Overlooked shelf sediment reductive sinks of dissolved rhenium and uranium in the modern ocean.

Rhenium (Re) and uranium (U) are essential proxies in reconstructing past oceanic oxygenation evolution. However, their removal in continental shelf sediments, hotspots of early diagenesis, were previously treated as quantitatively unimportant sinks in the ocean. Here we examine the sedimentary reductive removal of Re and U and their coupling with organic carbon decomposition, utilizing the 224Ra/228Th disequilibria within the East China Sea shelf. We identified positive correlations between their removal fluxes and the rates of sediment oxygen consumption or organic carbon decomposition. These correlations enable an evaluation of global shelf reductive sinks that are comparable to (for Re) or higher than (~4-fold for U) previously established suboxic/anoxic sinks. These findings suggest potential imbalances in the modern budgets of Re and U, or perhaps a substantial underestimation of their sources. Our study thus highlights shelf sedimentary reductive removal as critical yet overlooked sinks for Re and U in the modern ocean.

Altered functional connectivity of cerebellar subregions in male patients with obstructive sleep apnea: A resting-state fMRI study.

PURPOSE: Previous studies have demonstrated impaired cerebellar function in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which is associated with impaired cognition. However, the effects of OSA on resting-state functional connectivity (FC) in the cerebellum has not been determined. The purpose of this study was to investigate resting-state FC of the cerebellar subregions and its relevance to clinical symptoms in patients with OSA. METHODS: Sixty-eight patients with OSA and seventy-two healthy controls (HCs) were included in the study. Eight subregions of the cerebellum were selected as regions of interest, and the FC values were calculated for each subregion with other voxels. A correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationship between clinical and cognitive data. RESULTS: Patients with OSA showed higher FC in specific regions, including the right lobule VI with the right posterior middle temporal gyrus and right angular gyrus, the right Crus I with the bilateral precuneus/left superior parietal lobule, and the right Crus II with the precuneus/right posterior cingulate cortex. Furthermore, the oxygen depletion index was negatively correlated with aberrant FC between the right Crus II and the bilateral precuneus / right posterior cingulate cortex in OSA patients (p = 0.004). CONCLUSION: The cerebellum is functionally lateralized and closely linked to the posterior default mode network. Higher FC is related to cognition, emotion, language, and sleep in OSA. Abnormal FC may offer new neuroimaging evidence and insights for a deeper comprehension of OSA-related alterations.

Infarct-related artery only revascularization versus multi-vessel revascularization for patients with Killip I-IV acute myocardial infarction and multivessel disease.

BACKGROUND: The optimal revascularization strategy for non-culprit vessels is still up for debate nowadays, particularly when it comes to individuals with different Killip classes. Therefore, the aim of our study was to investigate whether multivessel revascularization, as compared with infarct-related artery (IRA) alone revascularization, improves long-term prognosis in patients who have experienced an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and have multivessel coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical data from 646 patients who presented with AMI and multivessel CAD at Beijing Chaoyang hospital between November 2014 and November 2020. Based on various revascularization strategies, patients were categorised into two groups: IRA-only revascularization (n = 416) and multivessel revascularization (n = 230). The primary endpoint was cardiovascular death. RESULTS: In the following 60.6 months (60.6 ± 23.9), the primary endpoint occurred in 3% of the multivessel revascularization group versus 9.6% in the IRA-only revascularization group (HR 0.284, CI 0.120-0.669, p = 0.002). For the Killip I-II patients (n = 533), the primary endpoint occurred in 2.6% of the multivessel revascularization group versus 9.5% in the IRA-only revascularization group (HR 0.236, CI 0.083-0.667, p = 0.003). For Killip III-IV patients (n = 113), there was no significance differences in the primary endpoint. After using the inverse probability weighted method, the benefit of complete revascularization was consistently observed. CONCLUSIONS: Multivessel revascularization significantly reduced the incidence of cardiovascular death for patients presenting with AMI and multivessel CAD, particularly for Killip I-II patients. There were no significant differences in the primary outcome across the groups of patients with Killip III-IV.

Narrow band imaging-based radiogenomics for predicting radiosensitivity in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Objectives: This study aims to assess the efficacy of narrow band imaging (NBI) endoscopy in utilizing radiomics for predicting radiosensitivity in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), and to explore the associated molecular mechanisms. Materials: The study included 57 NPC patients who were pathologically diagnosed and underwent RNA sequencing. They were categorized into complete response (CR) and partial response (PR) groups after receiving radical concurrent chemoradiotherapy. We analyzed 267 NBI images using ResNet50 for feature extraction, obtaining 2048 radiomic features per image. Using Python for deep learning and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator for feature selection, we identified differentially expressed genes associated with radiomic features. Subsequently, we conducted enrichment analysis on these genes and validated their roles in the tumor immune microenvironment through single-cell RNA sequencing. Results: After feature selection, 54 radiomic features were obtained. The machine learning algorithm constructed from these features showed that the random forest algorithm had the highest average accuracy rate of 0.909 and an area under the curve of 0.961. Correlation analysis identified 30 differential genes most closely associated with the radiomic features. Enrichment and immune infiltration analysis indicated that tumor-associated macrophages are closely related to treatment responses. Three key NBI differentially expressed immune genes (NBI-DEIGs), namely CCL8, SLC11A1, and PTGS2, were identified as regulators influencing treatment responses through macrophages. Conclusion: NBI-based radiomics models introduce a novel and effective method for predicting radiosensitivity in NPC. The molecular mechanisms may involve the functional states of macrophages, as reflected by key regulatory genes.

Predictive value of CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT features on spread through air space in lung adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Lung adenocarcinoma, a leading cause of cancer-related mortality, demands precise prognostic indicators for effective management. The presence of spread through air space (STAS) indicates adverse tumor behavior. However, comparative differences between 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography(PET)/computed tomography(CT) and CT in predicting STAS in lung adenocarcinoma remain inadequately explored. This retrospective study analyzes preoperative CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT features to predict STAS, aiming to identify key predictive factors and enhance clinical decision-making. METHODS: Between February 2022 and April 2023, 100 patients (108 lesions) who underwent surgery for clinical lung adenocarcinoma were enrolled. All these patients underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT, thin-section chest CT scan, and pathological biopsy. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT image characteristics. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to identify a cut-off value. RESULTS: Sixty lesions were positive for STAS, and 48 lesions were negative for STAS. The STAS-positive was frequently observed in acinar predominant. However, STAS-negative was frequently observed in minimally invasive adenocarcinoma. Univariable analysis results revealed that CT features (including nodule type, maximum tumor diameter, maximum solid component diameter, consolidation tumor ratio, pleural indentation, lobulation, spiculation) and all 18F-FDG PET/CT characteristics were statistically significant difference in STAS-positive and STAS-negative lesions. And multivariate logistic regression results showed that the maximum tumor diameter and SUVmax were the independent influencing factors of CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT in STAS, respectively. The area under the curve of maximum tumor diameter and SUVmax was 0.68 vs. 0.82. The cut-off value for maximum tumor diameter and SUVmax was 2.35 vs. 5.05 with a sensitivity of 50.0% vs. 68.3% and specificity of 81.2% vs. 87.5%, which showed that SUVmax was superior to the maximum tumor diameter. CONCLUSION: The radiological features of SUVmax is the best model for predicting STAS in lung adenocarcinoma. These radiological features could predict STAS with excellent specificity but inferior sensitivity.

Activating the Intrinsic Zincophilicity of PAM Hydrogel to Stabilize the Metal-Electrolyte Dynamic Interface for Stable and Long-Life Zinc Metal Batteries.

As a potential material to solve rampant dendrites and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) problem of aqueous zinc metal batteries (AZMB), hydrogel electrolytes usually require additional additives or multi-molecular network strategies to solve existing problems of ionic conductivity, mechanical properties and interface stability. However, the intrinsic zincophilic properties of the gel itself are widely neglected leading to the addition of additional molecules and the complexity of the preparation process. In this work, we innovatively utilize the characteristics of acrylamide's high zincophilic group density, activating the intrinsic zincophilic properties of PAM gel through a simple concentration control strategy which reconstructs a novel zinc-electrolyte interface different from conventional PAM electrolyte. The activated novel gel electrolyte with intrinsic zincophilic properties has high ionic conductivity and effectively suppresses water activity, thereby inhibiting HER corrosion. Meanwhile, it induces uniform deposition of (002) crystal planes, leading to excellent deposition kinetics and long cycle life, thereby ensuring high interfacial stability. Compared with conventional PAM gel electrolytes, the activated zincophilic group-rich hydrogel maintained excellent cycling stability (1 mA/cm2, 1 mAh/cm2) over 2250 hours; The Zn//MnO2 coin cell using novel zincophilic group -rich hydrogel still retains a high specific capacity of more than 170 mAh/g at 0.5 A/g after 1000 cycles.

Phthalate metabolites and sex steroid hormones in relation to obesity in US adults: NHANES 2013-2016.

Background: Obesity and metabolic syndrome pose significant health challenges in the United States (US), with connections to disruptions in sex hormone regulation. The increasing prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome might be associated with exposure to phthalates (PAEs). Further exploration of the impact of PAEs on obesity is crucial, particularly from a sex hormone perspective. Methods: A total of 7780 adult participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2013 to 2016 were included in the study. Principal component analysis (PCA) coupled with multinomial logistic regression was employed to elucidate the association between urinary PAEs metabolite concentrations and the likelihood of obesity. Weighted quartiles sum (WQS) regression was utilized to consolidate the impact of mixed PAEs exposure on sex hormone levels (total testosterone (TT), estradiol and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG)). We also delved into machine learning models to accurately discern obesity status and identify the key variables contributing most to these models. Results: Principal Component 1 (PC1), characterized by mono(2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate (MECPP), mono(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP), and mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP) as major contributors, exhibited a negative association with obesity. Conversely, PC2, with monocarboxyononyl phthalate (MCNP), monocarboxyoctyl phthalate (MCOP), and mono(3-carboxypropyl) phthalate (MCPP) as major contributors, showed a positive association with obesity. Mixed exposure to PAEs was associated with decreased TT levels and increased estradiol and SHBG. During the exploration of the interrelations among obesity, sex hormones, and PAEs, models based on Random Forest (RF) and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) algorithms demonstrated the best classification efficacy. In both models, sex hormones exhibited the highest variable importance, and certain phthalate metabolites made significant contributions to the model's performance. Conclusions: Individuals with obesity exhibit lower levels of TT and SHBG, accompanied by elevated estradiol levels. Exposure to PAEs disrupts sex hormone levels, contributing to an increased risk of obesity in US adults. In the exploration of the interrelationships among these three factors, the RF and XGBoost algorithm models demonstrated superior performance, with sex hormones displaying higher variable importance.

Clinical evaluation of pulmonary quantitative computed tomography parameters for diagnosing eosinophilic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Characteristics and diagnostic performance.

Aims: To investigate the characteristics and diagnostic performance of quantitative computed tomography (QCT) parameters in eosinophilic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. Methods: High-resolution CT scans of COPD patients were retrospectively analyzed, and various emphysematous parenchyma measurements, including lung volume (LC), lung mean density (LMD), lung standard deviation (LSD), full-width half maximum (FWHM), and lung relative voxel number (LRVN) were performed. The QCT parameters were compared between eosinophilic and noneosinophilic COPD patients, using a definition of eosinophilic COPD as blood eosinophil values ≥ 300 cells·µL-1 on at least three times. Receiver operating characteristic curves and area under the curve (ROC-AUC) and python were used to evaluate discriminative efficacy of QCT. Results: Noneosinophilic COPD patients had a significantly lower TLMD (-846.3 ± 47.9 Hounsfield Unit [HU]) and TFWHM(162.5 ± 30.6 HU) compared to eosinophilic COPD patients (-817.8 ± 54.4, 177.3 ± 33.1 HU, respectively) (p = 0.018, 0.03, respectively). Moreover, the total LC (TLC) and TLSD were significantly lower in eosinophilic COPD group (3234.4 ± 1145.8, 183.8 ± 33.9 HU, respectively) than the noneosinophilic COPD group (5600.2 ± 1248.4, 203.5 ± 20.4 HU, respectively) (p = 0.009, 0.002, respectively). The ROC-AUC values for TLC, TLMD, TLSD, and TFWHM were 0.91 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.828-0.936), 0.66 (95% CI, 0.546-0.761), 0.64 (95% CI, 0.524-0.742), and 0.63 (95% CI, 0.511-0.731), respectively. When the TLC value was 4110 mL, the sensitivity was 90.7% (95% CI, 79.7-96.9), specificity was 77.8% (95% CI, 57.7-91.4) and accuracy was 86.4%. Notably, TLC demonstrated the highest discriminative efficiency with an F1 Score of 0.79, diagnostic Odds Ratio of 34.3 and Matthews Correlation Coefficient of 0.69, surpassing TLMD (0.55, 3.66, 0.25), TLSD (0.56, 3.95, 0.26), and TFWHM (0.56, 4.16, 0.33). Conclusion: Eosinophilic COPD patients exhibit lower levels of emphysema and a more uniform density distribution throughout the lungs compared to noneosinophilic COPD patients. Furthermore, TLC demonstrated the highest diagnostic efficiency and may serve as a valuable diagnostic marker for distinguishing between the two groups.

Education to improve timeliness of shingles diagnosis: Cluster RCT and qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Herpes zoster (shingles) is normally diagnosed clinically. Timely diagnosis is important so antiviral treatment can be started soon after rash onset. AIM: To assess whether a practice-level educational intervention, aimed at non-clinical patient-facing staff, improves the timely assessment of patients with shingles. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cluster randomised Study Within A Trial (SWAT) with nested qualitative study in General Practices in England. METHODS: Practices were cluster randomised 1:1, stratified by centre and minimised by practice list size and index of multiple deprivation score. Intervention practices were sent educational materials, highlighting the common presenting features of shingles and what action to take if suspected. The primary and secondary outcomes were the mean proportion of patients per practice seen within 72 hours and 144 of rash onset, respectively. Comparison between groups was conducted using linear regression, adjusting for randomisation variables. Semi-structured interviews with practice staff in intervention practices explored views and opinions of the intervention. RESULTS: 67 practices were enrolled; 34 randomised to intervention, 33 to control. The mean difference in proportion of patients seen within 72 and 144 hours was -0.132 (95% CI -0.308, 0.043) and -0.039 (95% CI -0.158, 0.080), respectively. In intervention practices, 90.5% reported distributing the educational materials, however engagement with these was suboptimal. 12 participants were interviewed, and the poster component of the intervention was said to be easiest to implement. CONCLUSION: Our educational intervention did not improve the timely assessment of patients with shingles. This may be the result of poor intervention engagement.

Identification of bZIP Transcription Factors That Regulate the Development of Leaf Epidermal Cells in Arabidopsis thaliana by Single-Cell RNA Sequencing.

Epidermal cells are the main avenue for signal and material exchange between plants and the environment. Leaf epidermal cells primarily include pavement cells, guard cells, and trichome cells. The development and distribution of different epidermal cells are tightly regulated by a complex transcriptional regulatory network mediated by phytohormones, including jasmonic acid, and transcription factors. How the fate of leaf epidermal cells is determined, however, is still largely unknown due to the diversity of cell types and the complexity of their regulation. Here, we characterized the transcriptional profiles of epidermal cells in 3-day-old true leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana using single-cell RNA sequencing. We identified two genes encoding BASIC LEUCINE-ZIPPER (bZIP) transcription factors, namely bZIP25 and bZIP53, which are highly expressed in pavement cells and early-stage meristemoid cells. Densities of pavement cells and trichome cells were found to increase and decrease, respectively, in bzip25 and bzip53 mutants, compared with wild-type plants. This trend was more pronounced in the presence of jasmonic acid, suggesting that these transcription factors regulate the development of trichome cells and pavement cells in response to jasmonic acid.

Immune checkpoint ligands expressed on mature high endothelial venules predict poor prognosis of NSCLC: have a relationship with CD8+ T lymphocytes infiltration.

Background: An insufficient number of intratumoral CD8+ T lymphocytes is a major barrier to antitumor immunity and immunotherapy. High endothelial venules (HEVs) are the major sites through which lymphocytes enter tumors; however, the molecular mechanism through which HEVs mediate CD8+ T lymphocyte infiltration remains poorly understood. Methods: Forty-two patients with stage IIIA lung adenocarcinoma, who underwent surgery, were recruited. Multiplex immunohistochemical staining was conducted on tumor tissues to detect the immune checkpoint ligands (ICLs) expressed in the HEVs, blood vessels, and lymphatics. A new ICL score model was constructed to evaluate ligand expression. The relationship between ICL score, tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cell frequency, and survival of patients was investigated. Results: Mature HEVs, but not blood vessels or lymphatics, mediated CD8+ T cell infiltration. However, the ICLs expressed on mature HEVs could negatively regulate CD8+ T cell entry into tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs). In addition, according to the results obtained using our ICLtotal score model, the expression of ICLs on HEVs was observed to be a predictor of both CD8+ T cell infiltration and survival, in which a high ICLtotal score > 1 represent a weak CD8+ T cell infiltration and a high ICLtotal score > 2 predicts poor survival. Conclusion: Using the ICL score model, we discovered that ICLs expressed on HEVs are indicative of CD8+ T cell subset infiltration in TLSs, as well as of patient survival with lung cancer.

Enhancing cold resistance in Banana (Musa spp.) through EMS-induced mutagenesis, L-Hyp pressure selection: phenotypic alterations, biomass composition, and transcriptomic insights.

BACKGROUND: The cultivation of bananas encounters substantial obstacles, particularly due to the detrimental effects of cold stress on their growth and productivity. A potential remedy that has gained attention is the utilization of ethyl mesylate (EMS)-induced mutagenesis technology, which enables the creation of a genetically varied group of banana mutants. This complex procedure entails subjecting the mutants to further stress screening utilizing L-Hyp in order to identify those exhibiting improved resistance to cold. This study conducted a comprehensive optimization of the screening conditions for EMS mutagenesis and L-Hyp, resulting in the identification of the mutant cm784, which exhibited remarkable cold resistance. Subsequent investigations further elucidated the physiological and transcriptomic responses of cm784 to low-temperature stress. RESULTS: EMS mutagenesis had a substantial effect on banana seedlings, resulting in modifications in shoot and root traits, wherein a majority of seedlings exhibited delayed differentiation and limited elongation. Notably, mutant leaves displayed altered biomass composition, with starch content exhibiting the most pronounced variation. The application of L-Hyp pressure selection aided in the identification of cold-resistant mutants among seedling-lethal phenotypes. The mutant cm784 demonstrated enhanced cold resistance, as evidenced by improved survival rates and reduced symptoms of chilling injury. Physiological analyses demonstrated heightened activities of antioxidant enzymes and increased proline production in cm784 when subjected to cold stress. Transcriptome analysis unveiled 946 genes that were differentially expressed in cm784, with a notable enrichment in categories related to 'Carbohydrate transport and metabolism' and 'Secondary metabolites biosynthesis, transport, and catabolism'. CONCLUSION: The present findings provide insights into the molecular mechanisms that contribute to the heightened cold resistance observed in banana mutants. These mechanisms encompass enhanced carbohydrate metabolism and secondary metabolite biosynthesis, thereby emphasizing the adaptive strategies employed to mitigate the detrimental effects induced by cold stress.

Zero-dimensional hybrid tin halides with stable broadband light emissions.

Considering the instability and toxicity of 3D Pb-based perovskite nanocrystals, lead-free low-dimensional organic-inorganic hybrid metal halides have attracted widespread attention as potential substitutes. Herein, two new tin-based 0D halides [H4BAPP]SnBr5·Br and [H4BAPP]SnCl5·Cl·H2O (BAPP = 1,4-bis(3-aminopropyl)piperazine) were synthesized successfully based on [SnX5]3- as an emission center. Typically, [H4BAPP]SnBr5·Br and [H4BAPP]SnCl5·Cl·H2O display broadband yellow and yellow-green light emissions originating from the radiative recombination of self-trapped excitons (STEs). The photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs) of the two compounds were calculated to be 19.27% and 2.36%, respectively. Furthermore, the excellent chemical and thermal stability and broadband light emissions reveal their potential application in solid-state white lighting diodes.

Prognostic value of native T1 and extracellular volume in patients with immunoglubin light-chain amyloidosis.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac involvement in patients with immunoglubin light-chain amyloidosis (AL) is a major determinant of treatment choice and prognosis, and early identification of high-risk patients can initiate intensive treatment strategies to achieve better survival. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of native T1 and ECV in patients with AL-cardiac amyloidosis (CA). METHODS: A total of 38 patients (mean age 59 ± 11 years) with AL diagnosed histopathologically from July 2017 to October 2021 were collected consecutively. All patients were performed 3.0-T cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) including cine, T1 mapping, and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE). Pre- and post-contrast T1 mapping images were transferred to a dedicated research software package (CVI42 v5.11.3) to create parametric T1 and ECV values. In addition, clinical and laboratory data of all patients were collected, and patients or their family members were regularly followed up by telephone every 3 months. The starting point of follow-up was the time of definitive pathological diagnosis, and the main endpoint was all-cause death. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional risk model were used to evaluate the association between native T1 and ECV and death in patients with CA. RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 27 (16, 37) months, 12 patients with CA died. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that elevated native T1 and ECV were closely associated with poor prognosis in patients with CA. The survival rate of patients with ECV > 44% and native T1 > 1389ms were significantly lower than that of patients with ECV ≤ 44% and native T1 ≤ 1389ms (Log-rank P < 0.001), and was not associated with the presence of LGE. After adjusting for clinical risk factors and CMR measurements in a stepwise multivariate Cox regression model, ECV [risk ratio (HR):1.37, 95%CI: 1.09-1.73, P = 0.008] and native T1 (HR:1.01, 95%CI: 1.00-1.02, P = 0.037) remained independent predictors of all-cause mortality in patients with CA. CONCLUSIONS: Both native T1 and ECV were independently prognostic for mortality in patients with CA, and can be used as important indicators for clinical prognosis assessment of AL.

An interactive web application to identify early Parkinsonian non-tremor-dominant subtypes.

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with tremor-dominant (TD) and non-tremor-dominant (NTD) subtypes exhibit heterogeneity. Rapid identification of different motor subtypes may help to develop personalized treatment plans. METHODS: The data were acquired from the Parkinson's Disease Progression Marker Initiative (PPMI). Following the identification of predictors utilizing recursive feature elimination (RFE), seven classical machine learning (ML) models, including logistic regression, support vector machine, decision tree, random forest, extreme gradient boosting, etc., were trained to predict patients' motor subtypes, evaluating the performance of models through the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and validating by the follow-up data. RESULTS: The feature subset engendered by RFE encompassed 20 features, comprising some clinical assessments and cerebrospinal fluid α-synuclein (CSF α-syn). ML models fitted in the RFE subset performed better in the test and validation sets. The best performing model was support vector machines with the polynomial kernel (P-SVM), achieving an AUC of 0.898. Five-fold repeated cross-validation showed the P-SVM model with CSF α-syn performed better than the model without CSF α-syn (P = 0.034). The Shapley additive explanation plot (SHAP) illustrated that how the levels of each feature affect the predicted probability as NTD subtypes. CONCLUSION: An interactive web application was developed based on the P-SVM model constructed from feature subset by RFE. It can identify the current motor subtypes of PD patients, making it easier to understand the status of patients and develop personalized treatment plans.

Cannabidiol Exerts Sedative and Hypnotic Effects in Normal and Insomnia Model Mice Through Activation of 5-HT1A Receptor.

Cannabis sativa has been used for improving sleep for long history. Cannabidiol (CBD) has drown much attention as a non-addictive psychoactive component in Cannabis sativa extract. However, the effects of CBD on sleep architecture and it's acting mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, we evaluated the sedative-hypnotic effect of cannabidiol (CBD), assessed the effects of CBD on sleep using a wireless physiological telemetry system. We further explored the therapeutic effects of CBD using 4-chloro-dl-phenylalanine (PCPA) induced insomnia model and changes in sleep latency, sleep duration and intestinal flora were evaluated. CBD shortened sleep latency and increases sleep duration in both normal and insomnia mice, and those effects were blocked by 5-HT1A receptor antagonist WAY100635. We determined that CBD increases 5-HT1A receptors expression and 5-HT content in the hypothalamus of PCPA-pretreated mice and affects tryptophan metabolism in the intestinal flora. These results showed that activation of 5-HT1A receptors is one of the potential mechanisms underlying the sedative-hypnotic effect of CBD. This study validated the effects of CBD on sleep and evaluated its potential therapeutic effects on insomnia.

Improved Air Stability for High-Performance FACsPbI3 Perovskite Solar Cells via Bonding Engineering.

Despite the fact that perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are widely popular due to their superb power conversion efficiency (PCE), their further applications are still restricted by low stability and high-density defects. Especially, the weak binding and ion-electron properties of perovskite crystals make them susceptible to moisture attack under environmental stress. Herein, we report an overall sulfidation strategy via introduction of 1-pentanethiol (PT) into the perovskite film to inhibit bulk defects and stabilize Pb ions. It has been confirmed that the thiol groups in PT can stabilize uncoordinated Pb ions and passivate iodine vacancy defects by forming strong Pb-S bonds, thus reducing nonradiative recombination. Moreover, the favorable passivation process also optimizes the energy-level arrangement, induces better perovskite crystallization, and enhances the charge extraction in the full solar cells. Consequently, the PT-modified inverted device delivers a champion PCE of 22.46%, which is superior to that of the control device (20.21%). More importantly, the PT-modified device retains 91.5% of its initial PCE after storage in air for 1600 h and over 85% of its initial PCE after heating at 85 °C for 800 h. This work provides a new perspective to simultaneously improve the performance and stability of PSCs to satisfy their commercial applications.

Named entity recognition in aerospace based on multi-feature fusion transformer.

In recent years, along with the rapid development in the domain of artificial intelligence and aerospace, aerospace combined with artificial intelligence is the future trend. As an important basic tool for Natural Language Processing, Named Entity Recognition technology can help obtain key relevant knowledge from a large number of aerospace data. In this paper, we produced an aerospace domain entity recognition dataset containing 30 k sentences in Chinese and developed a named entity recognition model that is Multi-Feature Fusion Transformer (MFT), which combines features such as words and radicals to enhance the semantic information of the sentences. In our model, the double Feed-forward Neural Network is exploited as well to ensure MFT better performance. We use our aerospace dataset to train MFT. The experimental results show that MFT has great entity recognition performance, and the F1 score on aerospace dataset is 86.10%.

Dynamic stability of Sgt2 enables selective and privileged client handover in a chaperone triad.

Membrane protein biogenesis poses acute challenges to protein homeostasis, and how they are selectively escorted to the target membrane is not well understood. Here we address this question in the guided-entry-of-tail-anchored protein (GET) pathway, in which tail-anchored membrane proteins (TAs) are relayed through an Hsp70-Sgt2-Get3 chaperone triad for targeting to the endoplasmic reticulum. We show that the Hsp70 ATPase cycle and TA substrate drive dimeric Sgt2 from a wide-open conformation to a closed state, in which TAs are protected by both substrate binding domains of Sgt2. Get3 is privileged to receive TA from closed Sgt2, whereas off-pathway chaperones remove TAs from open Sgt2. Sgt2 closing is less favorable with suboptimal GET substrates, which are rejected during or after the Hsp70-to-Sgt2 handover. Our results demonstrate how fine-tuned conformational dynamics in Sgt2 enable hydrophobic TAs to be effectively funneled onto their dedicated targeting factor while also providing a mechanism for substrate selection.

[Gly14]-humanin exerts a protective effect against D-galactose-induced primary ovarian insufficiency in mice.

RESEARCH QUESTION: Is there a protective effect of the humanin derivative [Gly14]-humanin (HNG) on a D-gal-induced mouse model of primary ovarian insufficiency (POI), and what is the underlying mechanism? DESIGN: D-gal (200 mg/kg/day) was injected subcutaneously for 6 weeks to induce the mouse POI model. Mice treated with HNG were injected intraperitoneally with different concentrations for 6 weeks. Ovarian morphology, function, levels of sex hormones and states of oxidative stress in the ovary and body were evaluated. RESULTS: Compared with the D-gal group, 10 mg/kg HNG improved the abnormal ovarian morphology and oestrous cycle (P = 0.0036), increased the number of ovarian follicles (P = 0.0016) and litters (P = 0.0127), and increased the levels of oestrogen (P = 0.0043) and AMH (P = 0.0147). Antioxidant indicators in the ovaries and serum of mice, including total antioxidant capacity (P = 0.0004 and P = 0.0032, respectively), catalase (P = 0.0173 and P = 0.0103, respectively) and glutathione (both P < 0.0001) were significantly increased. The oxidation indicator malondialdehyde decreased significantly (all P < 0.01). Apoptosis of ovarian granulosa cells was significantly reduced (P = 0.0140) as was the expression of senescence-related proteins p53, p21 and p16 (all P < 0.01). The level of autophagy in ovarian tissue of mice treated with high increased (significantly increased LC3 protein [P < 0.0001] and significantly reduced p62 protein [P = 0.0007]). CONCLUSIONS: HNG inhibited D-gal-induced oxidative stress, apoptosis and ovarian damage, promoting ovarian autophagy. HNG may be a potential prophylactic agent against POI.