Tailor-Made Heterocharged Covalent Organic Framework Membrane for Efficient Ion Separation.

Pore size sieving, Donnan exclusion, and their combined effects seriously affect ion separation of membrane processes. However, traditional polymer-based membranes face some challenges in precisely controlling both charge distribution and pore size on the membrane surface, which hinders the ion separation performance, such as heavy metal ion removal. Herein, the heterocharged covalent organic framework (COF) membrane is reported by assembling two kinds of ionic COF nanosheets with opposite charges and different pore sizes. By manipulating the stacking quantity and sequence of two kinds of nanosheets, the impact of membrane surface charge and pore size on the separation performance of monovalent and multivalent ions is investigated. For the separation of anions, the effect of pore size sieving is dominant, while for the separation of cations, the effect of Donnan exclusion is dominant. The heterocharged TpEBr/TpPa-SO3H membrane with a positively charged upper layer and a negatively charged bottom layer exhibits excellent rejection of multivalent anions and cations (Ni2+, Cd2+, Cr2+, CrO4 2-, SeO3 2-, etc). The strategy provides not only high-performance COF membranes for ion separation but also an inspiration for the engineering of heterocharged membranes.

Extraordinary Structural Reconstruction of Nanolaminated Ta2FeC MAX Phase for Enhanced Oxygen Evolution Performance.

Renewable energy technologies, such as water splitting, heavily depend on the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Nanolaminated ternary compounds, referred to as MAX phases, show great promise for creating efficient electrocatalysts for OER. However, their limited intrinsic oxidative resistance hinders the utilization of conductivity in Mn+1Xn layers, leading to reduced activity. In this study, a method is proposed to improve the poor inoxidizability of MAX phases by carefully adjusting the elemental composition between Mn+1Xn layers and single-atom-thick A layers. The resulting Ta2FeC catalyst demonstrates superior performance compared to conventional Fe/C-based catalysts with a remarkable record-low overpotential of 247 mV (@10 mA cm-2) and sustained activity for over 240 h. Notably, during OER processing, the single-atom-thick Fe layer undergoes self-reconstruction and enrichment from the interior of the Ta2FeC MAX phase toward its surface, forming a Ta2FeC@Ta2C@FeOOH heterostructure. Through density functional theory (DFT) calculations, this study has found that the incorporation of Ta2FeC@Ta2C not only enhances the conductivity of FeOOH but also reduces the covalency of Fe─O bonds, thus alleviating the oxidation of Fe3+ and O2-. This implies that the Ta2FeC@Ta2C@FeOOH heterostructure experiences less lattice oxygen loss during the OER process compared to pure FeOOH, leading to significantly improved stability. These results highlight promising avenues for further exploration of MAX phases by strategically engineering M- and A-site engineering through multi-metal substitution, to develop M2AX@M2X@AOOH-based catalysts for oxygen evolution.

Fall status and risk factors in older Chinese adults: A cross-sectional study.

AIM: To analyse the risk factors and incidence of falls in geriatric outpatients in a university hospital ward in Hangzhou, China. METHODS: From May 2020 to August 2022, 1712 geriatric outpatients in a university hospital ward in Hangzhou, China, were screened using a socio-demographic questionnaire (e.g. gender, age, living arrangement, etc.) and assessment scales. The correlation between each factor and falls was preliminarily analysed by chi-squared tests. Finally, binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to further analyse the risk factors of falls. The STROBE checklist was used in reporting this study. RESULTS: Of the 1712 geriatric outpatients recruited, 1626 participants (60-79 and ≥ 80 years old) with complete questionnaire and assessment data were included. The occurrence of falls for those in the 60-79 age group was 8.4%, and for those in the ≥80 age group it was 13.4%. Age (p = .007), use of a walking assistance device (p < .001), the Stay Independent Brochure Questionnaire (SIB) (OR = 7.751, 95% CI = 5.089-11.806, p < .001), living arrangement (p = .004), timed up and go test (TUGT) (p = .007) and three diseases or above (OR = 2.496, 95% CI = 1.358-11.4.586, p = .003) reached statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Older people have a high incidence of falls. In this study, age, disease history, SIB scores (≥4 points), living arrangement, TUGT and walking assistance device increased the probability of falls in older Chinese adults. Personalised interventions should be carried out according to the specific situation of older people to effectively reduce their incidence of falls and improve their quality of life. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The basic characteristics and fall risk factors of the older can help nurses identify fall risk, and early intervention by caregivers can reduce fall-related injuries, which has practical significance for promoting healthy aging. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: The subjects of this study were older patients ≥60 years old, and the demographic characteristics and fall-related information of patients were obtained by questionnaire. The team worked closely with a team of experts in the field of health care. Some researchers collect data and rewrite them, while other researchers analyse the information and write a paper. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Identification of Cell-Cell Communications by Single-Cell RNA Sequencing in End Stage Renal Disease Provides New Insights into Immune Cell Heterogeneity.

Objective: Impaired immune system characterized by low-grade inflammation is closely associated with kidney chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression. To reveal the alterations of the function, component, and intercellular communication of immune cells during the progression of CKD. Patients and Methods: We conducted a case-control study enrolling regular hemodialysis patients and healthy controls. Clinical data, serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples were collected. Flow cytometry and single-cell RNA sequencing were performed to quantitatively analyze the immune cell subsets and T-cell subsets of PBMCs. scRNA data of GSE140023 containing mouse unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) models were analyzed the heterogeneity of immune cells. Results: Overall reduction in peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) was observed. A higher ratio of Th17/Treg, Th1/Treg, and b-cell/Treg in the ESRD group was associated with a decrease in eGFR, PTH, and ferritin. Among T cell subsets identified by scRNA analysis, Th17 cells were significantly increased in the ESRD and UU0 group. TFH, Th1, and Th2 cells are located at the final stage in the developmental tree, while Treg and memory CD8+ T cells are at the beginning site. Early developmental differentiation of Th17, Th1, and Tfh cells was observed in the ESRD and UUO group. Analysis of intercellular communication between t-cell subpopulations identified two major input and output signaling pathways: the CD40 and macrophage inhibitory factor (MIF) pathways. The MIF signaling pathway primarily mediates intercellular communication among th17 effects, CD8+ t-cell, and Th17-Treg in the ESRD group, the serum level of MIF showed significant upregulation, which was closely related to Th17/Treg cells. Conclusions: A global immune imbalance was closely associated with the deterioration in renal function and complication development. The MIF signaling pathway mediates Th17/Treg communication and promotes the trans-differentiation of Treg cells to Th17 cells in CKD progression.

Multiple ossified intracranial and spinal meningiomas: a rare case report and literature review.

Ossified intracranial meningiomas (OIM) and ossified spinal meningiomas (OSM) are rare neoplasms of mesenchymal origin that predominantly manifest in the spinal cord and infrequently in the cranial region, accounting for ~0. 7-5.5% of all meningiomas. It is extremely rare to have multiple intracranial and spinal lesions accompanied by ossification. Herein, we report this rare case for the first time. A 34-year-old woman presented with paresthesia and limb weakness in the right lower limb and gradually worsened. Approximately half a year later, she could only walk with crutches. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and spinal cord showed multiple meningiomas, and histopathological examination confirmed multiple OIM and OSM (WHO grade 1). Multiple OIM and OSM are extremely rare with diverse imaging features, and it is easily confused with other tumors. Histopathological examination is the final diagnostic method.

Advances in Optical Probes for the Detection of Hydrazine in Environmental and Biological Systems.

Hydrazine, as a crucial raw material in the fine chemical industry, plays an indispensable role in fuel, catalyst, pesticide and drug synthesis. Due to its good water solubility and high toxicity, hydrazine can cause irreparable damage to water and soil in the environment, and it can also be released by taking certain drugs, which brings potential risks to human health. Therefore, it is vital to develop a method that can specifically detect hydrazine in the environment and in vivo. As an effective analysis and detection tool, fluorescence probe has attracted extensive attention in recent years. In this review, we summarized and classified hydrazine fluorescence probes based on various reaction mechanisms, and discussed their structures and applications in the past ten years. At least, we briefly outline the challenges and prospects in this field.

Randomized trial of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on patients with disorders of consciousness: A study protocol.

Background: Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) has recently been explored for the treatment of Disorders of consciousness (DoC) caused by traumatic brain injury. The evidence of taVNS during the consciousness recovery has been recently reported. However, the mechanism of taVNS in the recovery of consciousness is not clear. This study attempts to investigate the effectiveness of taVNS in DoC by means of Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R), Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Electrophysiology (EEG), and Single-molecular array (Simoa). Methods/design: Nighty patients with DoC acquired brain injury are randomized into one of three groups receiving sham taVNS or active taVNS (just left and left or right), respectively. Each of the three groups will experience a 40 days cycle (every 10 days for a small period, baseline 2 weeks, intervention 2 weeks, 40 min per day, 5 days per week, then no intervention for 2 weeks, intervention 2 weeks, 40 min per day, and 5 days per week). Primary outcomes (CRS-R) will be recorded five times during every period. Secondary outcomes will be recorded at the first and at the last period [MRI, EEG, Phosphorylated tau (P-tau), and Neurofilament light chain (NFL)]. We will take notes the adverse events and untoward effects during all cycles. Discussion: Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation as a painless, non-invasive, easily applied, and effective therapy was applied for treatment of patients with depression and epilepsy several decades ago. Recent progress showed that taVNS has behavioral effects in the consciousness recovery. However, there is no clinical evidence to support the effects of taVNS on brain activity. Therefore, we will design a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of taVNS therapy for DoC, and explore neural anatomy correlated to taVNS during the consciousness recovery. Finally, this protocol also tests some biomarkers along with the recovery of consciousness. Clinical Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2100045161. Registered on 9 April 2021.

Study protocol: Developing telephone follow-up scale for patients with disorders of consciousness.

Background: The significant lack of rehabilitation prognostic data is the main reason that affects the treatment decision-making and ethical issues of patients with disorders of consciousness (DoC). Currently, the clinic's consciousness assessment tools cannot satisfy DoC patients' follow-up needs. Objective: The purpose of this study is to construct a sensitive, professional, and simple telephone follow-up scale for DoC patients to follow up on the prognosis, especially the recovery of consciousness, of prolonged DoC patients transferred to community hospitals or at home. Methods: This study is to adopt expert consultation to construct and to verify the validity and feasibility of the scale on-site. Conclusion: At present, there is a strong demand for portable, accurate, and easily operated scales. It is helpful to improve the rehabilitation data of prolonged DoC patients and provide more basis for their treatment and rehabilitation.

Extracellular vesicle-derived miR-1249-5p regulates influenza A virus-induced acute lung injury in RAW246.7 cells through targeting SLC4A1.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is characterized by tissue damage that leads to pulmonary epithelial membrane dysfunction and macrophage activation. Currently however, the exact mechanism by which the initial mediators of mouse lung epithelial (MLE-12) cells induce inflammation remines unclear. We constructed co-culture systems of MLE-12 cells with mouse macrophage cells RAW246.7 which were realized by the supernatant and Transwell chamber. In previous study, we successfully constructed an influenza A virus-induced MLE-12 cells model. Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) from cells supernatant were isolated by differential ultracentrifugation and confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. High-throughput sequencing results showed that MLE-12 cells stimulated by influenza A virus had higher level of miR-1249-5p. The results were validated by RT-qPCR analysis. The research aimed to investigate the roles and mechanisms of miR-1249-5p in ALI. RAW246.7 cells were transfected with miR-1249-5p mimic/inhibitor. The concentrations of TNF-α, IL-6 were determined by ELISA and the uptake of EVs was monitored by confocal laser scanning microscope. Western blotting detected changes in the SLC4A1 and NF-κB signaling pathway. The results indicated that miR-1249-5p played an important role in ALI, and further investigation of its target gene SLC4A1 and NF-κB signaling pathway provides ideas for new therapeutic targets and strategies for ALI.

Reproductive tract microbiota of women in childbearing age shifts upon gynecological infections and menstrual cycle.

BACKGROUND: This study was undertaken to discover whether the vaginal microbe of women at childbearing age is different among groups defined by urogenital tract infections, childbearing history and menstrual cycle, respectively. RESULTS: This was a multiple case-control study of women at childbearing age who were assigned to case or control groups according to their states of urogenital tract infections. The participants were also grouped by childbearing history and menstrual cycle. Vaginal swabs were collected and stored at - 70 °C until assayed. The V3-V4 region of 16S rRNA gene was amplified using PCR and sequenced on the Illumina MiSeq platform. We tested the hypothesis of whether the relative abundance of microbial species in vaginal microbiota was varied with urogenital tract infections, childbearing history and menstrual cycle. The vaginal microbial richness (Alpha diversity measured by PD_whole tree) was decreased in normal women (without reproductive tract infections) than in those with bacterial vaginosis (BV), and decreased in pregnant women than in other groups of non-pregnancy. Similarly, women from groups of normal and in pregnancy had lower beta diversity on measure of unweighted_unifrac distance in comparison to those of infected and non-pregnant. The top 10 genus relative abundance, especially Lactobacillus, which was the most dominant genus with the relative abundance of 71.55% among all samples, did not differ significantly between groups of childbearing history and menstrual cycle analyzed by ANOVA and nonparametric kruskal_wallis. Lactobacillus iners and Lactobacillus helveticus have the most abundance, totally account for 97.92% relative abundance of genus Lactobacillus. We also found that a higher L.helveticus/L.iners ratio is more likely to present in normal women than in the infected and in pregnant than in non-pregnant, although these comparisons lack statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: The relative abundance of dominant bacterial taxa in vaginal microbial communities of women at childbearing age were not different among groups of childbearing history and menstrual cycle. Women from groups of in pregnancy and without reproductive tract infections had lower alpha and beta diversity. The composition of the main lactobacillus species may shift upon phases of a menstrual cycle and the status of reproductive tract infections.

Highly Expressed CYBRD1 Associated with Glioma Recurrence Regulates the Immune Response of Glioma Cells to Interferon.

Invasiveness, resistance to treatment, and recurrence of gliomas are significant hurdles to successful treatment regimens. Data sets from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), CGGA-RNAseq, and The Cancer Genome Atlas Glioblastoma Multiforme (TCGA-GBM) were analyzed, and an increased expression of Cytochrome B Reductase 1 (CYBRD1) was identified and could be associated with aggravated clinical outcomes. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis indicated that CYBRD1 co-expressed genes are enriched during an immune response. CYBRD1 overexpression in glioma cell lines is enhanced, whereas CYBRD1 silencing attenuated the aggressiveness of glioma cells. In IFN-α-treated glioma cells, IFN-α suppressed the viability and migratory ability and invasive ability of glioma cells, whereas CYBRD1 overexpression attenuated the antitumor effects of IFN-α. CYBRD1 could potentially serve as a biomarker for glioma recurrence. CYBRD1 overexpression enhances glioma cell aggressiveness and attenuates glioma cell response to IFN-α.

The reversible reproductive toxicity of 5-fluorouracil in mice.

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a "cytotoxic" drug used for cancer chemotherapy, which inhibits cells division via affecting DNA synthesis. Although being widely used for cancer treatment, 5-FU has non-negligible side effects. In the present study, the effects of 5-FU on oocyte and early embryonic development were investigated. Multiple intraperitoneal administration of 5-FU (50 mg/kg/day) in female mice resulted in small ovarian size and reduced number of corpus luteum in the ovary, and lead to ovulation failure. However, these defects could be recovered after one week. In vitro experiments further indicated that exposure to 5-FU inhibited oocytes maturation and reduced developmental potential of pre-implantation embryos. Our data suggested that 5-FU has negative impact on ovarian function, oocyte and early embryonic development, but the adverse effect could be reversed after withdrawal of 5-FU administration.

Echocardiographic diagnosis of congenital double orifice mitral valve malformation: A case report.

Double orifice mitral valve (DOMV) is a rare congenital valve malformation. Due to the insufficient understanding and awareness of its echocardiographic characteristics, there is a risk of misdiagnosis. Here, we report a case of echocardiographic diagnosis of congenital DOMV malformation in a 56-year-old male patient who visited our hospital for systematic physical examination, during which DOMV was not diagnosed. The following year, the patient visited our hospital again, and echocardiography showed two approximately circular orifices on the short axis view of the mitral valve. During diastole, two red Doppler blood flow signals were observed entering the left ventricle simultaneously. A small amount of blue Doppler signal revealed reflux into the left atrium during systole, leading to the diagnose of congenital heart disease with DOMV malformation, without other cardiac structural abnormality. Because the patient did not have obvious discomfort, he did not receive any special treatment and is regularly followed-up.

Development of a novel quantitative function between spectral value and metmyoglobin content in Tan mutton.

This study was aimed to establish a quantitative function between spectral reflectance values and metmyoglobin (MetMb) content in Tan mutton during refrigeration. Near-infrared hyperspectral data combined with generalized two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (G2D-COS) method to identify characteristic bands and investigate the sequence of chemical waveband changes. Characteristic wavebands identified by G2D-COS analysis had the best performance in predicting the content of MetMb, with a high R2p of 0.849, a low RMSEP of 2.695 and a high RPD of 2.786. The results showed that the G2D-COS may be a powerful tool for describing intensity changes of MetMb band. The partial least square regression method was used to develop the relationships between the spectral values and MetMb content in Tan mutton meat for predicting MetMb content. This study has provided a convenient and rapid non-destructive quantitative method for assessing the color of Tan mutton meat.

Identification of the Cytosolic Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Gene from Strawberry Involved in Cold Stress Response.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) plays an important role in plant stress responses. Here, five FaG6PDH sequences were obtained in strawberry, designated as FaG6PDH-CY, FaG6PDH-P1, FaG6PDH-P1.1, FaG6PDH-P2 and FaG6PDH-P0, which were divided into cytosolic (CY) and plastidic (P) isoforms based on the bioinformatic analysis. The respective FaG6PDH genes had distinct expression patterns in all tissues and at different stages of fruit development. Notably, FaG6PDH-CY was the most highly expressed gene among five FaG6PDH members, indicating it encoded the major G6PDH isoform throughout the plant. FaG6PDH positively regulated cold tolerance in strawberry. Inhibition of its activity gave rise to greater cold-induced injury in plant. The FaG6PDH-CY transcript had a significant increase under cold stress, similar to the G6PDH enzyme activity, suggesting a principal participant in response to cold stress. Further study showed that the low-temperature responsiveness (LTR) element in FaG6PDH-CY promoter can promote the gene expression when plant encountered cold stimuli. Besides, FaG6PDH-CY was involved in regulating cold-induced activation of antioxidant enzyme genes (FaSOD, FaCAT, FaAPX and FaGR) and RBOH-dependent ROS generation. The elevated FaG6PDH-CY enhanced ROS-scavenging capability of antioxidant enzymes to suppress ROS excessive accumulation and relieved the oxidative damage, eventually improving the strawberry resistance to cold stress.

Fluorometric determination of agrA gene transcription in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with a graphene oxide-based assay using strand-displacement polymerization recycling and hybridization chain reaction.

A graphene oxide (GO)-based fluorescent bioassay was developed to quantify agrA gene transcription (its mRNA) in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). This method is based on the use of Klenow fragment (KF)-assisted target recycling amplification and hybridization chain reaction (HCR). A triple complex was designed that contained a capture probe (CP), a trigger probe (TP), and a help probe (HP), which were partially complementary to one another. In the absence of the target, all the oligonucleotides labeled with carboxyfluorescein (FAM) are adsorbed onto the surface of GO by π-stacking interactions. This adsorption quenches the FAM signal. On the contrary, the target RNA causes the triple complex to disintegrate and initiates strand-displacement polymerization reaction (SDPR) and HCR in the presence of the appropriate raw materials, including the primer, KF, dNTPs, hairpin 1 (H1), and hairpin 2 (H2), generating double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) products. These dsDNA products are repelled by GO and produce strong fluorescence, measured at excitation/emission wavelengths of 480/514 nm. The fluorescent signal is greatly amplified by SYBR Green I (SGI) due to the synergistic effect of dsDNA-SGI. The target was assayed with this method at concentrations in the range 10 fM to 100 pM, and the detection limit (LOD) was 10 fM. This method also displayed good applicability in the analysis of real samples. It provides a new way of monitoring biofilm formation and studying the mechanisms of drug actions. Graphical abstract Schematic representation of the graphene oxide-based fluorescent bioassay for agrA gene transcription in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by using strand-displacement polymerization recycling and hybridization chain reaction.

Non-destructive assessment of the myoglobin content of Tan sheep using hyperspectral imaging.

This study aimed to develop simplified models for rapid and nondestructive monitoring myoglobin contents (DeoMb, MbO2 and MetMb) during refrigerated storage of Tan sheep based on a hyperspectral imaging (HSI) system in the spectral range of 400-1000 nm. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) and least-squares support vector machines (LSSVM) were applied to correlate the spectral data with the reference values of myoglobin contents measured by a traditional method. In order to simplify the LSSVM models, competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS) and Interval variable iterative space shrinkage approach (iVISSA) were used to select key wavelengths. The new CARS-LSSVM models of DeoMb and MbO2 yielded good results, with R2p of 0.810 and 0.914, RMSEP of 1.127 and 2.598, respectively. The best model of MetMb was new iVISSA-CARS-LSSVM, with an R2p of 0.915 and RMSEP of 2.777. The overall results from this study indicated that it was feasible to predict myoglobin contents in Tan sheep using HSI.

Determination of metmyoglobin in cooked tan mutton using Vis/NIR hyperspectral imaging system.

In this study, the ENVI 4.6 software was used to obtain the spectral reflection value of samples. The outlier samples were eliminated by the Monte Carlo method, and then SPXY (sample set partitioning based on be x-y distances) was used to divide the calibration set and prediction set. The spectral images were pretreated and characteristic wavelengths were extracted. The spectral models of full and pretreated spectra and characteristic bands were established by partial least squares regression (PLSR) and principle component regression (PCR), and the optimal modeling combination was selected. The results showed that the modeling effect of the original spectrum was the best. In full-PLSR model, the determination coefficient of the calibration set (Rc2 ), the determination coefficient of prediction set (Rp2 ), and the determination coefficient of interactive verification set (Rcv2 ) were 0.8804, 0.7375, and 0.7422, and root-mean-square error of calibration set (RMSEC), root-mean-square error of prediction (RMSEP), and root mean square error of interactive validation set (RMSECV) were 2.3630, 2.9607, and 3.4209, respectively. PLSR and PCR models were established to obtain the optimal models of CARS-PLSR and PCR-PLSR. In the CARS-PLSR model, the Rc2 , Rp2 , and Rcv2 were 0.9135, 0.7654, and 0.8171, respectively, while RMSEC, RMSEP, and RMSECV were 2.0275, 2.9306, and 2.9262, respectively. In the iRF-PCR model, Rc2 , Rp2 , and Rcv2 were 0.7952, 0.7372, and 0.7280, respectively, while RMSEC, RMSEP, and RMSECV were 3.0207, 2.8278, and 3.4288, respectively. This study has demonstrated that visible and near-infrared hyperspectral imaging system can rapidly predict the content of metmyoglobin in cooked tan mutton. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: This study has demonstrated that visible and near-infrared (Vis/NIR) hyperspectral imaging system can rapidly predict the content of MetMb in cooked tan mutton. With the advantages of nondestructive, rapid, real-time, Vis/NIR, hyperspectral imaging system can be widely expanded and applied to the detection of myoglobin in meat to evaluate the color of meat.