Integrin αVß3 antagonist-c(RGDyk) peptide attenuates the progression of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament by inhibiting osteogenesis and angiogenesis.

BACKGROUND: Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL), an emerging heterotopic ossification disease, causes spinal cord compression, resulting in motor and sensory dysfunction. The etiology of OPLL remains unclear but may involve integrin αVß3 regulating the process of osteogenesis and angiogenesis. In this study, we focused on the role of integrin αVß3 in OPLL and explored the underlying mechanism by which the c(RGDyk) peptide acts as a potent and selective integrin αVß3 inhibitor to inhibit osteogenesis and angiogenesis in OPLL. METHODS: OPLL or control ligament samples were collected in surgery. For OPLL samples, RNA-sequencing results revealed activation of the integrin family, particularly integrin αVß3. Integrin αVß3 expression was detected by qPCR, Western blotting, and immunohistochemical analysis. Fluorescence microscopy was used to observe the targeted inhibition of integrin αVß3 by the c(RGDyk) peptide on ligaments fibroblasts (LFs) derived from patients with OPLL and endothelial cells (ECs). The effect of c(RGDyk) peptide on the ossification of pathogenic LFs was detected using qPCR, Western blotting. Alkaline phosphatase staining or alizarin red staining were used to test the osteogenic capability. The effect of the c(RGDyk) peptide on angiogenesis was determined by EC migration and tube formation assays. The effects of the c(RGDyk) peptide on heterotopic bone formation were evaluated by micro-CT, histological, immunohistochemical, and immunofluorescence analysis in vivo. RESULTS: The results indicated that after being treated with c(RGDyk), the osteogenic differentiation of LFs was significantly decreased. Moreover, the c(RGDyk) peptide inhibited the migration of ECs and thus prevented the nutritional support required for osteogenesis. Furthermore, the c(RGDyk) peptide inhibited ectopic bone formation in mice. Mechanistic analysis revealed that c(RGDyk) peptide could inhibit osteogenesis and angiogenesis in OPLL by targeting integrin αVß3 and regulating the FAK/ERK pathway. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, the integrin αVß3 appears to be an emerging therapeutic target for OPLL, and the c(RGDyk) peptide has dual inhibitory effects that may be valuable for the new therapeutic strategy of OPLL.

Toward Low-Carbon Rice Production in China: Historical Changes, Driving Factors, and Mitigation Potential.

Under the "Double Carbon" target, the development of low-carbon agriculture requires a holistic comprehension of spatially and temporally explicit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with agricultural products. However, the lack of systematic evaluation at a fine scale presents considerable challenges in guiding localized strategies for mitigating GHG emissions from crop production. Here, we analyzed the county-level carbon footprint (CF) of China's rice production from 2007 to 2018 by coupling life cycle assessment and the DNDC model. Results revealed a significant annual increase of 74.3 kg CO2-eq ha-1 in the average farm-based CF (FCF), while it remained stable for the product-based CF (PCF). The CF exhibited considerable variations among counties, ranging from 2324 to 20,768 kg CO2-eq ha-1 for FCF and from 0.36 to 3.81 kg CO2-eq kg-1 for PCF in 2018. The spatiotemporal heterogeneities of FCF were predominantly influenced by field CH4 emissions, followed by diesel consumption and soil organic carbon sequestration. Scenario analysis elucidates that the national total GHG emissions from rice production could be significantly reduced through optimized irrigation (48.5%) and straw-based biogas production (18.0%). Moreover, integrating additional strategies (e.g., advanced crop management, optimized fertilization, and biodiesel application) could amplify the overall emission reduction to 76.7% while concurrently boosting the rice yield by 11.8%. Our county-level research provides valuable insights for the formulation of targeted GHG mitigation policies in rice production, thereby advancing the pursuit of carbon-neutral agricultural practices.

Effect of sacubitril/valsartan on lipid metabolism in patients with chronic kidney disease combined with chronic heart failure: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Dyslipidemia is significantly more common in those with concurrent chronic kidney disease (CKD) and chronic heart failure (CHF). Sacubitril/valsartan has showcased its influence on both cardiac and renal functions, extending its influence to the modulation of lipid metabolism pathways. This study aimed to examine how sacubitril/valsartan affects lipid metabolism within the context of CKD and CHF. METHODS: This study adopted a retrospective design, focusing on a single center and involving participants who were subjected to treatment with sacubitril/valsartan and valsartan. The investigation assessed the treatment duration, with a particular emphasis on recording blood lipid indicators, including triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), apolipoprotein A (ApoA), and apolipoprotein B (ApoB). Furthermore, cardiac and renal functions, blood pressure, potassium levels, and other factors influencing the blood lipids were analyzed in both groups at identical time points. RESULTS: After 16 weeks of observation, the sacubitril/valsartan group exhibited lower TG levels compared to the valsartan group. Noteworthy was the fact that individuals undergoing sacubitril/valsartan treatment experienced an average reduction of 0.84 mmol/L in TG levels, in stark contrast to the valsartan group, which registered a decline of 0.27 mmol/L (P < 0.001). The sacubitril/valsartan group exhibited elevated levels of HDL-C and ApoA in comparison to the valsartan group (PHDL-C = 0.023, PApoA = 0.030). While TC, LDL-C, and ApoB decreased compared to baseline, the differences between groups were not statistical significance. Regarding cardiac indicators, there was an observed enhancement in the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) within the sacubitril/valsartan group when compared to the baseline, and it was noticeably higher than that of the valsartan group. Spearman correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis revealed that medication, body mass index(BMI), and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) had a direct influencing effect on TG levels. CONCLUSION: Sacubitril/valsartan demonstrated improvements in lipid metabolism and cardiac indicators in patients with CKD and CHF. Specifically, it presented promising benefits in reducing TG levels. In addition, both BMI and HbA1c emerged as influential factors contributing to alterations in TG levels, independent of the administration of sacubitril/valsartan.

The C2 isthmus screw provided sufficient biomechanical stability in the setting of atlantoaxial dislocation-a finite element study.

BACKGROUND: The emerging of the C2 isthmus screw fixation technique is gaining popularity in the setting of atlantoaxial dislocation or other conditions requiring fixation of C2. However, the biomechanical stability of this fixation is poorly understood. PURPOSE: To compare and elucidate the biomechanical stability of C2 pedicle screw (C2PS), C2 isthmus screw (C2IS) and C2 short isthmus screw (C2SIS) fixation techniques in atlantoaxial dislocation (AAD). METHOD: A three-dimensional finite element model (FEM) from occiput to C3 was established and validated from a healthy male volunteer. Three FEMs, C1 pedicle screw (PS)-C2PS, C1PS-C2IS, C1PS-C2SIS were also constructed. The range of motion (ROM) and the maximum von Mises stress under flexion, extension, lateral bending and axial rotation loading were analyzed and compared. The pullout strength of the three fixations for C2 was also evaluated. RESULT: C1PS-C2IS model showed the greatest decrease in ROM with flexion, extension, lateral bending and axial rotation. C1PS-C2PS model showed the least ROM reduction under all loading conditions than both C2IS and C2SIS. The C1PS-C2PS model had the largest von Mises stress on the screw under all directions followed by C1PS-C2SIS, and lastly the C1PS-C2IS. Under axial rotation and lateral bending loading, the three models showed the maximum and minimum von Mises stress on the screw respectively. The stress of the three models was mainly located in the connection of the screw and rod. Overall, the maximum screw pullout strength for C2PS, C2IS and C2SIS were 729.41N, 816.62N, 640.54N respectively. CONCLUSION: In patients with atlantoaxial dislocations, the C2IS fixation provided comparable stability, with no significant stress concentration. Furthermore, the C2IS had sufficient pullout strength when compared with C2PS and C2SIS. C2 isthmus screw fixation may be a biomechanically favourable option in cases with AAD. However, future clinical trials are necessary for the evaluation of the clinical outcomes of this technique.

Dynamic fecal microenvironment properties enable predictions and understanding of peripartum blood oxidative status and nonesterified fatty acids in dairy cows.

The transition period in dairy cows is a critical stage and peripartum oxidative status, negative energy balance (NEB), and inflammation are highly prevalent. Fecal microbial metabolism is closely associated with blood oxidative status and nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) levels. Here, we investigated dynamic changes in total oxidative status markers and NEFA in blood, fecal microbiome, and metabolome of 30 dairy cows during transition (-21, -7, +7, +21 d relative to calving). Then the Bayesian network and 9 machine-learning algorithms were applied to dismantle their relationship. Our results show that the oxidative status indicator (OSI) of -21, -7, +7 d was higher than +21 d. The plasma concentration of NEFA peaked on +7 d. For fecal microenvironment, a decline in bacterial α diversity was observed at postpartum and in bacterial interactions at +7 d. Conversely, microbial metabolites involved in carbohydrate, lipid, and energy metabolism increased on +7 d. A correlation analysis revealed that 11 and 10 microbial metabolites contributed to OSI and NEFA variations, respectively (arc strength >0.5). The support vector machine (SVM) radial model showed the highest average predictive accuracy (100% and 88.9% in the test and external data sets) for OSI using 1 metabolite and 3 microbiota. The SVM radial model also showed the highest average diagnostic accuracy (100% and 91% in the test and external data sets) for NEFA with 2 metabolites and 3 microbiota. Our results reveal a relationship between variation in the fecal microenvironment and indicators of oxidative status, NEB, and inflammation, which provide a theoretical basis for the prevention and precise regulation of peripartum oxidative status and NEB.

Schistosoma japonicum cystatin alleviates paraquat poisoning caused acute lung injury in mice through activating regulatory macrophages.

BACKGROUND: Paraquat (PQ) is a widely used herbicide that poisons human by accident or intentional ingestion. PQ poisoning causes systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) resulting in acute lung injury (ALI) with an extremely high mortality rate. Blood trematode Schistosoma japonicum-produced cystatin (Sj-Cys) is a strong immunomodulatory protein that has been experimentally used to treat inflammation related diseases. In this study, Sj-Cys recombinant protein (rSj-Cys) was used to treat PQ-induced lung injury and the immunological mechanism underlying the therapeutic effect was investigated. METHODS: PQ-induced acute lung injury mouse model was established by intraperitoneally injection of 20 mg/kg of paraquat. The poisoned mice were treated with rSj-Cys and the survival rate was observed up to 7 days compared with the group without treatment. The pathological changes of PQ-induced lung injury were observed by examining the histochemical sections of affected lung tissue and the wet to dry ratio of lung as a parameter for inflammation and edema. The levels of the inflammation related cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α and regulatory cytokines IL-10 and TGF-ß were measured in sera and in affected lung tissue using ELISA and their mRNA levels in lung tissue using RT-PCR. The macrophages expressing iNOS were determined as M1 and those expressing Arg-1 as M2 macrophages. The effect of rSj-Cys on the transformation of inflammatory M1 to regulatory M2 macrophages was measured in affected lung tissue in vivo (EKISA and RT-PCR) and in MH-S cell line in vitro (flow cytometry). The expression levels of TLR2 and MyD88 in affected lung tissue were also measured to determine their role in the therapy of rSj-Cys on PQ-induced lung injury. RESULT: We identified that treatment with rSj-Cys significantly improved the survival rate of mice with PQ-induced lung injury from 30 % (untreated) to 80 %, reduced the pathological damage of poisoning lung tissue, associated with significantly reduced levels of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6 from 1490 to 590 pg/ml, TNF-α from 260 to 150 pg/ml) and increased regulatory cytokines (IL-10 from360 to 550 pg/ml, and TGF-ß from 220 to 410 pg/ml) in both sera (proteins) and affected lung tissue (proteins and mRNAs). The polarization of macrophages from M1to M2 type was found to be involved in the therapeutic effect of rSj-Cys on the PQ-induced acute lung injury, possibly through inhibiting TLR2/MyD88 signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated the therapeutic effect of rSj-Cys on PQ poisoning caused acute lung injury by inducing M2 macrophage polarization through inhibiting TLR2/MyD88 signaling pathway. The finding in this study provides an alternative approach for the treatment of PQ poisoning and other inflammatory diseases.

Differentially Expressed Proteins in the Serum of Elderly Patients Who Experienced Perioperative Neurocognitive Disorders Following Transurethral Resection of the Prostate.

OBJECTIVE: Perioperative neurocognitive disorders (PND) are a group of prevalent neurological complications that often occur in elderly individuals following major or emergency surgical procedures. The etiologies are not fully understood. This study endeavored to investigate novel targets and prediction methods for the occurrence of PND. METHODS: A total of 229 elderly patients diagnosed with prostatic hyperplasia who underwent transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) combined with spinal cord and epidural analgesia were included in this study. The patients were divided into two groups, the PND group and non-PND group, based on the Z-score method. According to the principle of maintaining consistency between preoperative and intraoperative conditions, three patients from each group were randomly chosen for serum sample collection. isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) proteomics technology was employed to analyze and identify the proteins that exhibited differential expression in the serum samples from the two groups. Bioinformatics analysis was performed on the proteins that exhibited differential expression. RESULTS: Among the 1101 serum proteins analyzed in the PND and non-PND groups, eight differentially expressed proteins were identified in PND patients. Of these, six proteins showed up-regulation, while two proteins showed down-regulation. Further bioinformatics analysis of the proteins that exhibited differential expression revealed their predominant involvement in cellular biological processes, cellular component formation, as well as endocytosis and phagocytosis Additionally, these proteins were found to possess the RING domain of E3 ubiquitin ligase. CONCLUSION: The iTRAQ proteomics technique was employed to analyze the variation in protein expression in serum samples from patients with PND and those without PND. This study successfully identified eight proteins that exhibited differential expression levels between the two groups. Bioinformatics analysis indicates that proteins exhibiting differential expression are primarily implicated in the biological processes associated with microtubules. Investigating the microtubule formation process as it relates to neuroplasticity and synaptic formation may offer valuable insights for enhancing our comprehension and potential prevention of PND. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registered (ChiCTR2000028836). Date (20190306).

Predicting active enhancers with DNA methylation and histone modification.

BACKGROUND: Enhancers play a crucial role in gene regulation, and some active enhancers produce noncoding RNAs known as enhancer RNAs (eRNAs) bi-directionally. The most commonly used method for detecting eRNAs is CAGE-seq, but the instability of eRNAs in vivo leads to data noise in sequencing results. Unfortunately, there is currently a lack of research focused on the noise inherent in CAGE-seq data, and few approaches have been developed for predicting eRNAs. Bridging this gap and developing widely applicable eRNA prediction models is of utmost importance. RESULTS: In this study, we proposed a method to reduce false positives in the identification of eRNAs by adjusting the statistical distribution of expression levels. We also developed eRNA prediction models using joint gene expressions, DNA methylation, and histone modification. These models achieved impressive performance with an AUC value of approximately 0.95 for intra-cell prediction and 0.9 for cross-cell prediction. CONCLUSIONS: Our method effectively attenuates the noise generated by stochastic RNA production, resulting in more accurate detection of eRNAs. Furthermore, our eRNA prediction model exhibited significant accuracy in both intra-cell and cross-cell validation, highlighting its robustness and potential application in various cellular contexts.

Improving feature selection performance for classification of gene expression data using Harris Hawks optimizer with variable neighborhood learning.

Gene expression profiling has played a significant role in the identification and classification of tumor molecules. In gene expression data, only a few feature genes are closely related to tumors. It is a challenging task to select highly discriminative feature genes, and existing methods fail to deal with this problem efficiently. This article proposes a novel metaheuristic approach for gene feature extraction, called variable neighborhood learning Harris Hawks optimizer (VNLHHO). First, the F-score is used for a primary selection of the genes in gene expression data to narrow down the selection range of the feature genes. Subsequently, a variable neighborhood learning strategy is constructed to balance the global exploration and local exploitation of the Harris Hawks optimization. Finally, mutation operations are employed to increase the diversity of the population, so as to prevent the algorithm from falling into a local optimum. In addition, a novel activation function is used to convert the continuous solution of the VNLHHO into binary values, and a naive Bayesian classifier is utilized as a fitness function to select feature genes that can help classify biological tissues of binary and multi-class cancers. An experiment is conducted on gene expression profile data of eight types of tumors. The results show that the classification accuracy of the VNLHHO is greater than 96.128% for tumors in the colon, nervous system and lungs and 100% for the rest. We compare seven other algorithms and demonstrate the superiority of the VNLHHO in terms of the classification accuracy, fitness value and AUC value in feature selection for gene expression data.

Diagnostic model based on key autophagy-related genes in intervertebral disc degeneration.

BACKGROUND: Current research on autophagy is mainly focused on intervertebral disc tissues and cells, while there is few on human peripheral blood sample. therefore, this study constructed a diagnostic model to identify autophagy-related markers of intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). METHODS: GSE150408 and GSE124272 datasets were acquired from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, and differential expression analysis was performed. The IVDD-autophagy genes were obtained using Weighted Gene Coexpression Network Analysis, and a diagnostic model was constructed and validated, followed by Gene Set Variation Analysis (GSVA) and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). Meanwhile, miRNA-gene and transcription factor-gene interaction networks were constructed. In addition, drug-gene interactions and target genes of methylprednisolone and glucosamine were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 1,776 differentially expressed genes were identified between IVDD and control samples, and the composition of the four immune cell types was significantly different between the IVDD and control samples. The Meturquoise and Mebrown modules were significantly related to immune cells, with significant differences between the control and IVDD samples. A diagnostic model was constructed using five key IVDD-autophagy genes. The area under the curve values of the model in the training and validation datasets were 0.907 and 0.984, respectively. The enrichment scores of the two pathways were significantly different between the IVDD and healthy groups. Eight pathways in the IVDD and healthy groups had significant differences. A total of 16 miRNAs and 3 transcription factors were predicted to be of great value. In total, 84 significantly related drugs were screened for five key IVDD-autophagy genes in the diagnostic model, and three common autophagy-related target genes of methylprednisolone and glucosamine were predicted. CONCLUSION: This study constructs a reliable autophagy-related diagnostic model that is strongly related to the immune microenvironment of IVD. Autophagy-related genes, including PHF23, RAB24, STAT3, TOMM5, and DNAJB9, may participate in IVDD pathogenesis. In addition, methylprednisolone and glucosamine may exert therapeutic effects on IVDD by targeting CTSD, VEGFA, and BAX genes through apoptosis, as well as the sphingolipid and AGE-RAGE signaling pathways in diabetic complications.

Microbiota-host crosstalk in the newborn and adult rumen at single-cell resolution.

BACKGROUND: The rumen is the hallmark organ of ruminants, playing a vital role in their nutrition and providing products for humans. In newborn suckling ruminants milk bypasses the rumen, while in adults this first chamber of the forestomach has developed to become the principal site of microbial fermentation of plant fibers. With the advent of single-cell transcriptomics, it is now possible to study the underlying cell composition of rumen tissues and investigate how this relates the development of mutualistic symbiosis between the rumen and its epithelium-attached microbes. RESULTS: We constructed a comprehensive cell landscape of the rumen epithelium, based on single-cell RNA sequencing of 49,689 high-quality single cells from newborn and adult rumen tissues. Our single-cell analysis identified six immune cell subtypes and seventeen non-immune cell subtypes of the rumen. On performing cross-species analysis of orthologous genes expressed in epithelial cells of cattle rumen and the human stomach and skin, we observed that the species difference overrides any cross-species cell-type similarity. Comparing adult with newborn cattle samples, we found fewer epithelial cell subtypes and more abundant immune cells, dominated by T helper type 17 cells in the rumen tissue of adult cattle. In newborns, there were more fibroblasts and myofibroblasts, an IGFBP3+ epithelial cell subtype not seen in adults, while dendritic cells were the most prevalent immune cell subtype. Metabolism-related functions and the oxidation-reduction process were significantly upregulated in adult rumen epithelial cells. Using 16S rDNA sequencing, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and absolute quantitative real-time PCR, we found that epithelial Desulfovibrio was significantly enriched in the adult cattle. Integrating the microbiome and metabolome analysis of rumen tissues revealed a high co-occurrence probability of Desulfovibrio with pyridoxal in the adult cattle compared with newborn ones while the scRNA-seq data indicated a stronger ability of pyroxidal binding in the adult rumen epithelial cell subtypes. These findings indicate that Desulfovibrio and pyridoxal likely play important roles in maintaining redox balance in the adult rumen. CONCLUSIONS: Our integrated multi-omics analysis provides novel insights into rumen development and function and may facilitate the future precision improvement of rumen function and milk/meat production in cattle.

Systematic design and experimental realization of a radially cascaded spherical piezoelectric transducer.

As a critical component of ultrasonic vibration systems, piezoelectric transducers play an essential role in various practical application scenarios. Recent advances in spherical transducers have been widely used in underwater sound and structural health monitoring, while the cascaded spherical piezoelectric transducer with arbitrary piezoceramic shell thickness has not been investigated. Here, we propose a radially cascaded spherical piezoelectric transducer (RCSPT) and derive its electromechanical equivalent circuit with mechanical losses, dielectric losses, and load mechanical impedances. The resulting device is composed of three concentric spherical metal shells and two radially polarized spherical piezoceramic shells. The underlying physical mechanism is the inverse piezoelectric effect, which converts electrical signals into mechanical vibrations. The effects of the spherical piezoceramic shell's thickness and location on the RCSPT are studied. We also analyze the effects of mechanical losses, dielectric losses, and load mechanical impedances on the modulus of input electric impedance of the cascaded spherical transducer. The experiments are conducted to verify the electromechanical characteristics of the resulting device, which are in good agreement with the simulated results and theoretical predictions. Our methodology will offer new possibilities for designing RCSPTs and may promote applications in various fields, such as underwater acoustic detection and structural health monitoring.

MCW: A Generalizable Deepfake Detection Method for Few-Shot Learning.

With the development of deepfake technology, deepfake detection has received widespread attention. Although some deepfake forensics techniques have been proposed, they are still very difficult to implement in real-world scenarios. This is due to the differences in different deepfake technologies and the compression or editing of videos during the propagation process. Considering the issue of sample imbalance with few-shot scenarios in deepfake detection, we propose a multi-feature channel domain-weighted framework based on meta-learning (MCW). In order to obtain outstanding detection performance of a cross-database, the proposed framework improves a meta-learning network in two ways: it enhances the model's feature extraction ability for detecting targets by combining the RGB domain and frequency domain information of the image and enhances the model's generalization ability for detecting targets by assigning meta weights to channels on the feature map. The proposed MCW framework solves the problems of poor detection performance and insufficient data compression resistance of the algorithm for samples generated by unknown algorithms. The experiment was set in a zero-shot scenario and few-shot scenario, simulating the deepfake detection environment in real situations. We selected nine detection algorithms as comparative algorithms. The experimental results show that the MCW framework outperforms other algorithms in cross-algorithm detection and cross-dataset detection. The MCW framework demonstrates its ability to generalize and resist compression with low-quality training images and across different generation algorithm scenarios, and it has better fine-tuning potential in few-shot learning scenarios.

Selective leaching process for efficient and rapid recycling of spent lithium iron phosphate batteries.

With the continuous development of new energy vehicles, the number of decommissioned lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries has been constantly increasing. Therefore, it is necessary to recover metal from spent LiFePO4 batteries due to the high potential for environmental protection and high resource value. In this study, sodium persulfate (Na2S2O8) was selected as the oxidant to regulate and control the oxidation state and proton activity of the leaching solution through its high oxidizing ability. Selective recovery of lithium from LiFePO4 batteries was achieved by oxidizing LiFePO4 to iron phosphate (FePO4) during the leaching process. This paper reports an extensive investigation of the effects of various factors, including the acid concentration, initial volume fraction of the oxidant, reaction temperature, solid-liquid ratio, and reaction time, on lithium leaching. Li+ reached a high leaching rate of 93.3% within 5 minutes even at a low concentration of sulphuric acid (H2SO4), and high-purity lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) was obtained through impurity removal and precipitation reactions. In addition, the leaching mechanism was analysed by both X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterization. The results show that the obtained high lithium-ion (Li+) leaching efficiency and fast Li+ leaching time can be ascribed to the superior oxidizing properties of Na2S2O8 and the stability of the crystal structure of LiFePO4 during the oxidative leaching process. The adopted method has significant advantages in terms of safety, efficiency and environmental protection, which are conducive to the sustainable development of lithium batteries.

Salivary microbiome in chronic kidney disease: what is its connection to diabetes, hypertension, and immunity?

BACKGROUND: The association between oral dysbiosis and chronic kidney disease (CKD) has gained increasing attention in recent years. Diabetes and hypertension are the most common conditions in CKD. However, a case-control study with matched confounding variables on the salivary microbiome in CKD and the influence of diabetes and hypertension on the microbiome has never been reported. METHODS: In our study, we compared the salivary microbiome profile between patients with CKD and healthy controls (HC) using 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing and examine its association with diabetes, hypertension, and immunity. RESULTS: We observed that the bacterial community was skewed in the saliva of CKD, with increased Lautropia and Pseudomonas, and decreased Actinomyces, Prevotella, Prevotella 7, and Trichococcus. No difference in the bacterial community between the CKD patients complicated with and without diabetes, and between those with and without hypertension. Prevotella 7 declined in CKD patients with/without hypertension with respect to HC, while Pseudomonas increased in CKD patients with/without hypertension. Pseudomonas was negatively associated with immunoglobin G in CKD patients. Both CKD patients with positive and negative antistreptolysin O had declined Prevotella 7 and Trichococcus compared to HC, whereas increased Pseudomonas. CONCLUSIONS: Our study identifies a distinct bacterial saliva microbiome in CKD patients characterized by alteration in composition. We unravel here that the co-occurrence diseases of diabetes and hypertension are not associated with specific bacterial alterations, suggesting that bacterial dysbiosis in saliva plays a role in renal damage regardless of the occurrence of diabetes and hypertension.

Detecting Entanglement in Quantum Many-Body Systems via Permutation Moments.

Multipartite entanglement plays an essential role in both quantum information science and many-body physics. Because of the exponentially large dimension and complex geometric structure of the state space, the detection of entanglement in many-body systems is extremely challenging in reality. Conventional means, like entanglement witness and entropy criterion, either highly depend on the prior knowledge of the studied systems or the detection capability is relatively weak. In this Letter, we propose a framework for designing multipartite entanglement criteria based on permutation moments, which have an effective implementation with either the generalized control-swap quantum circuits or the random unitary techniques. As an example, in the bipartite scenario, we develop an entanglement criterion that can detect bound entanglement and show strong detection capability in the multiqubit Ising model with a long-range XY Hamiltonian. In the multipartite case, the permutation-moment-based criteria can detect entangled states that are not detectable by any criteria extended from the bipartite case. Our framework also shows potential in entanglement quantification and entanglement structure detection.

Exosomal miR-140-5p inhibits osteogenesis by targeting IGF1R and regulating the mTOR pathway in ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

BACKGROUND: Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) is a disabling disease whose pathogenesis is still unclear, and there are no effective cures or prevention methods. Exosomal miRNA plays an important role in the osteogenesis of ectopic bone. Therefore, we focused on the downregulation of miR-140-5p in OPLL cell-derived exosomes to explore the mechanism by which exosomal miR-140-5p inhibits osteogenesis in OPLL. RESULTS: Exosomes were isolated by differential centrifugation and identified by transmission electron microscopy, nanoparticle tracking analysis, and exosomal markers. Exosomal RNA was extracted to perform miRNA sequencing and disclose the differentially expressed miRNAs, among which miR-140-5p was significantly downregulated. Confocal microscopy was used to trace the exosomal miR-140-5p delivered from OPLL cells to human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). In vitro, we verified that exosomal miR-140-5p inhibited the osteoblast differentiation of hMSCs by targeting IGF1R and suppressing the phosphorylation of the IRS1/PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway. In vivo, we verified that exosomal miR-140-5p inhibited ectopic bone formation in mice as assessed by micro-CT and immunohistochemistry. CONCLUSIONS: We found that exosomal miR-140-5p could inhibit the osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs by targeting IGF1R and regulating the mTOR pathway, prompting a further potential means of drug treatment and a possible target for molecular therapy of OPLL.

Lyophilized bovine acellular tendon linear fiber material for the reconstruction of attachment structure of paraspinous muscles: an animal in vivo study.

Low back pain is common after lumbar spine surgery and the injury from extensive detachment of paraspinal muscles during the surgery may play a vital role. Previously, we prepared a bovine acellular tendon fiber (ATF) material through lyophilization and proved that it could retain its original fibrillar structure and mechanical properties. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of this new fiber material used for attachment structure reconstruction of paraspinal muscle. Defect of spinous process, interspinous and supraspinous ligament was established on lumbar spine in rabbit and rat and ATF linear material was implanted to reconstruct the attachment structure. Ultrasound showed the cross-sectional area of the paraspinal muscle in ATF group was larger than that of control group in rats. MRI showed the irregular shape and high signal changes in control group, but regular shape and uniform signal in the ATF group in rabbit. For Electromyogram, the frequency of evoked potential in control group was lower than ATF group and normal rats. HE and Masson staining showed good tissue healing, and immunohistochemical results showed the immune rejection of ATF is significantly lower than that of suture. Reconstruction of the attachment structure of paraspinous muscles with ATF linear material could maintain the morphology, volume and function of paraspinal muscle. ATF material has the potential to be used to manufacture personalized ligaments and other tissue engineering scaffolds. Graphical abstract.

Broadband ventilated meta-barrier based on the synergy of mode superposition and consecutive Fano resonances.

Sound insulation under ventilation conditions is an important issue in acoustic fields that has significant applications in various practical scenarios. The emergence of acoustic metasurfaces breaks the limitation of manipulating large-scale waves at subwavelength scales and enables a better ventilating capability, while there is still a problem that the bandwidth of previous studies is usually smaller than half an octave. Here, we design and experimentally implement a ventilated meta-barrier with subwavelength thickness capable of realizing broadband sound insulation while maintaining efficient ventilation. The underlying mechanism is the synergy of the consecutive Fano resonances and superposition of equal-strength monopolar mode of the gradient helical structure and dipolar mode of the central orifice, leading to an efficient blocking of approximately 90% of sound waves coming from various directions in the range from 1145 to 1815 Hz while preserving high-efficiency ventilation. The experiments are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the resulting device, which is in good agreement with the simulated results and theoretical predictions. Our design with functionality and flexibility opens up possibilities for the design of broadband ventilated acoustic devices and may find important application prospects in diverse fields such as noise control and architectural acoustics.

Three-dimensional reduction method with a modified C2 isthmus screw in irreducible atlantoaxial dislocation: a technical note.

BACKGROUND: Three-dimensional reduction plays a vital role in surgical reduction of irreversible atlantoaxial dislocation (IAAD). However, the most commonly used combination of C1 pedicle screw (PS) or lateral mass screw (LMS) and C2 PS or isthmus screw often fails to achieve satisfactory reduction at one time. The difficulty is usually caused by short anteroposterior and vertical distance between heads of C1 and C2 screws, which lack enough space for reduction operation. The objective of this study is to describe a three-dimensional reduction method with a modified C2 isthmus screw and to illustrate its advantage and effectiveness for IAAD. METHODS: Twelve patients with IAAD underwent reduction and fixation with modified C2 isthmus screw combined with C1 PS or LMS, fusion with autologous bone graft. The insertion point was lateral to the intersection of caudal edge of C2 lamina and lateral mass, with a trajectory towards C2 isthmus, via lateral mass. The three-dimensional reduction was achieved through pulling and distracting. Radiographic evaluation included anteroposterior and direct distance between different insertion points, the occipitoaxial angle (O-C2A), clivus-canal angle (CCA) and cervicomedullary angle (CMA). Clinical outcomes evaluation included the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, Visual analog scale (VAS) and Neck Disability Index (NDI). RESULTS: All the patients maintained effective reduction during the follow-up. The anteroposterior and direct distance was significantly higher in modified C2 isthmus screw than C2 PS whether combined with C1 PS or LMS (P < 0.05). The degree of O-C2A, CCA and CMA, JOA score, NDI, and VAS were significantly improved after the surgery (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Three-dimensional reduction method with a modified C2 isthmus screw is effective and safe in managing IAAD. It can increase the anteroposterior and vertical distance between the heads of C1 and C2 screws, which is benefit for the three-dimensional reduction operation of IAAD.