Decades-long organic tea production is distinguished by N deficiency: Evidence from soil and tea δ15N data.

To investigate the possibility of identifying commercial organic teas from conventional teas based on their isotopic signatures, we sampled tea leaves and soil samples from three tea gardens in Pu'er, China, that underwent decades of certified organic cultivation and compared them with adjacent conventional gardens. We found that long-term organic tea cultivation increased the soil organic carbon and soil pH but significantly decreased the total N content of tea. Higher δ15N values were observed in the organic teas, but significant overlap existed with non-organic teas. The lower N content of the organic tea and contrasting pattern between the organic tea δ15N and soil δ15N suggested that the decline of the N availability could potentially act as a robust characteristic for discriminating between organic and non-organic tea cultivation systems. Further analysis implies that combining tea and soil N content with δ15N value is a promising approach to organic tea identification.

Prediction of air pollutant concentrations based on the long short-term memory neural network.

In recent years, environmental problems caused by air pollutants have received increasing attention. Effective prediction of air pollutant concentrations is an important way to protect the public from harm. Recently, due to extreme climate and social development, the forest fire frequency has increased. During the biomass combustion process caused by forest fires, the content of particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere increases significantly. However, most existing air pollutant concentration prediction methods do not consider the considerable impact of forest fires, and effective long-term prediction models have not been established to provide early warnings for harmful gases. Therefore, in this paper, we collected a daily air quality data set (aerodynamic diameter smaller than 2.5 µm, PM2.5) for Heilongjiang Province, China, from 2017 to 2023 and A novel Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model was proposed to effectively predict the situation of air pollutants. The model could automatically extract information of the effective time step from the historical data set and combine forest fire disturbance and climate data as auxiliary data to improve the model prediction ability. Moreover, we created artificial neural network (ANN) and permissive regression (support vector machine, SVR) models for comparative experiments. The results showed that the precision accuracy of the developed LSTM model is higher. Unlike the other models, the LSTM neural network model could effectively predict the concentration of air pollutants in long-term series. Regarding long-term observation missions (7 days), the proposed model performed well and stably, with R2 reaching over 88%.

Role of systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) in assessing clinical efficacy of TNF-α inhibitors for rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To find out if systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) has the potential to determine the clinical efficacy of TNF-α inhibitors in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted in 154 RA patients who were treated from January 2021 to January 2023. The patients were grouped, based on their treatment response, into ineffective (32 cases) and effective (122 cases) groups. Univariate analysis was conducted to evaluate the clinical data, test indicators, and functional scores. Lasso regression was employed to identify factors impacting patient outcomes. Predictive utility of these factors was assessed via receiver operating characteristic curves, and differences were evaluated using the DeLong test. RESULTS: No significant difference was identified in age, gender, disease duration, and other clinical parameters between the two groups (P>0.05). The effective group exhibited lower pre-treatment counts of neutrophils, lymphocytes, as well as SII, C-reactive protein (CRP), rheumatoid factor (RF), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), but higher platelet count (P<0.01). Lasso regression found that neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, SII, CRP, RF, and ESR were associated with the treatment efficacy (P<0.05). Among these, SII and lymphocytes demonstrated the highest predictive value in the DeLong test. CONCLUSION: SII along with multiple other pre-treatment parameters are significantly associated with the efficacy of TNF-α inhibitors in the treatment of RA. Notably, SII emerges as a crucial tool in evaluating the efficacy of this treatment.

Ultrasonic-assisted extraction brings high-yield polysaccharides from Kangxian flowers with cosmetic potential.

The purpose of this work was to ameliorate the yield of polysaccharides from Kangxian flowers (PKFs) using ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) and to explore the structural features and cosmetic potential of PKFs obtained under the optimized UAE. According to response surface methodology, the optimal UAE for PKFs were liquid-to-solid ratio of 59: 1 mL/g, ultrasonic power of 404 W, time of 48 min, and temperature of 66℃, under which the yield of PKFs reached 26.8 ± 1.76 %, 2.6-folds higher than hot-water extraction. By comparing the microstructures, it can be seen that ultrasonication exerted great damage on Kangxian flowers to promote the outflow of PKFs. Various analyses revealed that the PKFs extracted with UAE were acidic polysaccharides with relatively lower molecular weights of 0.92 - 76.9 kDa, negatively charged potential of -16.3 mV, and arabinose the dominant monosaccharide followed by galactose. These structural features conferred PKFs pronounced antioxidant, moistureabsorptionandretentionproperties, showing great potential for cosmetic application.

First-Principles Study of χ3-Borophene as a Candidate for Gas Sensing and the Removal of Harmful Gases.

The potential application of borophene as a sensing material for gas-sensing devices is investigated in this work. We utilize density functional theory (DFT) to systematically study the adsorption mechanism and sensing performance of χ3-borophene to search for high-sensitivity sensors for minor pollutant gases. We compare the results to those for two Pmmn borophenes. The first-principles calculations are used to analyze the sensing performance of the three different borophenes (2 Pmmn borophene, 8 Pmmn borophene, and χ3-borophene) on five leading harmful gases (CO, NH3, SO2, H2S, and NO2). The adsorption configuration, adsorption energy, and electronic properties of χ3-borophene are investigated. Our results indicate that the mechanism of adsorption on χ3-borophene is chemisorption for NO2 and physisorption for SO2 and H2S. The mode of adsorption of CO and NH3 on χ3-borophene can be both physisorption and chemisorption, depending on the initially selected sites. Analyses of the charge transfer and density of states show that χ3-borophene is selective toward the adsorption of harmful gases and that N and O atoms form covalent bonds when chemisorbed on the surface of χ3-borophene. An interesting phenomenon is that when 8 Pmmn borophene adsorbs SO2, the gas molecules are dismembered and strongly adsorb on the surface of 8 Pmmn borophene, which provides a way of generating O2 while adsorbing harmful substances. Overall, the results of this work demonstrate the potential applications of borophene as a sensing material for harmful gas sensing or removal.

Arsenene as a promising sensor for the detection of H2S: a first-principles study.

To explore the feasibility of arsenene in detecting H2S gas, we employ the density-functional theory to investigate the geometry, electronic structure and magnetic properties of defected and doped arsenene. Point defects do not appreciably improve the sensing performance of arsenene due to small adsorption energies and charge transfer. The doping of transition metals (Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Co and Ni) introduces magnetic moments and narrows the band gap of arsenene. Transition metal (TM) dopants can enhance the interaction between H2S and a modified arsenene substrate. Adsorption energies and charge transfers increase significantly, and the adsorption converts to chemisorption. After adsorption, the Ti and Cr-doped system's band gap change is twice that of the pristine and defective arsenene. The adsorption of H2S changes the system properties of two TM-doped arsenenes: Ti-doped arsenene transforms from semiconductor to half-metal, and Ni-doped arsenene transforms from half-metal to conductor. Electrical signals can be observed in this process to detect H2S molecules. Our calculations show that doping improves the detecting performance of arsenene to H2S molecules more efficiently than defects. Our results indicate that arsenene has a promising future in developing H2S gas sensors.

Measurement of pre-treatment inflammatory cytokine levels is valuable for prediction of treatment efficacy to tumor necrosis factor inhibitor in axial spondyloarthritis patients.

AIM: To evaluate the correlation of inflammatory cytokines with the treatment response to tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) patients. METHODS: This study enrolled 86 axSpA patients and 20 healthy controls (HCs). Inflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, IL-12, IL-17A, IL-21, IL-23, and IL-32 were determined in serum samples of axSpA patients before treatment and in HCs after enrollment. All patients received 40 mg adalimumab every 2 weeks for 12 weeks; meanwhile, ASAS40 (40 criteria of the Assessment by the SpondyloArthritis International Society) response rates were evaluated at weeks 2, 4, 8, and 12. RESULTS: Most inflammatory cytokines were elevated in axSpA patients compared with HCs (all P < 0.05) except for IL-32 (P = 0.101). In axSpA patients, ASAS40 response rates were 0%, 19.5%, 34.5%, 47.1%, and 56.3% at weeks 0, 2, 4, 8, and 12, respectively. Baseline [interquartile range] IL-6 (47.3 [32.5-53.4] pg/mL vs 31.7 [23.0-50.9] pg/mL, P = 0.005) and IL-17A (127.9 [90.7-149.5] pg/mL vs 96.6 [56.1-112.6] pg/mL, P < 0.001) were higher in axSpA patients with ASAS40 response compared with those without ASAS40 response, while baseline TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-12, IL-21, IL-23, and IL-32 were not different between them (all P > 0.050). Multivariate logistic regression analysis disclosed that baseline IL-17A (P = 0.037), C-reactive protein (P = 0.012), and history of TNF inhibitor (P = 0.029) were independently associated with ASAS40 response. Furthermore, baseline IL-17A, C-reactive protein, history of TNFi, and their combination had an acceptable to good ability for predicting ASAS40 response. CONCLUSION: Measurement of pre-treatment inflammatory cytokine levels is valuable for predicting treatment efficacy of TNFi in axSpA patients.

Removal behaviors and mechanisms for series of azo dye wastewater by novel nano constructed macro-architectures material.

A novel macro-architectures material Fe3O4-N-GO@sodium alginate (SA) gel film was successfully produced, which was used to remove series azo dye wastewater. The optimal adsorption rates were attained, which achieved the maximum removal efficiency of 74.22%, 45.72%, 37.75% for Congo Red, Acid Orange 7 and Amino Black 10B respectively, under the condition that the mass ratio of Fe3O4-N-GO to sodium alginate was 0.11. The optimal adsorption temperature for three dyes was 30 ℃ and the adsorption equilibrium was reached at 150 min. The adsorption kinetic model of Fe3O4-N-GO@SA for the three azo dyes conformed to the quasi-second-order reaction model, and the adsorption isotherm was more in line with the Freundlich adsorption. The adsorption mechanism was multi-layer heterogeneous adsorption under the combined action of physical adsorption and chemisorption, and chemisorption was the main step of controlling the speed. The study would provide theoretical basis for the application of macro-architectures material in environment.

Distributed Formation Control: Asymptotic Stabilization Results Under Local Noisy Information.

This paper studies the relative-position-based reference-frame-free formation control in the plane for discrete-time multiagent systems under both measurement and communication noises. To achieve the desired formation, a robust distributed orientation estimate algorithm and a robust distributed formation control law are designed. The main idea of our method is to use the historical measurement information to get unbiased estimates and use the stochastic approximation method to inhibit the noise. Under mild assumptions on the measurement/communication noises and agents' initial orientation angles, we show that a common reference frame can be asymptotically shared by all agents and the desired formation can be asymptotically stabilized almost surely under the designed distributed control law, if and only if the magnitude of the bearing measurement noise is less than ( π / 4) , the communication and distance sensing topology is rooted and the corresponding bearing sensing topology is connected. Simulations are conducted to verify the correctness and effectiveness of our orientation estimate algorithm and formation control law.

Bacterial community structure and gene function prediction in response to long-term running of dual graphene modified bioelectrode bioelectrochemical systems.

This work studied bacterial community structure and gene function prediction in long-term running of dual graphene modified bioelectrode bioelectrochemical systems (LT D-GM-BE BES, 2 year). The maximum power density of LT D-GM-BE BES was 99.03 ± 3.64 mW/m2, which was 3.66 times of dual control BES (D-C-BE BES), and the transfer resistance of LT GM-BE was just approximately 1/4 of control bioelectrode (C-BE). Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were dominant bacteria in long-term modified bioanode (LT GM-BA, 30.03% and 45.64%), and in long-term modified biocathode (LT GM-BC) was Armatimonadetes (47.14%) in phylum level. The dominant bacteria in LT GM-BA was Clostridium (30.56%), in GM-BC was Chthonomonas (47.14%) in genus level. Gene function related with substrate, energy metabolism and environmental adaptation were enriched. LT GM-BE was tended to enrich dominant bacteria and enrich gene to adapt to micro-environmental changes. This study would provide metagenomics information for long-term running of BES in future.

Abinukitrine A, a unique 17,18-cyclolanostane triterpenoid from Abies nukiangensis.

Abinukitrine A (1), a novel triterpenoid, was isolated from Abies nukiangensis. Comprehensive spectroscopic analysis revealed that 1 is the first example of 17,18-cyclolanostane bearing a unique 6/6/6/5/3 ring system. Its absolute configuration was unequivocally assigned by Cu-Kα X-ray single-crystallography. Compound 1 showed a potent anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) effect.

Bacterial community shift and antibiotics resistant genes analysis in response to biodegradation of oxytetracycline in dual graphene modified bioelectrode microbial fuel cell.

This study explored the biodegradation mechanisms of oxytetracycline (OTC/O) and electrochemical characteristics from the perspective of bacterial community shift and OTC resistance genes in dual graphene modified bioelectrode microbial fuel cell (O-D-GM-BE MFC). In phylum level, Proteobacteria was accounted to 95.04% in O-GM-BA, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes were accounted to 59.13% and 20.52% in O-GM-BC, which were beneficial for extracellular electron transport (EET) process and OTC biodegradation. In genus level, the most dominant bacteria in O-GM-BA were Salmonella and Trabulsiella, accounting up to 83.04%, moreover, representative exoelectrogens (Geobacter) were enriched, which contributed to OTC biodegradation and electrochemical performances; abundant degrading bacteria (Moheibacter, Comamonas, Pseudomonas, Dechloromonas, Nitrospira, Methylomicrobium, Pseudorhodoferax, Thiobacillus, Mycobacterium) were enriched in O-GM-BC, which contributed to the maximum removal efficiency of OTC; coding resistance genes of efflux pump, ribosome protective protein and modifying or passivating were all found in O-GM-BE, and this explained the OTC removal mechanisms from gene level.

Influence of Berry Heterogeneity on Phenolics and Antioxidant Activity of Grapes and Wines: A Primary Study of the New Winegrape Cultivar Meili (Vitis vinifera L.).

Wine grapes are usually harvested in vineyards when they ripen. However, not all of the berries in a vineyard ripen homogeneously because of different microclimates around the clusters and berries. In this study, the influence of berry heterogeneity on the phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of grapes and wines under a continental monsoon climate was evaluated for a new wine grape cultivar Meili (Vitis vinifera L.). The total phenolic, flavonoid, flavanol, and monomeric anthocyanin contents in the skin and wine significantly increased with grape density; however, there was no significant difference in the seeds between the two lower densities. The highest values of DPPH free radical-scavenging activity, cupric-reducing antioxidant capacity, and hydroxyl radical-scavenging activity in the skin, seed and wine were detected for the densest berries. The sum of individual phenolic compounds in skin, seed and wine increased with berry density, though no significant difference for skin was observed between the two higher density classes. Hence, the chemical components of Meili grapes and wines were positively associated with the berry density at harvest under the continental monsoon climate.

Microfluidic enzymatic-reactors for peptide mapping: strategy, characterization, and performance.

The design and characterization of two kinds of poly(dimethylsiloxane)(PDMS) microfluidic enzymatic-reactors along with their analytical utility coupled to MALDI TOF and ESI MS were reported. Microfluidic devices integrated with microchannel and stainless steel tubing (SST) was fabricated using a PDMS casting technique, and was used for the preparation of the enzymatic-reactor. The chemical modification was performed by introducing carboxyl groups to PDMS surface based on ultraviolet graft polymerization of acrylic acid. The covalent and physical immobilization of trypsin was carried out with the use of the activation reagents 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethyl aminopropyl)carbodiimide(EDC)/N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) and a coupling reagent poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)(PDDA), respectively. The properties and success of processes of trypsin immobilization were investigated by measuring contact angle, infrared absorption by attenuated total reflection spectra, AFM imaging and electropherograms. An innovative feature of the microfluidic enzymatic-reactors is the feasibility of performing on-line protein analysis by embedded SST electrode and replaceable tip. The lab-made devices provide an excellent extent of digestion of several model proteins even at the fast flow rate of 3.5 microL min(-1) for the EDC/NHS-made device and 0.8 microL min(-1) for the PDDA-made device, which afford very short residence times of 5 s and 20 s, respectively. In addition, the lab-made devices are less susceptive to memory effect and can be used for at least 50 runs in one week without noticeable loss of activity. Moreover, the degraded PDDA-made device can be regenerated by simple treatment of a HCl solution. These features are the most required for microfluidic devices used for protein analysis.

Titania and alumina sol-gel-derived microfluidics enzymatic-reactors for peptide mapping: design, characterization, and performance.

The design and characterization of titania-based and alumina-based Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microfluidics enzymatic-reactors along with their analytical features in coupling with MALDI-TOF and ESI-MS were reported. Microfluidics with microchannel and stainless steel tubing (SST) were fabricated using PDMS casting and O(2)-plasma techniques, and were used for the preparation of an enzymatic-reactor. Plasma oxidation for the PDMS microfluidic system enabled the channel wall of the microfluidics to present a layer of silanol (SiOH) groups. These SiOH groups act as anchors onto the microchannel wall linked covalently with the hydroxyl groups of trypsin-encapsulated sol matrix. As a result, the trypsin-encapsulated gel matrix was anchored onto the wall of the microchannel, and the leakage of gel matrix from the microchannel was effectively prevented. A feature of the microfluidic enzymatic-reactors is the feasibility of performing on-line protein analysis by attached SST electrode and replaceable tip. The success of trypsin encapsulation was investigated by AFM imaging, assay of enzymatic activity, CE detection, and MALDI-TOF and ESI-MS analysis. The lab-made devices provide an excellent extent of digestion even at a fast flow rate of 7.0 microL/min, which affords the very short residence time of ca. 2 s. With the present device, the digestion time was significantly shortened compared to conventional tryptic reaction schemes. In addition, the encapsulated trypsin exhibits increased stability even after continuous use. These features are required for high-throughput protein identification.

[Clinical analysis of retinoic acid syndrome developed in 11 patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia].

To explore the clinical features, risk factors an d treatment of retinoic acid syndrome (RAS) in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) treated with retinoic acid, the clinical and laboratory data of 11 APL patients with RAS were retrospectively analysed. The results showed that earlier and more common symptoms of RAS were successively dyspnea (11/11), fever (10/11) and hydrothorax (6/11). Higher WBC count (> or = 15.0 x 10(9)/L) in the course of treatment of all-trans retinoic acid susceptible to develop RAS (9/11). The RAS patients were treated with dexamethasone without discontinuing the treatment of retinoic acid, complete remission was achieved in 10 cases and one patient died from disseminated intravascular coagulation. It is concluded that the identification and dexamethasone treatment of RAS in earlier period are extremely important for obtaining better clinical curative effect, and it does not influence therapeutic effect of continuing application of retinoic acid.