Tirzepatide attenuates mammary tumor progression in diet-induced obese mice.

We report for the first time an anticancer benefit of tirzepatide-a dual glucagon-like peptide 1 and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor agonist-in a model of obesity and breast cancer in female mice. Long-term tirzepatide treatment induced weight loss, mitigated obesity-driven changes in circulating metabolic hormone levels, and suppressed orthotopic E0771 mammary tumor growth. Relative to tirzepatide, chronic calorie restriction, an established anticancer intervention in preclinical models, promoted even greater weight loss, systemic hormonal regulation, and tumor suppression. We conclude that tirzepatide represents a promising pharmacologic approach for mitigating the procancer effects of obesity. Moreover, strategies promoting greater weight loss than achieved with tirzepatide alone may augment the anticancer benefits of tirzepatide.

Combined role of ground cover management in altering orchard surface‒subsurface erosion and associated carbon-nitrogen-phosphorus loss.

The combined role of ground cover management in controlling soil erosion and nutrient loss from new orchards is still less understood. In this study, four ground cover management practices, orchard with grass cover (OG), orchard with interplant cover (OI), orchard with straw cover (OS), and orchard with bare ground (OB), were designed to identify their impacts on soil erosion and associated carbon-nitrogen-phosphorus loss in new orchards by rainfall simulation tests with rainfall intensities of 60, 90, and 120 mm h-1 and 90 min rainfall duration. The results showed that OS had the lowest surface flow coefficient (6.6%) and highest subsurface flow coefficient (32.5%). The highest soil loss rate occurred in the OB plot (65.4 g m-2 min-1), and the lowest soil loss rate occurred in the OS plot (0.5 g m-2 min-1). OS plot showed better effectiveness in improving soil erosion. However, the increased infiltration capacity was facilitated in terms of causing non-point source pollution. The C-N-P ratios of surface flow in different cover measures (OB, OI, OG, and OS) were 1.4:1.2:0.9:1, 1.8:1.7:1.2:1, and 2.3:1.9:1.2:1, respectively. The ratios of sediment in different cover measures were 7.3:9:2.3:1, 2:1.5:1.2:1, and 1.2:1:0.8:0.7, respectively. Cover management plots play an active role in reducing nutrient loss in surface flow and sediment, but the increased infiltration in covered management plots is associated with the risk of groundwater contamination in subsurface flow. The C-N-P ratios of subsurface flow in OB and covered managed plots (OI, OG, and OS) were 1:3.3:1.6:2.7, 1:1.5:2.2:2.4 and 1:1.2:1.5:1.3, respectively. Therefore, when managing the phenomenon of soil erosion through ground cover measures, attention should also be focused on the function of cover measures in regulating non-point source pollution underground, such as subsurface flow. This research recommends a combination of cover management measures to further mitigate erosion and the risk of groundwater contamination.

Output characteristics and driving factors of non-point source nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in the Three Gorges reservoir area (TGRA) based on migration process: 1995-2020.

Although physical models at present have made important achievements in the assessment of non-point source pollution (NPSP), the requirement for large volumes of data and their accuracy limit their application. Therefore, constructing a scientific evaluation model of NPS nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) output is of great significance for the identification of N and P sources as well as pollution prevention and control in the basin. We considered runoff, leaching and landscape interception conditions, and constructed an input-migration-output (IMO) model based on the classic export coefficient model (ECM), and identified the main driving factors of NPSP using geographical detector (GD) in Three Gorges Reservoir area (TGRA). The results showed that, compared with the traditional export coefficient model, the prediction accuracy of the improved model for total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) increased by 15.46 % and 20.17 % respectively, and the error rates with the measured data were 9.43 % and 10.62 %. It was found that the total input volume of TN in the TGRA had declined from 58.16 × 104 t to 48.37 × 104 t, while the TP input volume increased from 2.76 × 104 t to 4.11 × 104 t, and then decreased to 4.01 × 104 t. In addition Pengxi River, Huangjin River and the northern part of Qi River were high value areas of NPSP input and output, but the range of high value areas of migration factors has narrowed. Pig breeding, rural population and dry land area were the main driving factors of N and P export. The IMO model can effectively improve prediction accuracy, and has significant implications for the prevention and control of NPSP.

Spatiotemporal characteristics of air pollution in Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration (CCUA) in Southwest, China: 2015-2021.

Studying the spatiotemporal characteristics of air pollutants in urban agglomerations and their response factors will help to improve the quality of urban living. In combining air quality monitoring data and wavelet analysis from the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration (CCUA), this study assessed the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics and influential factors of air pollutants on daily, monthly and annual scales. The results showed that the concentration of air pollutants in the CCUA has decreased year by year, and air quality has improved. Except for O3, pollutants in autumn and winter were higher than those in summer. The spatial distribution of air pollutants was obvious distributed in Chengdu, Chongqing, Zigong and Dazhou. Pollution incidents were mainly concentrated in winter. The 6 air pollutants and air quality index (AQI) have dominant periods on multiple time scales. AQI showed positive coherence with PM2.5 and PM10 on multiple time scales, and obvious positive coherence with SO2, CO, NO2 and O3 in the short term scale. AQI was not strongly correlated with the fire point, but exhibited obvious negative coherence in the long term scale. In addition, AQI showed an obvious positive correlation with temperature and sunshine hours in short term, and a clear negative correlation with humidity and rainfall. The research results of this paper will provide a reference for pollution prevention and control in the CCUA.

[Influence of Optimal Land Use Allocation on Phosphorus Loss in the Process of Rainfall and Runoff].

In order to explore the impact of optimized land use allocation on phosphorus loss in the runoff process of a small watershed in the Three Gorges Reservoir area, a traditional agricultural model catchment area (CG) and a catchment area after optimized land use allocation in the Shipanqiu watershed in Zhong County, Chongqing (EG) were selected as the research object, sampling at the outlets of the two catchment areas, respectively, to monitor the runoff process and different forms of phosphorus in rainfall events and to analyze the influence of land use configuration on the law of phosphorus loss. The results showed that:① in the 10 monitored rainfall and runoff processes, the ρ[total phosphorus (TP)] of EG was lower than that of CG, and the ranges of the two were 0.09-0.75 mg·L-1 and 0.13-2.82 mg·L-1, respectively. Compared with that of CG, EG significantly reduced the peak value of TP. ② The average EMC of TP, total dissolved phosphorus (TDP), dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP), and particulate phosphorus (PP) in the process of rainfall and runoff was lower than that of CG, and EG and CG showed significant differences in EMC of TP, TDP, and DIP (P<0.05); the main form of phosphorus loss in the two catchment areas in the process of rainfall and runoff was TDP, but the average TDP/TP of EG was larger. ③ The output load of EG was 45%, 43%, 57%, and 47% lower than that of the TP, TDP, DIP, and PP in CG. The output load of EG and CG of various forms of phosphorus was significantly correlated with the total runoff (P<0.01). In addition, the slope of the linear fitting of various phosphorus forms in the CG catchment area to the total amount of runoff was 1.66 to 1.75 times that of EG. The output load of various phosphorus forms of CG was more sensitive to runoff than that of EG, and the output per unit area in the process of rainfall and runoff was more sensitive than that of EG. The amount of sand could have caused the difference in phosphorus concentration and output load more than the output per unit area. Optimizing land use configuration can effectively reduce the loss of various forms of phosphorus and provide a reference for the prevention and control of phosphorus loss in small watersheds in the Three Gorges Reservoir area.

Denitrification performance and mechanism of biofilter constructed with sulfur autotrophic denitrification composite filler in engineering application.

Sulfur autotrophic denitrification (SAD) is a promising technology due to its low cost and low sludge production. Based on previous studies on SAD materials as well as the denitrification mechanism of SAD technology, this study constructed two biofilters with a sulfur autotrophic denitrification composite filler (SADCF) to investigate the application potential of SAD technology. The feasibility of a SADCF-based biofilter was demonstrated, with a maximum nitrate volume load of 0.75 kg N/(m3·d) and low accumulation of nitrite and ammonium. In addition, an improved backwashing method (air-water backwashing) was obtained by comparing two different backwashing methods. Furthermore, some iron reducing bacteria (0.4% Geothrix) along with a rapid proliferation of the main sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (23.0% Thiobacillus and 27.7% Ferritrophicum) were found under real-world operating conditions. Overall, the results of this study provide a case reference for the operation of SADCF-based biofilters and the application of SAD technology in engineering.

[Effects of Different Land Use Practices on Nitrogen Loss from Runoff During Rainfall Events].

To understand the effect of nitrogen from runoff during rainfall events for different land uses, sub-catchments A and B in the small Shipanqiu watershed in Zhong County, Chongqing-which were managed using different land use practices-were taken as research objects. Runoff flow and nitrogen levels at the outlet of the catchment were monitored. Sub-catchment A is an agroforestry-water complex and sub-catchment B is the site of traditional agriculture. EMC was used to evaluate the average concentration of runoff nitrogen during rainfall events, and the effect of this runoff nitrogen on the small watershed with different land use systems was analyzed. The results showed that the TN concentration in catchment B (1.37-15.17 mg·L-1) > catchment A (0.84-9.28 mg·L-1); the ratio of the first peak to the second peak in catchment A was 62%, which was far less than the 97% in catchment B; the average DN/TN values were 69% and 75% in catchments A and B, respectively; and the average NN/DN values were 67% and 80% in catchments A and B, respectively. The different land use practices have significant impacts on nitrogen loss. Compared with the catchment where traditional agricultural practices were followed, the agroforestry-water complex catchment effectively reduced the loss of nitrogen and decreased the first TN peak value and DN/TN and NN/DN values. This study provides a scientific basis for the prevention and control of non-point source pollution in small watersheds in the area of the Three Gorges Reservoir.

The RPA190-pc gene participates in the regulation of metalaxyl sensitivity, pathogenicity and growth in Phytophthora capsici.

Metalaxyl is one of the main fungicides used to control pepper blight caused by Phytophthora capsici. Metalaxyl resistance of P. capsici, caused by the long-term intense use of this fungicide, has become one of the most serious challenges facing pest management. In this study, a conserved domain RPOLA-N of the RPA190 gene of P. capsici (RPA190-pc) was identified from the P. capsici SD1-9 strain. The role of the RPA190-pc underlying the metalaxyl resistance of P. capsici was investigated. Three P. capsici mutants, two with downregulated RPA190-pc (SD1-9C-3 and C-4) expression and one showing upregulation (OESD1-9-1), were obtained by Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) mediated protoplast transformations of P. capsici SD1-9. Quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR results showed that RPA190-pc was downregulated by more than 60% in SD1-9C-3/C-4 and upregulated 3-fold in OESD1-9-1 compared with that of the control strain SD1-9. Evaluation of the metalaxyl resistance of these three transformants showed that the EC50 values of metalaxyl against SD1-9C-3, SD1-9C-4, and OESD1-9-1 were 120.0 µg·mL-1, 24.4 µg·mL-1, and 15573.0 µg·mL-1, respectively, corresponding to 63.3% decrease, 92.5% decrease, and 47.7-fold increase relative to the EC50 value in SD1-9. Compared with SD1-9, the mycelia of transformants SD1-9C-3, SD1-9C-4, and OESD1-9-1 showed more branches and shorter branches; and the transformants had different pathogenicity to different hosts plants. The expression of the candidate gene RPA190-pc during 10 life-history stages was further studied, the results showed that expression level reached a maximum at the zoospores stage, and it gradually increased with the increase of SD1 and SD1-9 infection time of pepper leaves, indicated that RPA190-pc may be related to the growth and pathogenicity of P. capsici. These results indicate that the expression of RPA190-pc is involved in the regulation of P. capsici resistance to metalaxyl.

Degradation of p-nitrophenol by nano-pyrite catalyzed Fenton reaction with enhanced peroxide utilization.

Pyrite (FeS2) catalyzed conversion of H2O2 into oxidants is increasingly recognized as a promising Fenton-like process for treating recalcitrant contaminants. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear, especially for nano-pyrite. The present study explored the potential of a nano-pyrite Fenton system for p-nitrophenol oxidation using high energy ball milled nano-pyrite. The enhancement in ˙OH production, with 3 times faster p-nitrophenol degradation than the conventional Fenton system, is ascribed to the reduction of pyrite size to the nanoscale, which alters the Fe2+ regeneration pathway, favoring faster and very efficient production of ˙OH during H2O2 decomposition. The amount of H2O2 required was reduced due to the increased conversion efficiency of H2O2 to ˙OH from 13.90% (conventional Fenton) to 67.55%, in which surface S2 2- species served as an electron source. An interpretation of the degradation intermediates and mineralization pathway of p-nitrophenol was then made using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. This study bridges the knowledge gap between p-nitrophenol removal and the nano-pyrite catalyzed oxidant generation process.

Treatment of polluted river sediment by electrochemical oxidation: Changes of hydrophilicity and acute cytotoxicity of dissolved organic matter.

River sediment is the main internal pollution source of water body. This study evaluated the feasibility of electrochemical oxidation (EO) for polluted river sediment treatment. The hydrophilic and acute cytotoxicity (ACT) of dissolved organic matter (DOM) during electrolysis were mainly investigated. Meanwhile, the behavior of sediment evolution was also characterized. The results showed that the EO process was feasible for the treatment of polluted river sediment. The COD removal efficiency of polluted river sediment can achieve to 40.1% when the current density was 50 mA cm-2 with the chloride ion of 3000 mg L-1 and the initial pH of 8.5. The hydrophilicity of sediment DOM decreased with the decreasing molecule weight of humic-like substances, polar groups and the formation of aromatic aldehydes such as benzaldehyde. In this process, The ACT of sediment DOM can be reduced by the removal of aromatic compounds. In the process of electrolysis, the sediment particles were smaller than before, the dehydration was enhanced, and the crystal type tended to be stable, which was conducive to the utilization of resources. Therefore, EO method is a feasible alternative for the treatment of polluted river sediment.

Research on complexation ability, aromaticity, mobility and cytotoxicity of humic-like substances during degradation process by electrochemical oxidation.

The humic-like substances were the main organic components in most wastewater (e.g. domestic sewage, toilet wastewater and landfill leachate). Two types of actual humic-like substances (fulvic acid (FA) and biologically treated landfill leachate (BTLL)) were selected to describe the changes in the properties of humic-like substances (complexation ability, aromaticity and mobility) during electrochemical oxidation. Meanwhile, the acute cytotoxicity of FA and BTLL was also tested by acute toxicological test of luminescent bacteria. The results showed that the consumption of coordinating groups such as phenolic groups and hydrogen bonds reduced the complexation ability of FA and BTLL. The functional groups were degraded with the removal order of quinone group, phenolic group and aromatic group, and finally realized the molecular saturation and aromaticity decrease for humic-like substances. The mobility of FA and BTLL was decreased because of the enhancement of hydrophobicity during electrolysis process. Furthermore, the available chlorine produced during electrochemical oxidation was the main acute cytotoxicity substance, therefore, it is necessary to remove it before discharge in order to reduce ecological risks. This study provides a basis for understanding and evaluating the electrochemical degradation process of humic-like substances in detail.

Degradation of nitrogen-containing refractory organic wastewater using a novel alternating-anode electrochemical system.

This study presented a novel alternating-anode electrochemical system (AAES) based on single electrolytic cell for the treatment of nitrogen-containing refractory organic wastewater (NOW). The core of AAES lies in the alternating working of iron anode and DSA anode to integrate different electrochemical processes. The biologically treated landfill leachate (BTLL) was selected as a practical NOW for assessing the performance of AAES. The results indicated that after 140 min of electrolytic reaction, the removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand and total nitrogen (TN) using AAES was found to be 76.9 and 98.9%, respectively. The main component of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in BTLL included humic-like substances, which could be degraded into small-molecule DOM, such as fulvic-like substances and protein-like substances, by available chlorine and hydroxyl radicals present in AAES. Cathode reduction (NOx--N → NH4+-N and N2) under iron anode and indirect oxidation (NH4+-N → N2) under DSA anode were the main pathways to remove TN from NOW. Owing to the redox conditions created by the alternating anodes, the main stable crystalline forms of precipitates obtained from AAES were Fe3O4 and γ-Fe2O3, which could be separated by using the external magnetic field. The findings of this study may provide a feasible solution for the advanced electrochemical treatment of NOW in a single electrolytic cell as well as rapid separation of precipitates.

Real-Time Curvature Detection of a Flexible Needle with a Bevel Tip.

As one of the major methods for the diagnosis and treatment of cancers in their early stages, the percutaneous puncture technique has bright prospect in biopsy, ablation, proximity radiotherapy, and drug delivery. Recent years, researchers found the flexible needle cannot realize feedback control during the puncture surgeries only by path planning. To solve this problem, the flexible needle is tried to achieve real-time detection in this paper. Compared with previous methods, the strain gauges glued on the needle surface rather than the medical imaging techniques is used to collect the information to reconstruct the needle curve, which is benefit to integrate the whole system and obtain a more simple and accurate closed-loop control. This paper presented the math model of curve fitting and analyzed the causes of curve fitting errors. To verify the feasibility of this method, an experiment setup was built. Results from the experiments validated the solution in this paper to be effective.

A Friction-Inertial-Based Rotary Motor: Design, Modelling and Experiments.

A friction⁻inertial-based rotary motor driven by shear piezoelectric actuators (SPAs) is proposed in this paper, which possesses many superior features, including high resolution, compact size, large load-capacity, and low cost. In order to eliminate the step loss and increase the step size when an external load is applied, the power-function-shape driving signal was used to actuate the rotary motor. According to the step characteristics under this driving signal, two motion modes were observed and defined, namely the stick-shoot motion mode and the stick-slip-shoot motion mode. The former motion mode can realize a large step size while the later one cannot due to the slipping during the rising phase. After analyzing the results from the numerical simulation and the experiment study, it was found that the motion performance of the motor is closely related to the preload and the base number of the driving signal rather than the size of SPAs, which means the motor can be further downsized according to its actual requirements.

Using biomarkers as fingerprint properties to identify sediment sources in a small catchment.

Traditional fingerprinting methods are limited in their ability to identify soil erosion sources where geologic variations are small or where different land uses span geological boundaries. In this study, a new biomarker for fingerprinting, specifically, n-alkanes, was used in a small catchment to identify sediment sources. The n-alkanes were based on land uses, could provide vegetation information, and were relatively resistant to diagenetic modifications and decomposition. This study used a composite fingerprinting method that was based on two types of fingerprint factors (27 biomarker properties and 45 geochemical properties) with 60 source samples (i.e., gully, grassland, forest, and cropland) and nine soil profiles. Genetic algorithm (GA) optimization has been deployed to find the optimal source contribution to sediments. The biomarker results demonstrated that young forest is the main sediment source in this catchment, contributing 50.5%, whereas cropland, grassland and gully contributed 25.6%, 14.4% and 9.5%, respectively; the geochemistry results were similar to the biomarkers. The forest and grassland contributions gradually increased from upstream to downstream, and the sediment contributions of cropland gradually decreased in the direction of the runoff pathway at the check dam. In a comparison of biomarker and geochemical fingerprinting data, the latter may have overestimated the forest inputs to the catchment sediment yields because of a mixed land use history (i.e., forest and grassland). The geochemical fingerprint approach limits its ability to fully discriminate sources based on land management regimes, but the biomarker (individual n-alkanes) displayed the potential to discriminate between a greater number and different types of sediment sources and to provide greater detail regarding sediment sources.

The nascent-polypeptide-associated complex alpha subunit regulates the polygalacturonases expression negatively and influences the pathogenicity of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a necrotrophic plant-pathogenic fungus that infects more than 400 species of plants. In this study the nascent polypeptide-associated complex α subunit gene of S. sclerotiorum (SsNACα; accession No. XP_001593856.1) was cloned and characterized. The relative transcript expression of SsNACα at different morphological stages of asexual development of S. sclerotiorum were analyzed by quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR). RNAi-mediated gene silencing was successful for SsNACα, and the mutated strains exhibited less than 15% of the relative expression of SsNACα were obtained and used for studying the biological functions of the gene. A delay in sclerotial maturation for S. sclerotiorum was observed in the SsNACα mutants. The significant elevations for both the activities of pectin-degrading enzymes and the expression of polygalacturonase genes also were associated with the mutated strains, indicating that SsNACα could negatively influence polygalacturonases expression and modulate the pathogenicity of S. sclerotiorum.