Unveiling the molecular mechanisms of size-dependent effect of polystyrene micro/nano-plastics on Chlamydomonas reinhardtii through proteomic profiling.

Microplastics have become a prevalent environmental pollutant due to widespread release and production. Algae, as primary producers, play a crucial role in maintaining the ecological balance of freshwater environments. Despite reports on the inhibition of microalgae by microplastics, the size-dependent effects on microalgae and associated molecular mechanism remain poorly understood. This study investigates the impacts of three polystyrene micro/nano-plastics (PS-MNPs) with different sizes (100 nm, 350 nm, and 6 µm) and concentrations (25-200 mg/L) on Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (C. reinhardtii) throughout its growth period. Results reveal size- and concentration-dependent growth inhibition and induction of oxidative stress by PS-MNPs, with microalgae exhibiting increased vulnerability to smaller-sized and higher-concentration PS-MNPs. Proteomics analysis elucidates the size-dependent suppression of proteins involved in the photosynthesis process by PS-MNPs. Photosynthetic activity assays demonstrate that smaller PS-MNPs more significantly reduce chlorophyll content and the maximal photochemical efficiency of photosystem II. Finally, electron microscope and Western blot assays collectively confirm the size effect of PS-MNPs on microalgae growth is attributable to suppressed protein expression rather than shading effects. This study contributes to advancing our understanding of the intricate interactions between micro/nano-plastics and algae at the molecular level, emphasizing the efficacy of proteomics in dissecting the mechanistic aspects of microplastics-induced biological effects on environmental indicator organisms.

Construction of yield loss indicators for cold vortex, light-temperature-water combined stress during the flowering period of rice in Northeast China.

The construction of a yield loss evaluation index for the cold vortex type light-temperature-water composite adversity during rice flowering period in Northeast China is important for elucidating the impacts of cold vortex type composite disasters on rice yield loss in middle and high latitude areas. Moreover, it can provide meteorological support to ensure safe production of high-quality japonica rice in China and contribute to regional disaster reduction and efficiency improvement. By combining growth period data, meteorological data, and yield data, we delineated and constructed the composite stress occurrence index of cold vortex type light-temperature-water at the flowering stage of japonica. We analyzed the relationship between factors causing disasters and yield structure, as well as the relationship between different yield structures and yield by employing BP neural network method. We further dissected the processes involved in the causation of combined disasters. Based on the K-means clustering method and historical typical disaster years, we quantified the critical thresholds and disaster grades, and established an evaluation index and model for assessing yield loss caused by combined stress from cold vortex type light-temperature-water. Finally, we examined the spatial and temporal variations of low temperature, abundant rainfall, and reduced sunlight during the flowering period in the three provinces of Northeast China. Results showed that the critical thresholds for light, temperature, and water stress index during the flowering stage of mild, moderate, and severe cold vortex types were [0, 0.21), [0.21, 0.32), and [0.32, 0.64], respectively. The rates of yield loss were [0, 0.03), [0.03, 0.08), and [0.08, 0.096], respectively. Based on the verification results of a total of 751 samples in 11 random years from 1961 to 2020, the percentage of stations for which the production reduction grade, as calculated by the composite index developed in this study, aligning with the actual production reduction grade was 63.7%, consistently exceeding 58.0% annually. Moreover, the proportion of sites with a similarity or difference level of 1 stood at 88.3%, surpassing 85.0% in each year. The index could effectively assess the extent of rice yield loss caused by cold vortex disasters in Northeast China.

Cordyceps sinensis relieves non-small cell lung cancer by inhibiting the MAPK pathway.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the pharmacodynamic mechanism underlying Cordyceps sinensis relief in a murine model of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: We created a murine model of NSCLC and studied the potential molecular mechanism by which C. sinensis relieved NSCLC using a combination of transcriptomics, proteomics, and experimental validation. RESULTS: C. sinensis markedly suppressed the fluorescence values in mice with NSCLC, improved the pathologic morphology of lung tissue, ameliorated inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6, interleukin-10, and the oxidative stress indicators superoxide dismutase, malondialdehyde, and glutathione peroxidase). Transcriptomics results showed that the therapeutic effect of C. sinensis was primarily involved in the differentiation and activation of T cells. Based on the proteomic results, C. sinensis likely exerted a protective effect by recruiting immune cells and suppressing tumor cell proliferation via the MAPK pathway. Finally, the experimental validation results indicated that C. sinensis significantly decreased the VEGF and Ki67 expression, downregulated RhoA, Raf-1, and c-fos expression, which are related to cell migration and invasion, increased the serum concentration of hematopoietic factors (EPO and GM-CSF), and improved the percentage of immune cells (natural killer cells, dendritic cells, and CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes), which enhanced immune function. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our preclinical study, C. sinensis was shown to exert a protective effect on NSCLC, primarily by inhibiting the MAPK pathway.

STEP: profiling cellular-specific targets and pathways of bioactive small molecules in tissues via integrating single-cell transcriptomics and chemoproteomics.

Identifying the cellular targets of bioactive small molecules within tissues has been a major concern in drug discovery and chemical biology research. Compared to cell line models, tissues consist of multiple cell types and complicated microenvironments. Therefore, elucidating the distribution and heterogeneity of targets across various cells in tissues would enhance the mechanistic understanding of drug or toxin action in real-life scenarios. Here, we present a novel multi-omics integration pipeline called Single-cell TargEt Profiling (STEP) that enables the global profiling of protein targets in mammalian tissues with single-cell resolution. This pipeline integrates single-cell transcriptome datasets with tissue-level protein target profiling using chemoproteomics. Taking well-established classic drugs such as aspirin, aristolochic acid, and cisplatin as examples, we confirmed the specificity and precision of cellular drug-target profiles and their associated molecular pathways in tissues using the STEP analysis. Our findings provide more informative insights into the action modes of bioactive molecules compared to in vitro models. Collectively, STEP represents a novel strategy for profiling cellular-specific targets and functional processes with unprecedented resolution.

Active Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Enhanced Internet of Medical Things.

The incredible potentiality of reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) in addressing power supply and obstacle environment of Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) has been capturing our interest. Considering the nettlesome "double-fading" effect introduced by passive RIS, we investigate an active RIS-enhanced IoMT system in this paper, where the wireless power transfer (WPT) from power station (PS) to IoMT devices and the wireless information transfer (WIT) from IoMT devices to the access point (AP) are both implemented with the assistance of active RIS. Aiming to maximize the sum throughput of the considered IoMT system, a joint design of time schedules and reflecting coefficient matrices of the active RIS is proposed. Trapped by the non-convex and obstinate optimization problem, we explore the semi-definite programming (SDP) relaxation and successive convex approximation (SCA) techniques based on alternating optimization (AO) algorithm. Simulation results verify our solution approach to the intractable optimization problem and showcase the boosted spectrum and energy efficiency of the active RIS-enhanced IoMT system.

Weighted Sum Secrecy Rate Maximization for Joint ITS- and IRS-Empowered System.

In this work, we investigate a novel intelligent surface-assisted multiuser multiple-input single-output multiple-eavesdropper (MU-MISOME) secure communication network where an intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) is deployed to enhance the secrecy performance and an intelligent transmission surface (ITS)-based transmitter is utilized to perform energy-efficient beamforming. A weighted sum secrecy rate (WSSR) maximization problem is developed by jointly optimizing transmit power allocation, ITS beamforming, and IRS phase shift. To solve this problem, we transform the objective function into an approximated concave form by using the successive convex approximation (SCA) technique. Then, we propose an efficient alternating optimization (AO) algorithm to solve the reformulated problem in an iterative way, where Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions, the alternating direction method of the multiplier (ADMM), and majorization-minimization (MM) methods are adopted to derive the closed-form solution for each subproblem. Finally, simulation results are given to verify the convergence and secrecy performance of the proposed schemes.

How eluents define proteomic fingerprinting of protein corona on nanoparticles.

Nanoparticles (NPs) have broad application prospects in the field of biomedicine due to their excellent physicochemical properties. When entering biological fluids, NPs inevitably encountered proteins and were subsequently surrounded by them, forming the termed protein corona (PC). As PC has been evidenced to have critical roles in deciding the biological fates of NPs, how to precisely characterize PC is vital to promote the clinical translation of nanomedicine by understanding and harnessing NPs' behaviors. During the centrifugation-based separation techniques for the PC preparation, direct elution has been most widely used to strip proteins from NPs due to its simpleness and robustness, but the roles of multifarious eluents have never been systematically declared. Herein, seven eluents composed of three denaturants, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), dithiothreitol (DTT), and urea (Urea), were applied to detach PC from gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and silica nanoparticles (SiNPs), and eluted proteins in PC have been carefully characterized by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and chromatography coupled tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Our results showed that SDS and DTT were the main contributors to the efficient desorption of PC on SiNPs and AuNPs, respectively. The molecular reactions between NPs and proteins were explored and verified by SDS-PAGE analysis of PC formed in the serums pretreated with protein denaturing or alkylating agents. The proteomic fingerprinting analysis indicated the difference of the eluted proteins brought by the seven eluents was the abundance rather than the species. The enrichment of some opsonins and dysopsonins in a special elution reminds us that the possibility of biased judgments on predicting NPs' biological behaviors under different elution conditions. The synergistic effects or antagonistic effects among denaturants for eluting PC were manifested in a nanoparticle-type dependent way by integrating the properties of the eluted proteins. Collectively, this study not only underlines the urgent need of choosing the appropriate eluents for identifying PC robustly and unbiasedly, but also provides an insight into the understanding of molecular interactions during PC formation.

Effects of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and adeno-associated viral vector on morphine-induced condition through target concentration changes in the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens.

Morphine remains the standard analgesic for severe pain. However, the clinical use of morphine is limited by the innate tendency of opiates to become addictive. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a growth factor that is protective against many mental disorders. This study aimed to evaluate the protective function of BDNF on morphine addiction based on the behavioural sensitisation (BS) model and assess potential changes in downstream molecular tropomyosin-related kinase receptor B (TrkB) and cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element binding protein (CREB) expression caused by overexpression of BDNF. We divided 64 male C57BL/6 J mice into saline, morphine, morphine plus adeno-associated viral vector (AAV), and morphine plus BDNF groups. After administering the treatments, behavioural tests were conducted during the development and expression phases of BS, followed by a western blot analysis. All data were analysed by one- or two-way analysis of variance. The overexpression of BDNF in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) caused by BDNF-AAV injection decreased the total distance of locomotion in mice who underwent morphine-induced BS and increased the concentrations of BDNF, TrkB, and CREB in the VTA and nucleus accumbens (NAc). BDNF exerts protective effects against morphine-induced BS by altering target gene expression in the VTA and NAc.

Fluctuation-based outlier detection.

Outlier detection is an important topic in machine learning and has been used in a wide range of applications. Outliers are objects that are few in number and deviate from the majority of objects. As a result of these two properties, we show that outliers are susceptible to a mechanism called fluctuation. This article proposes a method called fluctuation-based outlier detection (FBOD) that achieves a low linear time complexity and detects outliers purely based on the concept of fluctuation without employing any distance, density or isolation measure. Fundamentally different from all existing methods. FBOD first converts the Euclidean structure datasets into graphs by using random links, then propagates the feature value according to the connection of the graph. Finally, by comparing the difference between the fluctuation of an object and its neighbors, FBOD determines the object with a larger difference as an outlier. The results of experiments comparing FBOD with eight state-of-the-art algorithms on eight real-worlds tabular datasets and three video datasets show that FBOD outperforms its competitors in the majority of cases and that FBOD has only 5% of the execution time of the fastest algorithm. The experiment codes are available at: https://github.com/FluctuationOD/Fluctuation-based-Outlier-Detection .

Comparative Study of Planar Octahedron Molecular Structure via Eccentric Invariants.

A branch of graph theory that makes use of a molecular graph is called chemical graph theory. Chemical graph theory is used to depict a chemical molecule. A graph is connected if there is an edge between every pair of vertices. A topological index is a numerical value related to the chemical structure that claims to show a relationship between chemical structure and various physicochemical attributes, chemical reactivity, or, you could say, biological activity. In this article, we examined the topological properties of a planar octahedron network of m dimensions and computed the total eccentricity, average eccentricity, Zagreb eccentricity, geometric arithmetic eccentricity, and atom bond connectivity eccentricity indices, which are used to determine the distance between the vertices of a planar octahedron network.

Oridonin acts as a novel senolytic by targeting glutathione S-transferases to activate the ROS-p38 signaling axis in senescent cells.

Most of the known senolytics are anti-cancer drugs or their derivative molecules. However, senolytics derived from the active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are rarely reported. Here, we identified oridonin as a novel senolytic and further revealed that it might target a class of glutathione S-transferases to activate ROS-p38 signaling and induce apoptosis in senescent cells.

The Tumor Plastic Surgery Technology versus Traditional Repair Technology on the Repair of Large-Area Skin Defects after Maxillofacial Tumor Resection: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: To explore the effect of tumor plastic surgery on the repair of large-area skin defects after maxillofacial tumor resection. Methods: 90 patients undergoing maxillofacial tumor resection in our hospital from March 2019 to March 2020 were selected and randomized 1 : 1 to receive either tumor plastic surgery (experimental group) or traditional repair (control group). The clinical efficacy and facial cosmetic improvement of the two groups were compared. The Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) was used to evaluate the surgical outcomes of the two groups, the Profile of Mood States (POMS) was used to evaluate the patients' psychological status, and the Generic Quality of Life Inventory-74 (GQOLI-74) was used to assess the quality of life of patients. Results: Total clinical effective rate of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group (p < 0.001). A higher excellent rate of facial cosmetic improvement was observed in the experimental group versus the control group (p < 0.001). Significantly lower POSAS scores of the experimental group than the control group were observed (p < 0.001). The POMS scores of the experimental group after treatment were lower than those of the control group (p < 0.001). Tumor plastic surgery resulted in a remarkably higher GQOLI-74 score in the patients versus traditional repair (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Tumor plastic surgery is a promising alternative for patients undergoing maxillofacial tumor resection. It can effectively promote the recovery of facial morphology and physiological function of patients, with high clinical efficacy, so it merits promotion and application.

BDNF-AAV has protective effects on morphine-induced conditioned place preference through BDNF, TrkB, and CREB concentration changes in the VTA and NAc.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is one of the neurotrophic factors that promotes the survival and protection of neurons in many disorders. The potential protective effect of BDNF and its mechanisms on morphine addiction are unclear. In this study, morphine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) in mice was used to show the effect of BDNF on rewarding behavior. Western blot assays were used to determine the changes caused by BDNF, for example, changes in total BDNF, tropomyosin-related kinase receptor B (TrkB), and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and nucleus accumbens (NAc). The results showed that the BDNF-adeno-associated viral vector (BDNF-AAV) injected in the VTA, attenuated morphine-induced CPP with synergistic changes in BDNF/TrkB/CREB concentrations in the VTA and NAc in the CPP acquisition and recurrence phases; however, the attenuation was lower in the extinction phase, with different changes in molecules downstream of the BDNF.

Ropivacaine and Lidocaine in Double Eyelid Blepharoplasty: A Comparative Analysis.

Double eyelid blepharoplasty is an operation of changing the structure of the eyelid and reshaping the eyelid to form a new upper eyelid fold. This prospective randomized controlled study aimed to compare and evaluate the effect of ropivacaine and lidocaine in double eyelid blepharoplasty. A total of 120 patients who underwent double eyelid blepharoplasty in the beauty department of our hospital from January 2019 to July 2021 were enrolled and randomized (1 : 1) into the control group (1% lidocaine-epinephrine mixture) and the study group (0.75% ropivacaine-epinephrine mixture) via the random number table method. The 0.75% ropivacaine-epinephrine mixture led to lower Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating visual analog scale score from 2 h to 1 d after surgery versus 1% lidocaine-epinephrine mixture (all P < 0.05). The operation time, intraoperative anesthetic drug dosage, and intraoperative blood loss were similar in the two groups (all P < 0.05). The 0.75% ropivacaine-epinephrine mixture resulted in a lower postoperative swelling score, but a higher patient satisfaction score versus 1% lidocaine-epinephrine mixture (all P < 0.05). The safety profiles of the two groups were similar (all P < 0.05). Both lidocaine and ropivacaine produce desirable anesthesia effects in double eyelid blepharoplasty. Ropivacaine can significantly reduce postoperative pain and mitigate postoperative swelling, with better satisfaction, and is thus worthy of further promotion.

Corrigendum to "Role of Baicalin in Anti-Influenza Virus A as a Potent Inducer of IFN-Gamma".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2015/263630.].

Electrical lesion of bilateral ventrolateral orbital cortex impairs fear- and space-related learning and affects subsequent choice behavior.

OBJECTIVES: Although many studies have indicated that orbitofrontal cortex plays an important role in the learning and retrieval of memory and subsequent decision-making, the role of ventrolateral orbital cortex (VLO) still remains unclear, especially related to fear and space. METHODS: Four separate cohorts of rats were used in this study. After sham surgery and electrical lesion of bilateral VLO, four cohorts received active avoidance test, passive avoidance test, Morris water maze and T maze separately. RESULTS: Firstly, data shown that electrolytic lesions of bilateral VLO of Sprague-Dawley rats shortened the latency of rats to escape to darkroom in passive avoidance test. Besides, the damage of VLO also resulted in decrease of the number of active avoidance of rats from the third day during 5 consecutive days' training in active avoidance test. What's more, the impairment of VLO significantly shortened the exploring time in the target quadrant of rats in Morris water maze. Furthermore, VLO-lesions group shown lower correct alternation percentage than sham group in T maze. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicated that not only in the learning and retrieval of fear-related memory, VLO also plays an important role in the learning and retrieval of spatial-related memory guided by visual cues.

A simple and successful treatment for rupture and defect of the posterior third superior sagittal sinus caused by open depressed skull fracture: A case report.

It is extremely dangerous to treat the posterior third of the superior sagittal sinus (PTSSS) surgically, since it is usually not completely ligated. In this report, the authors described the case of a 27-year-old man with a ruptured and defective PTSSS caused by an open depressed skull fracture, which was treated by ligation of the PTSSS and the patient achieved a positive recovery. The patient's occiput was hit by a height-limiting rod and was in a mild coma. A CT scan showed an open depressed skull fracture overlying the PTSSS and a diffuse brain swelling. He underwent emergency surgery. When the skull fragments were removed, a 4 cm segment of the superior sagittal sinus (SSS) and the adjacent dura mater were removed together with bone fragments. Haemorrhage occurred and blood pressure dropped. We completed the operation by ligating the severed ends of the fractured sagittal sinus. One month after the operation, apart from visual field defects, he recovered well. In our opinion, in primary hospitals, when patients with severely injured PTSSS cannot sustain a long-time and complicated operation, e.g., the bypass using venous graft, and face life-threatening conditions, ligation of the PTSSS is another option, which may unexpectedly achieve good results.

Research on the evolution characteristics of future climate change in West Liao River Basin.

In order to explore the characteristics of climate change in the future in the West Liao River Basin under the background of future climate change, this study analyzed the changes of the annual average temperature, annual precipitation, and annual evapotranspiration from 2021 to 2060 in the West Liao River Basin under the scenarios of RCP4.5 (low emission) and RCP8.5 (high emission) originated from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fifth Assessment Report. The results show that (1) under the two different scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5), the annual average temperature in the West Liao River Basin is 7.67 °C and 8.12 °C, respectively, and the temperature shows an upward trend; the mutation years of RCP4.5 are more than those of RCP8.5; the annual average temperature of RCP4.5 is controlled by periods of 22 years and 29 years, while RCP8.5 has only one main period of 29 years; the contribution rates of the first eigenvector variance of EOF are 97.12% and 96.64%, respectively, and the change types are the same. The sensitive areas of variation are in the southwest and western regions respectively. (2) The annual precipitation in the West Liao River Basin under the two scenarios are 815.78mm and 798.64mm, with tendency rates of -20.51/mm/10a and 17.26/mm/10a; the mutation years in the West Liao River Basin under scenario RCP4.5 are mostly occurred in the 2030s and 2040s, while those under scenario RCP8.5 are mostly occurred in 2040s and 2050s; under scenario RCP4.5, the change is mainly controlled by shorter periods, while under scenario RCP8.5, the change is controlled by two main longer periods of 19 years and 28 years. Under the two scenarios of RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, the cumulative contribution rates of the variance of the first three eigenvectors of the EOF in the West Liao River Basin are 42% and 90.23% respectively. The first eigenvector is consistent, and the second and third eigenvectors are the reverse type of South (East)-North (West). (3) The results show that the annual evapotranspiration in the West Liao River Basin under the scenarios of RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 is 597.79mm and 618.45mm, respectively, and the trend rates are 18.20/mm/10a and 4.48/mm/10a; under scenario RCP4.5, the change is controlled by periods of 23 years and 29 years, while under scenarios RCP8.5, the change is controlled by periods of 18 years and 28 years; the contribution rates of the first eigenvector variance of EOF are 91.05% and 89.51% respectively, and they are consistent distribution, and their sensitive areas are in the southeast and central regions respectively.

Electrolytic lesions of the bilateral ventrolateral orbital cortex not only directly reduce depression-like behavior but also decreased desperate behavior induced by chronic unpredicted mild stress in rats.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have revealed that ventrolateral orbital cortex (VLO) may play an important role in the regulation of emotional behavior. However, it is not known what effect VLO damage will have on emotion regulation. RESULTS: Data showed that damage of VLO increased the anxiety-like behavior in open field test and elevated plus maze, and decreased the depressive behavior in forced swimming test and learned helplessness test. Besides, the impulsive aggressive behaviors were also increased while the attack latency decreased after VLO lesion. What's more, damage of VLO decreased depressive behaviors induced by chronic unpredicted mild stress in rats. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the integrity of VLO plays an important role in emotional regulation, and the damage of VLO may inhibit the development of depression-like behavior.

Adult rhabdomyosarcoma originating in the temporal muscle, invading the skull and meninges: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a rare malignant tumor of mesenchymal origin that mainly affects children. Spindle cell/sclerosing RMS (SSRMS) is even rarer. It is a new subtype that was added to the World Health Organization disease classification in 2013. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of adult SSRMS disease classification originating in the temporal muscle. CASE SUMMARY: SSRMS originating in the temporal muscle of a male adult enlarged rapidly, destroyed the skull, and invaded the meninges. The tumor was completely removed, and the postoperative pathological diagnosis was SSRMS. Postoperative recovery was good and chemotherapy and radiotherapy were given after the operation. Followed up for 3 mo, no tumor recurred. CONCLUSION: RMS is one of the differential diagnoses for head soft tissue tumors with short-term enlargement and skull infiltration. Preoperative computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging is necessary for early detection of tumor invasion of the skull and brain tissue.