in a rat model of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Semi-supervised prediction of protein interaction sites from unlabeled sample information.

BACKGROUND: The recognition of protein interaction sites is of great significance in many biological processes, signaling pathways and drug designs. However, most sites on protein sequences cannot be defined as interface or non-interface sites because only a small part of protein interactions had been identified, which will cause the lack of prediction accuracy and generalization ability of predictors in protein interaction sites prediction. Therefore, it is necessary to effectively improve prediction performance of protein interaction sites using large amounts of unlabeled data together with small amounts of labeled data and background knowledge today. RESULTS: In this work, three semi-supervised support vector machine-based methods are proposed to improve the performance in the protein interaction sites prediction, in which the information of unlabeled protein sites can be involved. Herein, five features related with the evolutionary conservation of amino acids are extracted from HSSP database and Consurf Sever, i.e., residue spatial sequence spectrum, residue sequence information entropy and relative entropy, residue sequence conserved weight and residual Base evolution rate, to represent the residues within the protein sequence. Then three predictors are built for identifying the interface residues from protein surface using three types of semi-supervised support vector machine algorithms. CONCLUSION: The experimental results demonstrated that the semi-supervised approaches can effectively improve prediction performance of protein interaction sites when unlabeled information is involved into the predictors and one of them can achieve the best prediction performance, i.e., the accuracy of 70.7%, the sensitivity of 62.67% and the specificity of 78.72%, respectively. With comparison to the existing studies, the semi-supervised models show the improvement of the predication performance.

Effects of a spiroketal compound Peniciketal A and its molecular mechanisms on growth inhibition in human leukemia.

Peniciketal A (Pe-A), a spiroketal compound, is isolated from the saline soil-derived fungus Penicillium raistrickii. However, the underlying molecular mechanistic basis for the effects of Pe-A on leukemia is poorly understood. Here, we investigated that Pe-A reduced cell proliferation in three leukemia cell lines (THP-1, K562 and HL60). Importantly, Pe-A showed little cytotoxicity in primary mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cells in a long-duration treatment. For the mechanistic research, we identified 3449 differentially expressed Pe-A-induced proteins through liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with TMT label in THP-1 cells. Results showed that many identified proteins were involved in apoptosis and/or autophagy. Then, we confirmed that Pe-A induced not only apoptosis via the mitochondrial pathway but also cytoprotective autophagy by activating the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway indeed. In addition, Pe-A also arrested the cell cycle at the G0-G1 phase by regulating the expressions of checkpoint protein. Collectively, these results provide new insights into the mechanisms that Pe-A may target autophagy-related or apoptosis-related pathways to suppress the development of human leukemia.

Rational Construction of Ti3C2T x/Co-MOF-Derived Laminated Co/TiO2-C Hybrids for Enhanced Electromagnetic Wave Absorption.

Lightweight and compatible metal-organic framework (MOF)-derived carbon-based composites are widely used in electromagnetic (EM) absorption. Their combination with laminated TiO2-C (derived from Ti3C2T x) is expected to further strengthen the EM attenuation ability. Herein, novel laminated Co/TiO2-C hybrids were derived from Ti3C2T x/Co-MOF using heat treatment. Compared with pristine MOF-derived carbon-based composites, the EM absorption ability of Co/TiO2-C was improved by multiple reflections between multilayered microstructures and the improved polarization loss (due to the heterogeneous interfaces, residual defects, and dipole polarization) and the strengthened conductivity loss caused by the carbon layers. Specifically, for the Co/TiO2-C hybrids at thicknesses of 3.0 and 2.0 mm, the optimal reflection loss (RL) was -41.1 dB at 9.0 GHz and -31.0 dB at 13.9 GHz, with effective bandwidths (RL ≤ -10 dB) of 3.04 and 4.04 GHz, respectively. This study will underline the preparation of carbon-based absorbing materials starting from MXene/MOF hybrids.

Template-Assisted Hydrothermal Growth of One-Dimensional Zinc Oxide Nanowires for Photocatalytic Application.

One-dimensional (1D) semiconductor ZnO nanowires have been successfully synthesized by a novel soft-chemical hydrothermal method with allylpolyethoxy amino carboxylate (AA-APEA) at low temperature. Their structure and properties have been characterized by a series of techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was found that ZnO nanowires with diameters around 50 nm and lengths up to about several micrometers are well-distributed. The photocatalytic activity toward degradation of methylene blue (MB) aqueous solution under ultraviolet (UV) was investigated and the results showed that the ZnO nanowires exhibit a markedly higher photoactivity compared to the ZnO nanoparticles which were obtained without AA-APEA polymer assistant, and it can be ascribed to the special 1D morphology of the ZnO nanowires. In particular, the rate of degradation of the ZnO nanowires was 11 times faster than that of ZnO nanoparticles. In addition, the ZnO nanowires could be easily recycled in UV photocatalytic activity. These observations could promote new applications of photocatalyst for wastewater treatment utilizing oxide semiconductor nanostructures.

Exposure to ambient particulate matter alters the microbial composition and induces immune changes in rat lung.

BACKGROUND: Ambient particulate matter exposure has been shown to increase the risks of respiratory diseases. However, the role of the lung microbiome and the immune response to inhaled particulate matter are largely unexplored. We studied the influence of biomass fuel and motor vehicle exhaust particles on the lung microbiome and pulmonary immunologic homeostasis in rats. METHODS: Fifty-seven Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into clean air (CON), biomass fuel (BMF), and motor vehicle exhaust (MVE) groups. After a 4-week exposure, the microbial composition of the lung was assessed by 16S rRNA pyrosequencing, the structure of the lung tissue was assessed with histological analysis, the phagocytic response of alveolar macrophages to bacteria was determined by flow cytometry, and immunoglobulin concentrations were measured with commercial ELISA kits. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in lung morphology between the groups. However, the BMF and MVE groups displayed greater bacterial abundance and diversity. Proteobacteria were present in higher proportions in the MVE group, and 12 bacterial families differed in their relative abundances between the three groups. In addition, particulate matter exposure significantly increased the capacity of alveolar macrophages to phagocytose bacteria and induced changes in immunoglobulin levels. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated that particulate matter exposure can alter the microbial composition and change the pulmonary immunologic homeostasis in the rat lung.

Double-Shelled TiO2 Hollow Spheres Assembled with TiO2 Nanosheets.

High-quality double-shelled TiO2 hollow spheres (DHS-Ti) assembled with TiO2 nanosheets have been synthesized for the first time through a simple hydrothermal treatment of sSiO2 @TiO2 (TiO2 -coated solid SiO2 spheres). The double-shelled structure shows a high BET surface area up to 417.6 m2 g-1 . Anatase DHS-Ti of high crystallinity can be obtained without structural collapse by calcination treatment. The effects of cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) concentration, pH, and hydrothermal reaction temperature have also been investigated with a series of contrast experiments. A formation mechanism involving the in situ growth of amorphous TiO2 nanosheets followed by the redeposition of dissolved silica species is proposed. Lastly, the DHS-Ti forming strategy can be extended as a general strategy to fabricate various morphological hollow nanostructures and double-shelled Pt nanocatalysts by rationally selecting functional sSiO2 nanoparticles as core materials. This work could open up a new strategy for controllable synthesis of complex hollow structures and other functional materials.

Fabrication of Ellipsoidal Silica Yolk-Shell Magnetic Structures with Extremely Stable Au Nanoparticles as Highly Reactive and Recoverable Catalysts.

A novel strategy was reported for the fabrication of yolk-shell magnetic MFSVmS-Au nanocomposites (NCs) consisting of double-layered ellipsoidal mesoporous silica shells, numerous sub-4 nm Au nanoparticles (NPs), and magnetic Fe central cores. The hierarchical FSVmS NCs with ellipsoidal α-Fe2O3@mSiO2/mSiO2 as yolks/shells were first prepared through the facile sol-gel template-assisted method, and plenty of extremely stable ultrafine Au NPs were postencapsulated within interlayer cavities through the unique deposition-precipitation method mediated with Au(en)2Cl3 compounds. Notably, ethylenediamine ligands were used to synthesize the stable cationic complexes, [Au(en)2]3+, that readily underwent the deprotonation reaction to chemically modify negatively charged mesoporous silica under alkaline conditions. The subsequent two-stage programmed hydrogen annealing initiated the in situ formation of Au NPs and the reduction of α-Fe2O3 to magnetic Fe, where the synthesized Au NPs were highly resistant to harsh thermal sintering even at 700 °C. Given its structural superiority and magnetic nature, the MFSVmS-Au was demonstrated to be a highly efficient and recoverable nanocatalyst with superior activity and reusability toward the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol, and the pristine morphology was retained after six recycling tests.

Linear-dendritic block copolymers as a green scale inhibitor for calcium carbonate in cooling water systems.

Water-soluble monomer APEG-PG-(OH)n were produced and the Structure of APEG-PG-(OH)5 were identified by 1H-NMR. APEG-PG-(OH)n were copolymerized with maleic anhydride (MA) to synthesize no phosphate and nitrogen free calcium carbonate inhibitor MA/APEG-PG-(OH)n. The structure and thermal property of MA/APEG-PG-(OH)5 were characterized and measured by 1H-NMR, GPC and TGA. The observation shows that the dosage and n value of MA/APEG-PG-(OH)n plays an important role on CaCO3 inhibition. MA/APEG-PG-(OH)5 displays superior ability to inhibit the precipitation of calcium carbonate, with approximately 97% inhibition at a level of 8 mg/L. The effect on formation of CaCO3 was investigated with combination of SEM and XRD analysis.

Identification of mixed anaerobic infections after inguinal hernia repair based on metagenomic next-generation sequencing: A case report.

Infection following inguinal hernia repair (IHR) is uncommon. Rational use of antibiotics can significantly improve the prognosis of patients. However, accurately identifying the pathogen involved is usually challenging. This case report describes a patient who developed intermittent fever after undergoing open preperitoneal tension-free repair of a bilateral inguinal hernia. The scrotal fluid specimen was cultured and subjected to metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS). Culture revealed the presence of Enterococcus faecalis (a facultative anaerobe). However, mNGS detected E. faecalis along with multiple anaerobic bacteria including Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, Parabacteroides distasonis, and Levyella massiliensis. The patient was finally diagnosed with a mixed infection of E. faecalis and multiple anaerobes, and his condition was effectively controlled after timely adjustment of the antibiotic regimen. Treating postoperative infections with multiple concurrent conditions can be challenging. mNGS is valuable for the accurate diagnosis and treatment of infections, as it not only can further verify the culture results, but also assist clinicians in ruling out pulmonary infection caused by hematogenous dissemination after IHR in patients.

Multifunctional carbon aerogels loaded with pea-pod-like carbon nanotubes for outstanding electromagnetic wave absorption performance.

Although ordered porous carbon materials (PCMs) have shown promising potential in the field of electromagnetic wave absorption (EWA), creating multifunctional PCMs with outstanding microwave absorption performance remains a significant challenge. Herein, ordered porous carbon aerogels loaded with pea-pod-like nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were fabricated via orientation freeze-drying followed by high-temperature pyrolysis. The optimized aerogel exhibits extraordinary EWA performance with a broad effective absorption bandwidth of 7.68 GHz and exceptionally strong absorption of -91.58 dB at a low filling ratio of only 3 wt%, which is the largest absorption strength among all known aerogels to date. The exceptional EWA performance is attributed to the synergistic effect of abundant loss mechanisms resulting from a unique pod-like structure in ordered porous carbon aerogel, where nitrogen-doped CNTs encapsulate magnetic alloy nanoparticles. Optimized aerogel exhibits superior compressive elasticity, thermal insulation, and light weight, laying the groundwork for designing practical next-generation EWA materials.