A multifunctional Ag NPs/guar gum hydrogel as versatile platform for catalysts, antibacterial agents, and construction of oil-water separation interfaces.

The frequently encountered wastewater contaminations, including soluble aromatic compound and dye pollutants, pathogenic bacteria, and insoluble oils, have resulted in significant environmental and human health issues. It poses a challenge to utilize identical materials for the treatment of complex wastewater. Herein, in this research, multifunctional Ag NPs/guar gum hybrid hydrogels were fabricated using a facile in situ reduction and self-crosslinking method for efficient remediation of complex wastewater. The Ag NPs/guar gum hybrid hydrogel showed remarkable remodeling, adhesive, and self-healing characteristics, which was favorable for its versatile applications. The combination of Ag NPs with the guar gum skeleton endowed the hybrid hydrogel with exceptional catalytic activity for reducing aromatic compounds and dye pollutants, as well as remarkable antibacterial efficacy against pathogenic bacteria. In addition, the Ag NPs/guar gum hybrid hydrogel could be employed to coat a variety of substrates, including cotton fabrics and stainless steel meshes. The hydrogel coated cotton fabrics and meshes presented superhydrophilicity/underwater superoleophobicity, excellent antifouling capacity, and outstanding recyclability, which could be successfully applied for efficient separation of oil-water mixtures. The findings of this work provide a feasible and cost-effective approach for the remediation of intricate wastewater.

Photosynthesis of C-1-Deuterated Aldehydes via Chlorine Radical-Mediated Selective Deuteration of the Formyl C-H Bond.

C-1-deuterated aldehydes are essential building blocks in the synthesis of deuterated chemicals and pharmaceuticals. This has led chemists to devise mild methodologies for their efficient production. Ideally, hydrogen-deuterium exchange (HDE) is the most effective approach. However, the traditional HDE for creating C-1-deuterated aldehydes often requires a complex system involving multiple catalysts and/or ligands. In this study, we present a mild photocatalytic HDE of the formyl C-H bond with D2O. This process is facilitated by chlorine radicals that are generated in situ from low-cost FeCl3. This strategy demonstrated a broad reaction scope and high functional group tolerance, affording good yields and ≤99% D incorporation. To bridge the gap between research and industrial applications, we designed a new flow photoreactor equipped with a high-intensity light-emitting diode bucket, enabling the synthesis of C-1-deuterated aldehydes on a scale of 85 g. Finally, we successfully produced several important deuterated aldehydes that are integral to the synthesis of deuterated pharmaceuticals.

Exploring secondary aerosol formation associated with elemental carbon in the lower free troposphere.

The variability of element carbon (EC) mixed with secondary species significantly complicates the assessment of its environmental impact, reflecting the complexity and diversity of EC-containing particles' composition and morphology during their ascent and regional transport. While the catalytic role of EC in secondary aerosol formation is recognized, the effects of heterogeneous chemistry on secondary species formation within diverse EC particle types are not thoroughly understood, particularly in the troposphere. Alpine sites offer a prime environment to explore EC properties post-transport from the ground to the free troposphere. Consequently, we conducted a comprehensive study on the genesis of secondary aerosols in EC-containing particles at Mt. Hua (altitude: 2069 m) from 1 May to 10 July, using a single particle aerosol mass spectrometer (SPAMS). Our analysis identified six major EC particle types, with EC-K, EC-SN, and EC-NaK particles accounting for 27.6 %, 27.0 %, and 19.6 % of the EC particle population, respectively. The concentration-weighted trajectory (CWT) indicated that the lower free troposphere over Mt. Hua is significantly affected by anthropogenic emissions at ground-level, predominantly from northwestern and eastern China. Atmospheric interactions are crucial in generating high sulfate levels in EC-SN and EC-OC particles (> 70 %) and notable nitrate levels in EC-K, EC-BB, and EC-Fe particles (> 80 %). The observed high chloride content in EC-OC particles (56 ± 32 %) might enhance chlorine's reactivity with organic compounds via heterogeneous reactions within the troposphere. Distinct diurnal cycles for sulfate and nitrate are mainly driven by varying transport dynamics and formation processes, showing minimal dependency on EC particle types. Enhanced nocturnal oxalate conversion in EC-Fe particles is likely due to the aqueous oxidation of precursors, with Fe-catalyzed Fenton reactions enhancing OH radical production. This investigation provides critical insights into EC's role in secondary aerosol development during its transport in the lower free troposphere.

Major source categories of PM2.5 oxidative potential in wintertime Beijing and surroundings based on online dithiothreitol-based field measurements.

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) causes millions of premature deaths each year worldwide. Oxidative potential (OP) has been proposed as a better metric for aerosol health effects than PM2.5 mass concentration alone. In this study, we report for the first time online measurements of PM2.5 OP in wintertime Beijing and surroundings based on a dithiothreitol (DTT) assay. These measurements were combined with co-located PM chemical composition measurements to identify the main source categories of aerosol OP. In addition, we highlight the influence of two distinct pollution events on aerosol OP (spring festival celebrations including fireworks and a severe regional dust storm). Source apportionment coupled with multilinear regression revealed that primary PM and oxygenated organic aerosol (OOA) were both important sources of OP, accounting for 41 ± 12 % and 39 ± 10 % of the OPvDTT (OP normalized by the sampled air volume), respectively. The small remainder was attributed to fireworks and dust, mainly resulting from the two distinct pollution events. During the 3.5-day spring festival period, OPvDTT spiked to 4.9 nmol min-1 m-3 with slightly more contribution from OOA (42 ± 11 %) and less from primary PM (31 ± 15 %). During the dust storm, hourly-averaged PM2.5 peaked at a very high value of 548 µg m-3 due to the dominant presence of dust-laden particles (88 % of total PM2.5). In contrast, only mildly elevated OPvDTT values (up to 1.5 nmol min-1 m-3) were observed during this dust event. This observation indicates that variations in OPvDTT cannot be fully explained using PM2.5 alone; one must also consider the chemical composition of PM2.5 when studying aerosol health effects. Our study highlights the need for continued pollution control strategies to reduce primary PM emissions, and more in-depth investigations into the source origins of OOA, to minimize the health risks associated with PM exposure in Beijing.

Correction: Combined use of principal component analysis/multiple linear regression analysis and artificial neural network to assess the impact of meteorological parameters on fluctuation of selected PM2.5-bound elements.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287187.].

[Components Characteristic and Source Apportionment of Fine Particulate Matter in Transition Period of Heating Season in Xi'an with High Time Resolution].

Influenced by heating, the concentration of atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM2.5) rises in autumn and winter in northern cities. In this study, Q-ACSM, AE33, and Xact 625 were used to carry out online monitoring of PM2.5 chemical components with high time resolution in Xi'an from October 25 to November 17, 2019, to analyze the characteristics of PM2.5 pollution during the transition period of the heating season. Additionally, we analyzed the sources of PM2.5 in combination with the positive matrix factorization model. The results showed that the average PM2.5 concentration during the observation period was (78.3 ± 38.5) µg·m-3, and the main chemical components were organic matter (OA), secondary inorganic ions (SIA), and dust, which accounted for 38.7%, 31.6%, and 21.2%, respectively. The average concentrations of sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium were (4.0 ± 3.1), (14.9 ± 13.7), and (5.8 ± 4.8) µg·m-3, and the average concentrations of the major metals potassium, calcium, and iron were (1.0 ± 0.4), (1.5 ± 1.1), and (1.4 ± 0.9) µg·m-3. Black carbon, chloride ions, and trace elements contributed relatively little to PM2.5 (5.7%, 1.3%, and 1.5%, respectively). In the pollution development and maintenance stage, the concentration of OA and SIA increased by 137.7% to 537.0%, whereas in the pollution dissipation stage, only the concentration of dust gradually increased. The source apportionment results showed that secondary sources, biomass burning, dust, vehicle emission, industrial emission, and coal combustion were the main sources of PM2.5 during the observation period, contributing 29.1%, 21.1%, 15.3%, 12.9%, 11.4%, and 10.2%, respectively. The contribution rate of secondary sources and biomass burning was higher in the pollution development and maintenance stage, and dust was higher in the pollution dissipation stage.

Local incomplete combustion emissions define the PM2.5 oxidative potential in Northern India.

The oxidative potential (OP) of particulate matter (PM) is a major driver of PM-associated health effects. In India, the emission sources defining PM-OP, and their local/regional nature, are yet to be established. Here, to address this gap we determine the geographical origin, sources of PM, and its OP at five Indo-Gangetic Plain sites inside and outside Delhi. Our findings reveal that although uniformly high PM concentrations are recorded across the entire region, local emission sources and formation processes dominate PM pollution. Specifically, ammonium chloride, and organic aerosols (OA) from traffic exhaust, residential heating, and oxidation of unsaturated vapors from fossil fuels are the dominant PM sources inside Delhi. Ammonium sulfate and nitrate, and secondary OA from biomass burning vapors, are produced outside Delhi. Nevertheless, PM-OP is overwhelmingly driven by OA from incomplete combustion of biomass and fossil fuels, including traffic. These findings suggest that addressing local inefficient combustion processes can effectively mitigate PM health exposure in northern India.

Source-specific light absorption and radiative effects decreases and indications due to the lockdown.

The 'extreme' emission abatement during the lockdown (from the end of 2019 to the early 2020) provided an experimental period to investigate the corresponding source-specific effects of aerosol. In this study, the variations of source-specific light absorption (babs) and direct radiative effect (DRE) were obtained during and after the lockdown period by using the artificial neural network (ANN) and source apportionment environmental receptor model. The results showed that the babs decreased for all sources during the two periods. The most reductions were observed with ∼90% for traffic-related emissions (during the lockdown) and ∼85% for coal combustion (after the lockdown), respectively. Heightened babs (370 nm) values were obtained for coal and biomass burning during the lockdown, which was attributed to the enhanced atmospheric oxidization capacity. Nevertheless, the variations of babs (880 nm) after the lockdown was mainly due to the weakening of oxidation and reduced emissions of secondary precursors. The present study indicated that the large-scale emission reduction can promote both reductions of babs (370 nm) and DRE (34-68%) during the lockdown. The primary emissions decrease (e.g., Traffic emission) may enhance atmosphere oxidation, increase the ultraviolet wavelength light absorption and DRE efficiencies. The source-specific emission reduction may be contributed to various radiation effects, which is beneficial for the adopting of control strategies.

Combined use of principal component analysis/multiple linear regression analysis and artificial neural network to assess the impact of meteorological parameters on fluctuation of selected PM2.5-bound elements.

Based on the data of the State of Global Air (2020), air quality deterioration in Thailand has caused ~32,000 premature deaths, while the World Health Organization evaluated that air pollutants can decrease the life expectancy in the country by two years. PM2.5 was collected at three air quality observatory sites in Chiang-Mai, Bangkok, and Phuket, Thailand, from July 2020 to June 2021. The concentrations of 25 elements (Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, Cl, K, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, As, Se, Br, Sr, Ba, and Pb) were quantitatively characterised using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. Potential adverse health impacts of some element exposures from inhaling PM2.5 were estimated by employing the hazard quotient and excess lifetime cancer risk. Higher cancer risks were detected in PM2.5 samples collected at the sampling site in Bangkok, indicating that vehicle exhaust adversely impacts human health. Principal component analysis suggests that traffic emissions, crustal inputs coupled with maritime aerosols, and construction dust were the three main potential sources of PM2.5. Artificial neural networks underlined agricultural waste burning and relative humidity as two major factors controlling the air quality of Thailand.

Sphingolipid metabolism controls mammalian heart regeneration.

Utilization of lipids as energy substrates after birth causes cardiomyocyte (CM) cell-cycle arrest and loss of regenerative capacity in mammalian hearts. Beyond energy provision, proper management of lipid composition is crucial for cellular and organismal health, but its role in heart regeneration remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate widespread sphingolipid metabolism remodeling in neonatal hearts after injury and find that SphK1 and SphK2, isoenzymes producing the same sphingolipid metabolite sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), differently regulate cardiac regeneration. SphK2 is downregulated during heart development and determines CM proliferation via nuclear S1P-dependent modulation of histone acetylation. Reactivation of SphK2 induces adult CM cell-cycle re-entry and cytokinesis, thereby enhancing regeneration. Conversely, SphK1 is upregulated during development and promotes fibrosis through an S1P autocrine mechanism in cardiac fibroblasts. By fine-tuning the activity of each SphK isoform, we develop a therapy that simultaneously promotes myocardial repair and restricts fibrotic scarring to regenerate the infarcted adult hearts.

Toxicity source apportionment of fugitive dust PM2.5-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using multilayer perceptron neural network analysis in Guanzhong Plain urban agglomeration, China.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in urban fugitive dust, known for their toxicity and ability to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), are a major public health concern. This study assessed the spatial distribution and health risks of 15 PAHs in construction dust (CD) and road dust (RD) samples collected from June to November 2021 over the cities of Tongchuan (TC), Baoji (BJ), Xianyang (XY), and Xi'an (XA) in the Guanzhong Plain, China. The average concentration of ΣPAHs in RD was 39.5 ± 20.0 µg g-1, approximately twice as much as in CD. Four-ring PAHs from fossil fuels combustion accounted for the highest proportion of ΣPAHs in fugitive dust over all four cities. Health-related indicators including benzo(a)pyrene toxic equivalency factors (BAPTEQ), oxidative potential (OP), and incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) all presented higher risk in RD than those in CD. The multilayer perceptron neural network algorithm quantified that vehicular and industrial emissions contributed 86 % and 61 % to RD and CD BAPTEQ, respectively. For OP, the sources of biomass and coal combustion were the key generator which accounted for 31-54 %. These findings provide scientific evidence for the direct efforts toward decreasing the health risks of fugitive dust in Guanzhong Plain urban agglomeration, China.

Optimizing multi-user indoor sound communications with acoustic reconfigurable metasurfaces.

Sound in indoor spaces forms a complex wavefield due to multiple scattering encountered by the sound. Indoor acoustic communication involving multiple sources and receivers thus inevitably suffers from cross-talks. Here, we demonstrate the isolation of acoustic communication channels in a room by wavefield shaping using acoustic reconfigurable metasurfaces (ARMs) controlled by optimization protocols based on communication theories. The ARMs have 200 electrically switchable units, each selectively offering 0 or π phase shifts in the reflected waves. The sound field is reshaped for maximal Shannon capacity and minimal cross-talk simultaneously. We demonstrate diverse acoustic functionalities over a spectrum much larger than the coherence bandwidth of the room, including multi-channel, multi-spectral channel isolations, and frequency-multiplexed acoustic communication. Our work shows that wavefield shaping in complex media can offer new strategies for future acoustic engineering.

The impacts of regional transport on anthropogenic source contributions of PM2.5 in a basin city, China.

PM2.5 pollution events are often happened in urban agglomeration locates in mountain-basin regions due to the complex terra and intensive emissions. Source apportionment is essential for identifying the pollution sources and important for developing local mitigation strategies, however, it is influenced by regional transport. To understand how the regional transport influences the atmospheric environment of a basin, we connected the PM2.5 source contributions estimated by observation-based receptor source apportionment and the regional contributions estimated by a tagging technology in the comprehensive air quality model with extensions (CAMx) via an artificial neural network (ANNs). The result shows that the PM2.5 in Xi'an was from biomass burning, coal combustion, traffic related emissions, mineral dust, industrial emissions, secondary nitrate and sulfate. 48.8 % of the PM2.5 in study period was from Xi'an, then followed by the outside area of Guanzhong basin (28.2 %), Xianyang (14.6 %) and Weinan (5.8 %). Baoji and Tongchuan contributed trivial amount. The sensitivity analysis showed that the transported PM2.5 would lead to divergent results of source contributions at Xi'an. The transported PM2.5 from the outside has great a potential to alter the source contributions implying a large uncertainty of the source apportionment introduced when long-range transported pollutants arrived. It suggests that a full comprehension on the impacts of regional transport can lower the uncertainty of the local PM2.5 source apportionment and reginal collaborative actions can be of great use for pollution mitigation.

High-time resolution PM2.5 source apportionment assisted by spectrum-based characteristics analysis.

Characteristics extraction and anomaly analysis based on frequency spectrum can provide crucial support for source apportionment of PM2.5 pollution. In this study, an effective source apportionment framework combining the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT)- and Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT)-based spectral analyses and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) receptor model is developed for spectrum characteristics extraction and source contribution assessment. The developed framework is applied to Beijing during the winter heating period with 1-h time resolution. The spectrum characteristics of anomaly frequency, location, duration and intensity of PM2.5 pollution can be captured to gain an in-depth understanding of source-oriented information and provide necessary indicators for reliable PMF source apportionment. The combined analysis demonstrates that the secondary inorganic aerosols make relatively high contributions (50.59 %) to PM2.5 pollution during the winter heating period in Beijing, followed by biomass burning, vehicle emission, coal combustion, road dust, industrial process and firework emission sources accounting for 15.01 %, 11.00 %, 10.70 %, 5.31 %, 3.88 %, and 3.51 %, respectively. The source apportionment result suggests that combining frequency spectrum characteristics with source apportionment can provide consistent rationales for understanding the temporal evolution of PM2.5 pollution, identifying the potential source types and quantifying the related contributions.

Elaborations of the influencing factors on the formation of secondary inorganic aerosols in a heavily polluted urban area of China.

In this study, online water-soluble inorganic ions were detected to deduce the formation mechanism of secondary inorganic aerosol in Xianyang, China during wintertime. The dominant inorganic ions of sulfate (SO42-), nitrate (NO3-), and ammonium (NH4+) (the sum of those is abbreviated as SNA) accounted for 17%, 21%, and 12% of PM2.5 mass, respectively. While the air quality deteriorated from excellent to poor grades, the precursor gas sulfur dioxide (SO2) of SO42- increased and then decreased with a fluctuation, while nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ammonia (NH3), precursors of NO3- and NH4+, and SNA show increasing trends. Meteorological factors including boundary layer height (BLH), temperature, and wind speed also show decline trends, except relative humidity (RH). Meanwhile, the secondary conversion ratio shows a remarkable increasing trend, indicating that there was a strong secondary transformation. From the perspective of chemical mechanisms, RH is positively correlated with sulfur oxidation ratios (SOR), nitrogen oxidation ratios (NOR), and ammonia conversion ratios, representing that the increase of humidity could promote the generation of SNA. Notably, SOR and NOR were also positively related to the ammonia. On the one hand, the low wind speed and BLH led to the accumulation of pollutants. On the other hand, the increases of RH and ammonia promoted more formations of SNA and PM2.5. The results advance our identification of the contributors to the haze episodes and assist to establish more efficient emission controls in Xianyang, in addition to other cities with similar emission and geographical characteristics.

Quercetin Attenuates the Combined Effects of Zearalenone and Lipopolysaccharide on IPEC-J2 Cell Injury through Activating the Nrf2 Signaling Pathway.

Zearalenone (ZEA) is a mycotoxin with an estrogen-like effect that is widely found in feed. Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) derived from Gram-negative bacteria are a common endotoxin, and both toxins have effects on human and livestock health. During animal feeding, ZEA as an exotoxin and LPS as an endotoxin have the potential to co-exist in organisms. At present, other studies have only focused on the hazards of single toxins, but there are fewer studies on the coexistence and interaction between ZEA and LPS. Therefore, a further study to investigate the combined toxic effects of different concentrations of ZEA and LPS is warranted. Quercetin (QUE) is a natural flavonoid compound with strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It is unclear whether QUE can mitigate the combined effects of ZEA and LPS. IPEC-J2, isolated from the jejunum of non-breastfed neonatal piglets, is an ideal model for the study of epithelial cell transport, intestinal bacterial interactions, and the nutrient modulation of intestinal function. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to demonstrate the effect of QUE in alleviating the combined toxic effect of ZEA and LPS on IPEC-J2 cell damage. Cell viability was measured after treating IPEC-J2 cells sequentially with 10, 20, 30, 40, 60, 80, and 100 µM ZEA, 1, 10, 50, and 100 µg/mL LPS, and 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, and 200 µM QUE for 24 h. Based on the cell viability results, 20 µM ZEA and 1 µg/mL LPS were selected as the most suitable concentrations for further analysis. For QUE, 20 µM increased the cell viability, while 40-200 µM QUE decreased the cell viability. Therefore, for the subsequent study, 20 µM QUE was selected in combination with 20 µM ZEA and 1 µg/mL LPS. The results showed that QUE increased the cellular viability and decreased the LDH content more compared to the effects of the ZEA+LPS group. At the gene level, QUE addition up-regulated the expression of Nrf2, HO-1, SOD2, and NQO1 at the gene or protein level compared to those of the ZEA+LPS group. The measurement of tight junction-related genes and proteins showed QUE up-regulated the expression of Claudin, ZO-1, and Occludin genes and proteins more than in the ZEA+LPS group. QUE addition reduced the rate of apoptosis more than that in the ZEA+LPS group. The expressions of Bcl-2 and Bax were examined at the gene level, and QUE addition significantly reduced the Bax gene expression level compared to that of the ZEA+LPS group, but there was no apparent variation in the expression level of Bcl-2. In summary, QUE can alleviate the combined toxic effects of ZEA and LPS on IPEC-J2 cells via modulating the Nrf2 signaling pathway, up-regulating the expression of antioxidative genes, and enhancing the intestinal barrier.

Assessing treatment outcomes of chemoimmunotherapy in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer: an integrated clinical and radiomics approach.

BACKGROUND: Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a highly malignant cancer characterized by metastasis and an extremely poor prognosis. Although combined chemoimmunotherapy improves the prognosis of extensive-stage (ES)-SCLC, the survival benefits remain limited. Furthermore, no reliable biomarker is available so far to predict the treatment outcomes for chemoimmunotherapy. METHODS: This retrospective study included patients with ES-SCLC treated with first-line combined atezolizumab or durvalumab with standard chemotherapy between Janauray 1, 2019 and October 1, 2022 at five medical centers in China as the chemoimmunotherapy group. The patients were divided into one training cohort and two independent external validation cohorts. Additionally, we created a control group of ES-SCLC who was treated with first-line standard chemotherapy alone. The Radiomics Score was derived using machine learning algorithms based on the radiomics features extracted in the regions of interest delineated on the chest CT obtained before treatment. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was performed to identify clinical features associated with therapeutic efficacy. The log-rank test, time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve, and Concordance Index (C-index) were used to assess the effectiveness of the models. RESULTS: A total of 341 patients (mean age, 62±8.7 years) were included in our study. After a median follow-up time of 12.1 months, the median progression-free survival (mPFS) was 7.1 (95% CI 6.6 to 7.7) months, whereas the median overall survival (mOS) was not reached. The TNM stage, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, and Lung Immune Prognostic Index showed significant correlations with PFS. We proposed a predictive model based on eight radiomics features to determine the risk of chemoimmunotherapy resistance among patients with SCLC (validation set 1: mPFS, 12.0 m vs 5.0 m, C-index=0.634; validation set 2: mPFS, 10.8 m vs 6.1 m, C-index=0.617). By incorporating the clinical features associated with PFS into the radiomics model, the predictive efficacy was substantially improved. Consequently, the low-progression-risk group exhibited a significantly longer mPFS than the high-progression-risk group in both validation set 1 (mPFS, 12.8 m vs 4.5 m, HR=0.40, p=0.028) and validation set 2 (mPFS, 9.2 m vs 4.6 m, HR=0.30, p=0.012). External validation set 1 and set 2 yielded the highest 6-month area under the curve and C-index of 0.852 and 0.820, respectively. Importantly, the integrated prediction model also exhibited considerable differentiation power for survival outcomes. The HR for OS derived from the low-progression-risk and high-progression-risk groups was 0.28 (95% CI 0.17 to 0.48) in all patients and 0.20 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.54) in validation set. By contrast, no significant differences were observed in PFS and OS, between high-progression-risk patients receiving chemoimmunotherapy and the chemotherapy cohort (mPFS, 5.5 m vs 5.9 m, HR=0.90, p=0.547; mOS, 14.5 m vs 13.7 m, HR=0.97, p=0.910). CONCLUSIONS: The integrated clinical and radiomics model can predict the treatment outcomes in patients with ES-SCLC receiving chemoimmunotherapy, rendering a convenient and low-cost prognostic model for decision-making regarding patient management.

Exploring anti-acute kidney injury mechanism of Dahuang-Gancao decoction by network pharmacology and experimental validation.

This study aimed to investigate the pharmacological effects and molecular mechanisms of Dahuang-Gancao Decoction (DHGC) on acute kidney injury (AKI). Network pharmacology was utilized to analyze the key targets of DHGC against AKI. These targets were used to construct a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, which was analyzed using Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment to predict the mechanism of action. Based on the network pharmacological analysis, Sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) was identified as a key target, and apoptosis was suggested as a mechanism of DHGC for AKI treatment. Subsequently, an AKI mouse model was induced using lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and the study demonstrated that DHGC gradient intervention significantly reduced plasma urea and creatinine levels in AKI mice, ameliorated renal pathological changes, reduced apoptosis, and lowered serum inflammatory factors. The mechanism of DHGC's anti-AKI effect may lie in the activation of the SIRT3/NRF2/HO-1 signaling pathway, which plays an antiapoptotic role in renal cells. In summary, DHGC improved LPS-induced AKI in mice by activating the SIRT3/NRF2/HO-1 signaling pathway. These findings shed light on the potential clinical application of DHGC for the treatment of nephropathy.

Mortality risk in patients with anti-MDA5 dermatomyositis is related to rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease and anti-Ro52 antibody.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to describe the clinical characteristics and analyze the poor prognostic factors in patients with anti-MDA5 dermatomyositis. METHODS: A total of 126 adults with anti-MDA5 dermatomyositis were enrolled in this retrospective study. Information on survival time, cause of death, and baseline characteristics was collected. Patients were divided into two groups: a survival group and a non-survival group. Items with clinical significance that showed significant differences between the two groups were screened by Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses to identify the predictors of poor survival. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients were included in the non-survival group, most of whom died from respiratory failure, with pulmonary infection accounting for half. Epstein-Barr virus infection was relatively common in both groups. Aspartate transaminase, lactate dehydrogenase, and ferritin levels; erythrocyte sedimentation rate; and anti-Ro52 antibody levels were significantly higher, while the lymphocyte count was lower in the non-survival group compared with the survival group. Notably, patients in the non-survival group were more likely to present with rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease than those in the survival group. Kaplan-Meier and Cox multivariate regression analyses revealed that the prevalence of rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease, levels of anti-Ro52 antibody, and age > 57 years were important prognostic factors independent of multiple clinical parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease, anti-Ro52 antibody levels, and age > 57 years are possible predictors of mortality risk in patients with anti-MDA5 dermatomyositis.

Enhanced Production of Organosulfur Species during a Severe Winter Haze Episode in the Guanzhong Basin of Northwest China.

The molecular composition of organic aerosols in ambient PM2.5 was investigated in an urban area in the Guanzhong basin of northwest China during a severe regional haze episode in the winter of 2018/2019. Organic matter, accounting for 20-35% of PM2.5 mass concentration, was characterized using direct infusion and electrospray ionization coupled with high-resolution Orbitrap mass spectrometry. The number of organic molecular formula assignments was primarily dominated by organosulfur species (OrgS, including CHOS and CHONS) in negative ion mode. The number and peak signal intensity of OrgS distinctly increased during the severe haze episode. Organosulfates and nitrooxy-organosulfates constituted the majority number (72-94%) of OrgS over the entire period. Although the OrgS were mostly present in aliphatic molecular structures, an increase in the number of polycyclic aromatic OrgS on haze days revealed the enhanced contribution from anthropogenic sources. The number of OrgS strongly correlated with ambient relative humidity and the oxidation ratios of sulfur and nitrogen, suggesting the important roles of aqueous phase chemistry and atmospheric oxidation in the formation of OrgS. A thorough understanding of the significance of OrgS will be essential to assess and mitigate the adverse impacts of haze pollution.