Double-sided asymmetric metasurfaces achieving sub-microscale focusing from a GaN green laser diode.

We proposed and demonstrated a highly efficient sub-microscale focusing from a GaN green laser diode (LD) integrated with double-sided asymmetric metasurfaces. The metasurfaces consist of two nanostructures in a GaN substrate: nanogratings on one side and a geometric phase based metalens on the other side. When it was integrated on the edge emission facet of a GaN green LD, linearly polarized emission was firstly converted to the circularly polarized state by the nanogratings functioning as a quarter-wave plate, the phase gradient was then controlled by the metalens on the exit side. In the end, the double-sided asymmetric metasurfaces achieve a sub micro-focusing from linearly polarized states. Experimental results show the full width at half maximum of the focused spot size is about 738 nm at the wavelength 520 nm and the focusing efficiency is about 72.8%. Our results lay a foundation for the multi-functional applications in optical tweezers, laser direct writing, visible light communication, and biological chip.

Satellite-to-ground quantum key distribution.

Quantum key distribution (QKD) uses individual light quanta in quantum superposition states to guarantee unconditional communication security between distant parties. However, the distance over which QKD is achievable has been limited to a few hundred kilometres, owing to the channel loss that occurs when using optical fibres or terrestrial free space that exponentially reduces the photon transmission rate. Satellite-based QKD has the potential to help to establish a global-scale quantum network, owing to the negligible photon loss and decoherence experienced in empty space. Here we report the development and launch of a low-Earth-orbit satellite for implementing decoy-state QKD-a form of QKD that uses weak coherent pulses at high channel loss and is secure because photon-number-splitting eavesdropping can be detected. We achieve a kilohertz key rate from the satellite to the ground over a distance of up to 1,200 kilometres. This key rate is around 20 orders of magnitudes greater than that expected using an optical fibre of the same length. The establishment of a reliable and efficient space-to-ground link for quantum-state transmission paves the way to global-scale quantum networks.

Efficient ofloxacin degradation via photo-Fenton process over eco-friendly MIL-88A(Fe): Performance, degradation pathways, intermediate library establishment and toxicity evaluation.

The high-throughput production of the eco-friendly MIL-88A(Fe) was achieved under mild reaction conditions with normal pressure and temperature. The as-prepared MIL-88A(Fe) exhibited efficient photo-Fenton catalytic ofloxacin (OFL) degradation upon visible light irradiation with good stability and reusability. The OFL (20.0 mg/L) was completely degraded within 50 min under visible light with the aid of MIL-88A(Fe) (0.25 g/L) and H2O2 (1.0 mL/L) in aqueous solution (pH = 7.0). The hydroxyl radicals (·OH) are the main active species during the photo-Fenton oxidation process. Meanwhile, the degradation intermediates and the corresponding degradation pathways were identified and proposed with the aid of both ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Finally, the degradation product library was firstly established to identify intermediate transformation products (TPs) with their variation of concentration, and their corresponding toxicologic activities were assessed via Toxtree and T.E.S.T software as well. Finally, the MIL-88A is efficient and stable with four cycles' catalysis operations, demonstrating good potential for water treatment.

Clinical Features and Outcomes of Pulmonary Artery Sarcoma.

OBJECTIVES: A retrospective cohort study was designed to describe the clinical features and outcomes of pulmonary artery sarcoma (PAS). METHODS: Twenty-two (22) consecutive patients diagnosed with PAS by pathological examination were enrolled and followed up until they died or until January 2020. The medical records were retrospectively reviewed to evaluate the clinical characteristics, image findings, and outcomes. RESULTS: 1) Twenty-one (21, 95.5%) patients were firstly misdiagnosed. Dyspnoea was the most common presenting symptom (19 of 22, 86.4%). 2) Filling defects in the right pulmonary artery were seen in 17 patients (77.3%) with computed tomography pulmonary angiography or magnetic resonance pulmonary angiography. Among those patients, 14 underwent positron emission tomography-computed tomography detection and 13 (92.9%) were found to have increased uptake value in the pulmonary artery. 3) The median survival (from diagnosis to death or January 2020) of the total series was 11.6 months (range, 0.7-68.5 months). The estimated cumulative survival rates at 1, 2, and 3 years were 52.6%, 32.8%, and 19.7%, respectively. Patients who received surgery and/or chemo-radiotherapy treatment had a better survival rate compared with patients without treatment (the estimated cumulative survival rates at 1, 2, and 3 years were 60.3%, 39.1%, and 29.3%, respectively, vs 33.3%, 16.6%, and 0, accordingly) and better survival time (median survival 17.02 vs 3.16 months, respectively) (p=0.025). CONCLUSIONS: Pulmonary artery sarcoma is easily misdiagnosed, as the symptoms and routine image detection are nonspecific. Positron emission tomography-computed tomography may be helpful in diagnosis. Surgery and/or chemo-radiotherapy offer a chance for better outcomes.

A novel messenger RNA and long noncoding RNA signature associated with the progression of nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer.

AIM: To explore the molecular mechanism of nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), matched normal, and cancer tissues of 10 NMIBC were examined for RNA sequencing. METHODS: We profiled the messenger RNA (mRNA) and long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) expression of patients with NMIBC. Differentially expressed mRNAs and lncRNAs were screened between cancer and normal tissues and validated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and lncRNA-mRNA-miRNA interaction network was constructed. RESULTS: A total of 91 upregulated and 190 downregulated genes and 34 upregulated and 58 downregulated lncRNAs were screened from the sequencing result. The differentially expressed mRNAs were enriched in focal adhesion, rap1 signaling pathway, Hippo signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, extracellular matrix (ECM)-receptor interaction, Ras signaling pathway, and mitogen-activated protein kinases signaling pathway, of which some pathways were involved in the cancer development. In the RNA sequencing, KIT and laminin subunitγ γ3 (LAMC3) were significantly downregulated in the NMIBC group compared with the normal group. The results of quantitative reverse transcription PCR showed that the expression of LAMC3 and KIT were significantly decreased in the NMIBC group compared with the normal group. The lncRNA-mRNA-miRNA interaction network was constructed by Cytoscape software to further investigate the interaction correlations. The results implied that KIT and LAMC3 might regulate the lncRNAs (such as ENST00000445707, ENST00000501122, ENST00000505254, ENST00000528986, ENST00000557661, ENST00000602964, ENST00000614517, ENST00000620864, and ENST00000623414) by the miRNAs (such as hsa-let-7f-2-3p, hsa-miR-125a-3p, hsa-miR-134-3p, hsa-miR-191-5p, hsa-miR-210-5p, hsa-miR-30a-5p, hsa-miR-30d-5p, hsa-miR-30e-5p, hsa-miR-92a-2-5p, and hsa-miR-95-3p), and finally played a role in the development of NMIBC cancer. CONCLUSION: Altogether, our study preliminarily indicated that KIT and LAMC3 might play a crucial role in the development of NMIBC cancer via a complex mRNA-lncRNA-miRNA regulatory network.

Immunohistochemical detection of PD-L1 among diverse human neoplasms in a reference laboratory: observations based upon 62,896 cases.

Targeting of the PD1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint pathway has rapidly gained acceptance as a therapeutic strategy for a growing number of malignancies. Testing for expression of PD-L1 in tumor cells and immune cells has been used as a companion or complementary test for drugs targeting the PD1/PD-L1 pathway. We evaluated the results of PD-L1 testing in a large reference lab cohort. Using Food and Drug Administration-approved methods and interpretive instructions for each individual test, 62,896 cases were evaluated for PD-L1 using antibody clone 22C3, 28-8, SP142, or SP263. Case data analyzed included test results and information on tumor location and clinical history. No clinical outcome information was available and no attempt was made to correlate PD-L1 results with any other tests performed. The following numbers of cases were evaluated: 22C3 with tumor proportion score [n = 52585], 22C3 with combined positive score [n = 2631], 28-8 [n = 4191], SP142 [n = 850], and SP263 [n = 70]. In 22C3/tumor proportion score cases, the general results were as follows: negative 33.1% (n = 17,405), (low) expression 33.9% (n = 17,822), and high expression 29.5% (n = 15,486). In cases identified as metastatic, the results were as follows: negative 35.9% (n = 1411), (low) expression 30.8% (n = 1211), and high expression 30.7% (n = 1208). We found broad ranges of expression in tumor types with increasing positivity, as adenocarcinomas were reported as poorly differentiated, whereas squamous cell carcinomas showed more positivity as tumors were described as well-differentiated. The results of many individual tumor types were evaluated and showed, in general, high levels of positive expression. Practical challenges and observations of PD-L1 stain results and interpretation are also discussed.

[Evaluation and Comparison of SHA.LIN,S.T.O.N.E.Nephrolithometry Scoring System,and Clinical Research Office of the Endourological Society Nephrolithometry Nomogram for Predicting Stone Free Rate and Postoperative Outcomes after Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy].

To compare the accuracy of SHA.LIN,S.T.O.N.E.nephrolithometry scoring system,and Clinical Research Office of the Endourological Society(CROES)nephrolithometry nomogram in predicting percutaneous nephrolithotomy(PCNL)outcomes including stone free rate(SFR)and perioperative status. Methods The clinical data of 90 patients with nephrolithiasis undergoing PCNL in department of urology,China-Japan Friendship Hospital from January 2015 to March 2018 were retrospectively analyzed.The general data,stone characteristics,operation approaches,and perioperative variables were recorded.SHA.LIN,S.T.O.N.E.score,and CROES nomogram were assigned according to the computed tomography(CT)findings before surgery.Stone free status was evaluated by kidney-ureter-bladder one month after PCNL.The relationships of SHA.LIN score,S.T.O.N.E.score,and CROES score with SFR,postoperative complications,operation time(OT),length of hospital stay(LOS),estimated blood loss(EBL),and decrease of hemoglobin was evaluated.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were used to analyze the predictive accuracy. Results The SFR was 72.2%(65/90)and postoperative complications occurred in 33 cases(36.7%).The mean OT was(103.1±39.6)min,the mean EBL was(46.1±53.0)ml,the mean LOS was(15.3±5.2)d,the mean postoperative LOS was(8.5±3.4)d,and the mean decrease of hemoglobin was(16.1±10.2)g/L.Stone-free patients had significantly lower SHA.LIN score(8.23 vs. 10.36,P=0.000)and S.T.O.N.E.score(7.05 vs.8.16,P=0.000)and significantly higher CROES score(188.50 vs. 143.89,P=0.000)compared to patients with residual fragments.All these scores were not significantly associated with complications(P>0.05).On the other hand,all these scores were significantly correlated with OT,EBL,and decrease of hemoglobin(SHA.LIN:POT=0.006,PEBL=0.028,Pdecrease of hemoglobin=0.014;S.T.O.N.E.:POT=0.012,PEBL=0.047,Pdecrease of hemoglobin=0.011;and CROES:POT=0.040,PEBL=0.045,Pdecrease of hemoglobin=0.013).SHA.LIN(P=0.001)and S.T.O.N.E.(P=0.005)scores were associated with LOS.Logistic regression analysis revealed that SHA.LIN(OR=2.491),S.T.O.N.E.(OR=3.030),and CROES(OR=0.973)scores were significantly associated with stone-free status.ROC curves in predicting SFR showed that there was significant difference in the areas under the curves(AUC)for the SHA.LIN vs. S.T.O.N.E.score [0.808(95% CI=0.711-0.905)vs. 0.748(95% CI=0.632-0.864),P=0.047].AUC for the CROES score [0.770(95% CI=0.664-0.877)] showed no significantly different for the SHA.LIN score or the S.T.O.N.E.score(P>0.05). Conclusions All these three scoring systems have good predictive accuracy for SFR.SHA.LIN is more precise than S.T.O.N.E.in predicting SFR.However,they can not predict postoperative complications.

Satellite-Relayed Intercontinental Quantum Network.

We perform decoy-state quantum key distribution between a low-Earth-orbit satellite and multiple ground stations located in Xinglong, Nanshan, and Graz, which establish satellite-to-ground secure keys with ∼kHz rate per passage of the satellite Micius over a ground station. The satellite thus establishes a secure key between itself and, say, Xinglong, and another key between itself and, say, Graz. Then, upon request from the ground command, Micius acts as a trusted relay. It performs bitwise exclusive or operations between the two keys and relays the result to one of the ground stations. That way, a secret key is created between China and Europe at locations separated by 7600 km on Earth. These keys are then used for intercontinental quantum-secured communication. This was, on the one hand, the transmission of images in a one-time pad configuration from China to Austria as well as from Austria to China. Also, a video conference was performed between the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which also included a 280 km optical ground connection between Xinglong and Beijing. Our work clearly confirms the Micius satellite as a robust platform for quantum key distribution with different ground stations on Earth, and points towards an efficient solution for an ultralong-distance global quantum network.

Solitary Fibrous Tumor of the Kidney Treated with Laparoscopic Partial Nephrectomy: A Case Report.

We herein reported a 27-year-old woman with a right renal mass for two years. She underwent laparoscopic partial nephrectomy. Immunohistochemical examination of the specimen confirmed the diagnosis of solitary fibrous tumor by revealing its positive staining for cluster of differentiation (CD)34, epithelial membrane antigen (EMA), B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) and CD99 in the tumor cells. No adjuvant treatment was carried out. The patient was in good health without local recurrence or metastasis during 2 years of follow-up. Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy for renal solitary fibrous tumor is an alternative treatment to radical nephrectomy. It can provide a good outcome. However, further follow-up and more cases of renal solitary fibrous tumor treated with laparoscopic partial nephrectomy are necessary to compare the oncological outcome with radical nephrectomy.

Is there an incremental value to use myocardial perfusion imaging with or without CT attenuation for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease? A study in Chinese patients.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether computed tomography attention correction (CTAC) has incremental diagnostic value for single photon emission tomography (SPET) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) for the detection of coronary artery disease (CAD) in Chinese patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This retrospective study consisted of 181 suspected CAD patients who underwent one-stop SPET examination by MPI combined with a CT scan. Two observers independently evaluated non-attenuation correction (NAC) and CTAC MPI images, and coronary angiography (CAG) results were used as reference standards. The diagnostic efficacies of the two methods were compared. RESULTS: a) In the whole group, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for the detection of CAD were found to be 75.7%, 55.1% and 63.5% for NAC images and 52.7%, 86.9% and 72.9% for CTAC images, respectively; the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) were 0.654 and 0.698 (P>0.05). b) The accuracy of CTAC and the AUC were significantly higher than those for NAC in Chinese males. c) The accuracy of CTAC was also significantly increased for the right coronary artery (RCA) territory and in overweight patients (BMI≥24), although differences in the AUC were marginally insignificant. CONCLUSION: Compared to NAC MPI, CTAC improved SPET MPI specificity but decreased sensitivity, leading to no obvious improvement in overall accuracy for the diagnosis of CAD in Chinese patients. However, CTAC might be of value in the subgroups of males and overweight patients and for the RCA territory. In routine clinical application, the integration of NAC and CTAC findings combined with CAD pre-test probability could improve MPI diagnostic performance.

[All-Fiber Mach-Zehnder Interferometer Based on Lateral-Offset and Peanut Shape Structure].

A new in-fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) based on lateral-offset and peanut shape structure is proposed and demonstrated for the measure of curvature and liquid level. The sensor consists of lateral-offset structure and peanut shape structure. A section of single mode fiber (SMF) is spliced between them. A part of core mode in the single mode fiber is excited to cladding modes by lateral-offset. The cladding modes are re-coupled to the core mode by peanut-shape structure and get interference with the core mode. A high-quality interference spectrum with a fringe visibility of about 12 dB is observed. The effective refractive indices of cladding mode would change with the external environment parameters, which further bring about a shift of the interference fringes. The liquid level or curvature can be measured by record the shift of the valley, because the shift of the valley shows a linear dependence with the variation of the liquid level or curvature theoretically. In the water level experiment, the water level changes from 1.00 to 5.00 cm and the wavelength valley shows a red shift. The sensitivity of the MZI with a length of 6.10 cm is -0.68 nm·cm-1. In the curvature experiment, the curvature changes from 0.3 to 1.2 and the wavelength valley shows a blue shift. The sensitivity of the MZI with a length of 2.10 cm is 22.47 nm·m. The lateral-offset structure and peanut shape structure are spliced to fabricate the MZI. The sensitivity of the MZI is high, especially in the curvature measurement, it is higher than that of other fiber curvature sensors. Moreover the MZI presented in this paper has advantages of low cost and easy fabrication, which can be a potential application in the liquid level and curvature measurement.

Improving heterologous polyketide production in Escherichia coli by transporter engineering.

Expelling heterologous compounds out of hosts by transporters is a potential strategy to enhance product titers in microbial cell factories. In this work, to increase heterologous polyketide 6-deoxyerythronolide B (6dEB, erythromycin precursor) production, tripartite multidrug efflux pumps MacAB-TolC, AcrAB-TolC, MdtEF-TolC, and MexAB-OprM were modulated in a 6dEB production strain. Compared with the control, overexpression of a single component of efflux pumps (except oprM) repressed 6dEB production, but modulation of two components MacA and MacB or the complete pumps MacAB-TolC and MdtEF-TolC significantly improved 6dEB titer by 100 ± 11, 118 ± 54, and 98 ± 12 %, respectively. In addition, to avoid the challenging fine-tuning components of pumps, the transcriptional regulators of efflux pumps were modulated to improve the 6dEB production. Overexpression of RpoH (activator of MdtEF-TolC) and EvgA (activator of EmrKY-TolC and AcrAD-TolC) strongly increased 6dEB titer by 152 ± 54 and 142 ± 85 %, respectively. This is the first report of transporter engineering for improving heterologous polyketide production in Escherichia coli. Our results provide an effective strategy for improving the yield of the heterologous products in chassis cell.

Diagnostic accuracy of intracellular mycobacterium tuberculosis detection for tuberculous meningitis.

RATIONALE: Early diagnosis and treatment of tuberculous meningitis saves lives, but current laboratory diagnostic tests lack sensitivity. OBJECTIVES: We investigated whether the detection of intracellular bacteria by a modified Ziehl-Neelsen stain and early secretory antigen target (ESAT)-6 in cerebrospinal fluid leukocytes improves tuberculous meningitis diagnosis. METHODS: Cerebrospinal fluid specimens from patients with suspected tuberculous meningitis were stained by conventional Ziehl-Neelsen stain, a modified Ziehl-Neelsen stain involving cytospin slides with Triton processing, and an ESAT-6 immunocytochemical stain. Acid-fast bacteria and ESAT-6-expressing leukocytes were detected by microscopy. All tests were performed prospectively in a central laboratory by experienced technicians masked to the patients' final diagnosis. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Two hundred and eighty patients with suspected tuberculous meningitis were enrolled. Thirty-seven had Mycobacterium tuberculosis cultured from cerebrospinal fluid; 40 had a microbiologically confirmed alternative diagnosis; the rest had probable or possible tuberculous meningitis according to published criteria. Against a clinical diagnostic gold standard the sensitivity of conventional Ziehl-Neelsen stain was 3.3% (95% confidence interval, 1.6-6.7%), compared with 82.9% (95% confidence interval, 77.4-87.3%) for modified Ziehl-Neelsen stain and 75.1% (95% confidence interval, 68.8-80.6%) for ESAT-6 immunostain. Intracellular bacteria were seen in 87.8% of the slides positive by the modified Ziehl-Neelsen stain. The specificity of modified Ziehl-Neelsen and ESAT-6 stain was 85.0% (95% confidence interval, 69.4-93.8%) and 90.0% (95% confidence interval, 75.4-96.7%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Enhanced bacterial detection by simple modification of the Ziehl-Neelsen stain and an ESAT-6 intracellular stain improve the laboratory diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis.

Extramedullary acute leukemia developing in a pre-existing osteoma cutis.

Primary osteoma cutis (cutaneous ossification) is an uncommon disease in which there is bone formation within the skin in the absence of a demonstrable pre-existing condition. Osteoma cutis is a chronic and benign condition. We report a case of a 45-year-old man who developed extramedullary acute leukemia with a myeloid immunophenotype (myeloid sarcoma) with its initial presentation within an isolated pre-existing osteoma cutis in the post-auricular scalp without evidence of systemic acute leukemia or chronic myeloid stem cell disorders. The tumor was surgically excised without complications. Four months later, acute leukemia recurred in the contralateral posterior mandible and showed an immunophenotype consistent with acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma. The patient now has been treated by standard protocols for acute leukemia. The diagnosis of an extramedullary acute leukemia is challenging because of its inconsistent clinical and histopathologic presentations. Extramedullary acute leukemia developing in a pre-existing osteoma cutis is very unusual and has not been previously reported in the literature.

Identification of novel knockout and up-regulated targets for improving isoprenoid production in E. coli.

Discovery of novel potential genetic targets to increase the supply of isoprenoid precursors, isopentyl/dimethylallyl diphosphate, is of importance for microbial production of isoprenoids. Here, to improve isoprenoid precursor supply, a flux distribution comparison analysis, based on the genome-scale model, was utilized to simultaneously predict the knockout, down- and up-regulated targets in Escherichia coli. 51 targets were in silico discovered. All knockout and up-regulated targets were experimentally tested to enhance lycopene production. Five knockout targets (deoB, yhfw, yahI, pta and eutD) and four up-regulated targets (ompN, ompE, ndk and cmk) led to 10-45% increases of lycopene yield, respectively, which had not been uncovered in previous studies. When engineering of the five most significant targets gdhA, eutD, tpiA, ompE and ompN, were combined the lycopene titer improved by 174% in shake-flask and 81% in bioreactor fermentations with a maximum yield of 454 mg l(-1).

Flavonoids from Podocarpus macrophyllus and their cardioprotective activities.

One new 8-aryl flavone, podocarflavone A (1), together with 15 previously reported flavonoids were isolated from the twigs and leaves of Podocarpus macrophyllus. Their structures were established on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis and by the comparison with spectroscopic data reported in the literature. Antioxidant capacities of the isolated substances were determined using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl, ferrous ions, and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical in vitro assays, and their cytoprotective activities were also tested on H2O2-induced apoptosis in H9c2 cardiomyocytes. The results showed that those flavonoids exhibited significant cardioprotective effects by decreasing the H2O2-induced death of H9c2 cell, and the levels of lactate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase, and by inhibiting the elevated intracellular concentration of reactive oxygen species.

Roles of non-coding RNA in pancreatic islet development and functioning.

Non-coding RNA is a kind of non-coding protein RNA which is widely present in most of the organisms. Non-coding RNA plays key roles in the embryonic development,cell fate determination,and growth control in the living organisms. MicroRNA and long non-coding RNA involve in differentiation of endocrine cell,insulin gene expression and secretion,and insulin resistance,which are closely associated with diabetes.

Floating MIL-88A(Fe)@expanded perlites catalyst for continuous photo-Fenton degradation toward tetracyclines under artificial light and real solar light.

In this work, MIL-88A(Fe) was immobilized onto the expanded perlites to fabricate the floating MIL-88A(Fe)@expanded perlites (M@EP) catalyst via high throughput batch synthesis method under room temperature. The as-prepared M@EP could efficiently activate H2O2 to achieve 100% tetracycline antibiotics (TCs) removal under both artificial low power UV light (UVL) and real sunlight (SL) irradiation. The toxicological evaluation, growth experiment of mung beans and antimicrobial estimation revealed the decreasing aquatic toxicity of the TCs intermediates compared to those of the pristine TCs. A self-designed continuous bed reactor was employed to investigate the long-term operation of the M@EP. The findings demonstrated that the antibiotics mixture can be continuously degraded up to 7 days under UVL and 5 daytimes under SL irradiation, respectively. More importantly, ca. 76.9% and 81.6% of total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiencies were accomplished in continuous bed reactor under UVL and SL irradiation, respectively. This work advances the immobilized MOFs on floating supports for their practical application in large-scale wastewater purification through advanced oxidation processes. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATION: This work presented the high throughput production and photo-Fenton degradation application of floating MIL-88A(Fe)@expanded perlites (M@EP). Three tetracycline antibiotics (TCs) were selected as model pollutants to test the degradation ability of M@EP in batch experiment and continuous operation under artificial light and solar light. The complete TCs degradation could be accomplished in self-designed device up to 7 d under UV light and 5 d under real solar light. This work tapped a new door to push MOFs-based functional materials in the real water purification.

Temporal niche partitioning among sympatric wild and domestic ungulates between warm and cold seasons.

The coexistence of sympatric species with similar ecological niches has been a central issue in ecology. Clarifying the daily activity patterns of sympatric wild ungulates can help understand their temporal niche differentiation and the mechanisms of coexistence, providing information for their conservation. The Baotianman National Nature Reserve in northern China is rich in wild ungulates, but little is known about the daily activity patterns of wild ungulates in the area, making it difficult to develop effective conservation strategies. We studied five representative wild ungulates (i.e. forest musk deer, Chinese goral, Reeve's muntjac, Siberian roe deer, and wild boar) of the region using camera-trapping data, focusing on the seasonal daily activity patterns and effects of seasonal grazing of domestic sheep, to reveal their coexistence based on temporal ecological niche differentiation. Comparative analyses of the seasonal daily activity showed that forest musk deer exhibited a single-peak activity in the warm season. Other ungulates exhibited multipeak activity. All five ungulates differed significantly in daily activity patterns. Notably, wild boar and Reeve's muntjac showed high overlap coefficients between the cold and warm seasons. In both cold and warm seasons, the five wild ungulates and domestic sheep displayed low overlap in their daily activity rhythms potentially indicating temporal ecological niche differentiation. The results suggest that temporal isolation might be a strategy for wild ungulates to avoid domestic sheep and reduce interspecific competition, and that temporal ecological niche differentiation potentially promoted the coexistence among the studied sympatric ungulates. This understanding may provide new insights for the development of targeted conservation strategies.

Downregulation of Serum PTEN Expression in Mercury-Exposed Population and PI3K/AKT Pathway-Induced Inflammation.

Objective: This study investigated the impact of occupational mercury (Hg) exposure on human gene transcription and expression, and its potential biological mechanisms. Methods: Differentially expressed genes related to Hg exposure were identified and validated using gene expression microarray analysis and extended validation. Hg-exposed cell models and PTEN low-expression models were established in vitro using 293T cells. PTEN gene expression was assessed using qRT-PCR, and Western blotting was used to measure PTEN, AKT, and PI3K protein levels. IL-6 expression was determined by ELISA. Results: Combined findings from gene expression microarray analysis, bioinformatics, and population expansion validation indicated significant downregulation of the PTEN gene in the high-concentration Hg exposure group. In the Hg-exposed cell model (25 and 10 µmol/L), a significant decrease in PTEN expression was observed, accompanied by a significant increase in PI3K, AKT, and IL-6 expression. Similarly, a low-expression cell model demonstrated that PTEN gene knockdown led to a significant decrease in PTEN protein expression and a substantial increase in PI3K, AKT, and IL-6 levels. Conclusion: This is the first study to report that Hg exposure downregulates the PTEN gene, activates the PI3K/AKT regulatory pathway, and increases the expression of inflammatory factors, ultimately resulting in kidney inflammation.