Land Resources for Wind Energy Development Requires Regionalized Characterizations.

Estimates of the land area occupied by wind energy differ by orders of magnitude due to data scarcity and inconsistent methodology. We developed a method that combines machine learning-based imagery analysis and geographic information systems and examined the land area of 318 wind farms (15,871 turbines) in the U.S. portion of the Western Interconnection. We found that prior land use and human modification in the project area are critical for land-use efficiency and land transformation of wind projects. Projects developed in areas with little human modification have a land-use efficiency of 63.8 ± 8.9 W/m2 (mean ±95% confidence interval) and a land transformation of 0.24 ± 0.07 m2/MWh, while values for projects in areas with high human modification are 447 ± 49.4 W/m2 and 0.05 ± 0.01 m2/MWh, respectively. We show that land resources for wind can be quantified consistently with our replicable method, a method that obviates >99% of the workload using machine learning. To quantify the peripheral impact of a turbine, buffered geometry can be used as a proxy for measuring land resources and metrics when a large enough impact radius is assumed (e.g., >4 times the rotor diameter). Our analysis provides a necessary first step toward regionalized impact assessment and improved comparisons of energy alternatives.

A BEST classification system of large to giant congenital melanocytic nevi based on expert consensus and distribution characteristics.

BACKGROUND: Large to giant congenital melanocytic nevi (LGCMN) significantly decrease patients' quality of life, but the inaccuracy of current classification system makes their clinical management challenging. OBJECTIVES: To improve and extend the existing LGCMN 6B/7B classification systems by developing a novel LGCMN classification system based on a new phenotypic approach to clinical tool development. METHODS: Three hundred and sixty-one LGCMN cases were categorized into four subtypes based on anatomic site: bonce (25.48%), extremity (17.73%), shawl (19.67%) and trunks (37.12%) LGCMN. A 'BEST' classification system of LGCMN was established and validated by a support vector machine classifier combined with the 7B system. RESULTS: The most common LGCMN distributions were on bonce and trunks (bathing trunk), whereas breast/belly and body LGCMN were exceptionally rare. Sexual dimorphism characterized distribution, with females showing a wider range of lesions in the genital area. Nearly half of the patients with bathing trunk LGCMN exhibited a butterfly-like distribution. Approximately half of the LGCMN with chest involvement did not have nipple-areola complex involvement. Abdomen, back and buttock involvement was associated with the presence of satellite nevi (r = 0.558), and back and buttock involvement was associated with the presence of nodules (r = 0.364). CONCLUSIONS: The effective quantification of a standardized anatomical site provides data support for the accuracy of the 6B/7B classification systems. The simplified BEST classification system can help establish a LGCMN clinical database for exploration of LGCMN aetiology, disease management and prognosis prediction.

Stromal Vascular Fraction Gel (SVF-Gel) Combined with Nanofat for Tear Trough Deformity.

BACKGROUND: Tear trough deformity makes patients appear tired. Patients with less severe tear trough deformity prefer a less invasive method to correct the deformity. The infraorbital area is a multilayered tissue, and the aging of various components leads to tear trough deformity. To this end, we utilized the different characteristics of different fat derivatives to correct tear trough deformity. METHODS: Thirty-two patients with Barton Grade I/II tear trough deformity were enrolled in this study between September 2020 and March 2021. We injected Stromal Vascular Fraction Gel (SVF-Gel) into the suborbicularis oculi fat layer and Nanofat into the subcutaneous. After 12 months of follow-up, we evaluated the changes using standardized clinical photogrammetric techniques, volume, global aesthetic improvement scale, and patient self-evaluation. RESULTS: There were no major complications in any of the 32 patients. The measured data points demonstrated improvements in all aesthetic parameters. The width of the tear trough and the distance from the pupil to the tear trough improved. The Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale (GAIS) showed a high score (2.45±0.64 points), with patient self-assessment showing satisfactory results. CONCLUSION: SVF-Gel combined with Nanofat injection can effectively correct tear trough deformities. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Comprehensive review and comparison on pretreatment of spent lithium-ion battery.

Pretreatment, the initial step in recycling spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), efficiently separates cathode and anode materials to facilitate key element recovery. Despite brief introductions in existing research, a comprehensive evaluation and comparison of processing methods is lacking. This study reviews 346 references on LIBs recycling, analyzing pretreatment stages, treatment conditions, and method effects. Our analysis highlights insufficient attention to discharge voltage safety and environmental impact. Mechanical disassembly, while suitable for industrial production, overlooks electrolyte recovery and complicates LIBs separation. High temperature pyrolysis flotation offers efficient separation of mixed electrode materials, enhancing mineral recovery. We propose four primary pretreatment processes: discharge, electrolyte recovery, crushing and separation, and electrode material recovery, offering simplified, efficient, green, low-cost, and high-purity raw materials for subsequent recovery processes.

Unraveling the Reaction Mystery of Li and Na with Dry Air.

Li and Na metals with high energy density are promising in application in rechargeable batteries but suffer from degradation in the ambient atmosphere. The phenomenon that in terms of kinetics, Li is stable but Na is unstable in dry air has not been fully understood. Here, we use in situ environmental transmission electron microscopy combined with theoretical simulations and reveal that the different stabilities in dry air for Li and Na are reflected by the formation of compact Li2O layers on Li metal, while porous and rough Na2O/Na2O2 layers on Na metal are a consequence of the different thermodynamic and kinetics in O2. It is shown that a preformed carbonate layer can change the kinetics of Na toward an anticorrosive behavior. Our study provides a deeper understanding of the often-overlooked chemical reactions with environmental gases and enhances the electrochemical performance of Li and Na by controlling interfacial stability.

A single-centre, open-label, single-arm, fixed-sequence pharmacokinetic study of SHR3680 on repaglinide and bupropion in prostate cancer patients.

To evaluate the pharmacokinetic effects of SHR3680 on repaglinide and bupropion and its metabolite hydroxybupropion. METHODS: A single-centre, open-label, single-arm, fixed-sequence clinical trial in 18 patients with prostate cancer. RESULTS: After a single oral dose of 0.5 mg repaglinide and SHR3680, geometric mean peak plasma concentration (Cmax ) of plasma repaglinide was 14.240 and 5.887 ng/mL, geometric mean area under the concentration-time curve (AUC0-t )was 20.577 and 7.320 h ng/mL, geometric mean AUC0-∞ was 20.949 and 7.451 h ng/mL, mean half-life (t1/2 ) was 1.629 and 1.195 hours, and geometric mean oral clearance (CL/F) was 23.867 and 67.107 L/h, respectively. After a single oral administration of 150 mg bupropion and SHR3680, geometric mean Cmax of plasma bupropion was 85.430 and 33.747 ng/mL, geometric mean AUC0-t was 1003.896 and 380.158 h ng/mL, geometric mean AUC0-∞ was 1038.054 and 401.387 h ng/mL, mean t1/2 was 22.533 and 17.733 hours, and geometric mean CL/F was 144.501 and 373.705 L/h, respectively. The plasma geometric mean Cmax of its main active metabolic hydroxybupropion was 268.113 and 177.318 ng/mL, geometric mean AUC0-t was 14 283.087 and 5420.219 h ng/mL, geometric mean AUC0-∞ was 15 218.158 and 5364.625 h ng/mL, mean t1/2 were 36.069 and 16.688 hours, and geometric mean CL/F was 8.623 L/h and 27.961 L/h, respectively. CONCLUSION: Coadministration of SHR3680 with repaglinide or bupropion significantly shortened the elimination half-lives, significantly increased the apparent clearance rate, and significantly decreased the in vivo exposure of repaglinide, bupropion and hydroxybupropion compared with single administration of repaglinide or bupropion.

Unlocking Dysprosium Constraints for China's 1.5 °C Climate Target.

Some key low-carbon technologies, ranging from wind turbines to electric vehicles, are underpinned by the strong rare-earth-based permanent magnets of the Nd, Pr (Dy)-Fe-Nb type (NdFeB). These NdFeB magnets, which are sensitive to demagnetization with temperature elevation (the Curie point), require the addition of variable amounts of dysprosium (Dy), where an elevation of the Curie point is needed to meet operational conditions. Given that China is the world's largest REE supplier with abundant REE reserves, the impact of an ambitious 1.5 °C climate target on China's Dy supply chain has sparked widespread concern. Here, we explore future trends and innovation strategies associated with the linkage between Dy and NdFeBs under various climate scenarios in China. We find China alone is expected to exhaust the global present Dy reserve within the next 2-3 decades to facilitate the 1.5 °C climate target. By implementing global available innovation strategies, such as material substitution, reduction, and recycling, it is possible to avoid 48%-68% of China's cumulative demand for Dy. Nevertheless, ongoing efforts in REE exploration and production are still required to meet China's growing Dy demand, which will face competition from the United States, European Union, and other countries with ambitious climate targets. Thus, our analysis urges China and those nations to form wider cooperation in REE supply chains as well as in NdFeB innovation for the realization of a global climate-safe future.

Effectiveness and safety of transcatheter aortic valve replacement in elderly people with severe aortic stenosis with different types of heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Impaired left ventricular function is an independent predictor of adverse clinical outcomes in patients with aortic stenosis. The aim of this study is to evaluate the short-term changes of echocardiographic parameters, New York Heart Association (NYHA) class and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) level and adverse events amongst patients with heart failure (HF) after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedure. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study conducted at affiliated Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital of Qingdao University between September 2017 and September 2022. TAVR cases were stratified into three groups [heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF), heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF)] by left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Baseline characteristics, changes in echocardiographic parameters (1 week and 1 month), BNP (1 month), and NYHA class (6 months) post-TAVR were compared across the three groups. Meanwhile, we observed the adverse events of the patients after TAVR. RESULTS: A total of 96 patients were included, of whom 15 (15.6%) had HFrEF, 15 (15.6%) had HFmrEF, and 66 (68.8%) had HFpEF. Compared to the HFpEF subgroup, patients in the HFrEF subgroup were younger (p < 0.05), and with a higher BNP (p < 0.05). The left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (LVEDD) in HFrEF group decreased significantly after TAVR. HFmrEF and HFrEF patients showed significant improvements in LVEF after TAVR. The pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP), aortic valve peak gradient (AVPG) and aortic valve peak gradient (Vmax) decreased significantly 1 month after TAVR in all three groups compared to the baseline (all p < 0.05). BNP significantly reduced in HFrEF group compared to HFpEF patients after TAVR (p < 0.05). The majority of patients experienced an improvement at least one NYHA class in all three groups 6 months post-TAVR. There is no significant increase in the risk of adverse events in the HFrEF group. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who underwent TAVR achieved significant improvements in BNP, NYHA class, LVEDD, LVEF, and PASP across the three HF classes, with a more rapid and pronounced improvement in the HFrEF and HFmrEF groups. Complication rates were low in the different HF groups. There is no significant increase in the risk of periprocedural complications in the HFrEF and HFmrEF groups.

Quantitative comparison and rapid discrimination of Panax notoginseng powder and Caulis clematidis armandii using NMR combined with pattern recognition.

BACKGROUND: The market demand for Panax notoginseng (P. notoginseng) is growing rapidly because of its useful properties in food and medicine. However, the frequent adulteration of P. notoginseng seriously affects the health of consumers and is a great challenge to food safety. In this study, low- and high-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF/HF-NMR) were applied to detect the transverse relaxation distribution of P. notoginseng contaminated with different ratios of Caulis clematidis armandii (CCA) and the components in P. notoginseng and CCA, respectively. RESULTS: Fifty-seven kinds of major and minor components in P. notoginseng and CCA were identified and quantified from their high-resolution NMR spectra, and there were significant differences in ginsenosides, sucrose, and glucose between P. notoginseng and CCA. Furthermore, the partial least squares regression analysis results indicated that LF-NMR parameters (T21 and S21 ) changed linearly as the ratio of CCA increased, and these changes were attributed to the variations in polysaccharide and sucrose in adulterated P. notoginseng. CONCLUSION: In the relaxation time-based pattern recognition models, the authentic P. notoginseng powder could be classified with 100% accuracy from adulterated P. notoginseng when the adulteration ratio was greater than 30%, demonstrating the possibility of LF-NMR, in combination with pattern recognition, for rapid discrimination of food authenticity. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Heterogeneous deep graph convolutional network with citation relational BERT for COVID-19 inline citation recommendation.

The outbreak of COVID-19 brings almost the biggest explosions of scientific literature ever. Facing such volume literature, it is hard for researches to find desired citation when carrying out COVID-19 related research, especially for junior researchers. This paper presents a novel neural network based method, called citation relational BERT with heterogeneous deep graph convolutional network (CRB-HDGCN), for COVID-19 inline citation recommendation task. The CRB-HDGCN contains two main stages. The first stage is to enhance the representation learning of BERT model for COVID-19 inline citation recommendation task through CRB. To achieve the above goal, an augmented citation sentence corpus, which replaces the citation placeholder with the title of the cited papers, is used to lightly retrain BERT model. In addition, we extract three types of sentence pair according citation relation, and establish sentence prediction tasks to further fine-tune the BERT model. The second stage is to learn effective dense vector of nodes among COVID-19 bibliographic graph through HDGCN. The HDGCN contains four layers which are essentially all sub neural networks. The first layer is initial embedding layer which generates initial input vectors with fixed size through CRB and a multilayer perceptron. The second layer is a heterogeneous graph convolutional layer. In this layer, we expand traditional homogeneous graph convolutional network into heterogeneous by subtly adding heterogeneous nodes and relations. The third layer is a deep attention layer. This layer uses trainable project vectors to reweight the node importance simultaneously according to both node types and convolution layers, which further promotes the performance of learnt node vectors. The last decoder layer recovers the graph structure and let the whole network trainable. The recommendation is finally achieved by integrating the high performance heterogeneous vectors learnt from CRB-HDGCN with the query vectors. We conduct experiments on the CORD-19 and LitCovid datasets. The results show that compared with the second best method CO-Search, CRB-HDGCN improves MAP, MRR, P@100 and R@100 with 21.8%, 22.7%, 37.6% and 21.2% on CORD-19, and 29.1%, 25.9%, 15.3% and 11.3% on LitCovid, respectively.

Seroprevalence of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus and risk factors in Jiuquan area, China.

The seroprevalence of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is high in Xinjiang, China. But the seroprevalence of KSHV and risk factors are still unknown in Gansu which is adjacent to Xinjiang. Six hundred and seventy-eight serum samples of the general population and 87 serum samples of syphilis patients from Jiuquan, Gansu were tested for antibodies against KSHV, including one latent protein (ORF73) and two lytic proteins (ORF65 and K8.1) using the ELISA. The total KSHV-seropositive rate was 15.9% in 678 serum samples in the Jiuquan area, and the KSHV-seropositive rate of males was higher than females (18.0% vs. 14.6%, p > 0.05). The Uygur, Kazakh, Hui, Manchu, and Mongolian populations had a higher seroprevalence of KSHV than the Han population (43.8%, 40.0%, 34.5%, 30.3%, 35.0% vs. 11.0%, respectively) among the ethnic groups in Jiuquan. Compared to the Han, Uygur, Kazak, Hui, Manchu, and Mongolian people had an increase in the risk of KSHV of 528.9%, 439.1%, 325.6%, 251.6%, and 335.4% (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p = 0.002, p = 0.003, respectively). The serum prevalence of KSHV in subjects aged < 20 years, 20-50 years, and >50 years was 13.8%, 14.7%, and 20.1%, respectively. Compared to the subjects aged < 20 years, 20-50 years and >50 years had an increase in the risk of KSHV of 7.4% and 56.9% (p = 0.829 and p = 0.204, respectively). Compared to the positive rate of KSHV in the general population of Anhui, the positive rate of KSHV was significantly higher in the general population of the Jiuquan area (15.9% vs. 9%, p < 0.01). There was no significant difference in the positive rate of KSHV between the Han population of Jiuquan and the Han population of Anhui (p > 0.05). In the population of syphilis patients in the Jiuquan area, the positive rate of KSHV was 30.7%, which was higher than that of the general population in the Gansu area (p < 0.05). This study indicates that Gansu has a high seroprevalence of KSHV. Ethnicity and syphilis are risk factors for KSHV infection.

Dual-Functional Polyetheretherketone Surface with an Enhanced Osteogenic Capability and an Antibacterial Adhesion Property In Vitro by Chitosan Modification.

A chitosan layer was covalently bonded to a polyetheretherketone (PEEK) surface using a simple facile self-assembly method to address inadequate biological activity and infection around the implant. The surface characterization, layer degradation, biological activity, and antibacterial adhesion properties of chitosan-modified PEEK (PEEK-CS) were studied. Through chitosan grafting, the surface morphology changed, the surface roughness increased, and the contact angle decreased significantly. PEEK-CS boosted cell adhesion, proliferation, increased alkaline phosphate activity, extracellular matrix mineralization, and expression of osteogenic genes. PEEK-CS demonstrated less adhesion to Porphyromonas gingivalis as well as less bacterial adhesion to P. gingivalis and Streptococcus mutans. According to our findings, chitosan modification significantly improved the osteogenic ability and antibacterial adhesion of PEEK in vitro.

Gaussian Process Regression as a Replicable, Streamlined Approach to Inventory and Uncertainty Analysis in Life Cycle Assessment.

Life cycle assessment plays a critical role in quantifying environmental impacts, but its credibility remains challenged when data and uncertainty analysis are lacking. In this study, we propose a data compilation framework to address these two issues. The framework first quantifies the correlations of production activities among existing data in temporal, geographical, and taxonomic dimensions. The framework then introduces covariance functions to convert these correlations to a similarity matrix, and the Gaussian process regression model is adopted to predict new data based on these covariance functions. The associated uncertainty is automatically characterized using the posterior distribution of predictions. The framework is demonstrated on the nitrogen fertilizer application rate for food production─an activity recognized for its environmental burden─with results capable of reflecting temporal and geographical variations. By introducing the concept of phylogenetic distance as a correlation of taxonomy, the framework provides a quantitative basis for predictions in a proxy data usage scenario. The framework can be used in developing temporally and regionally representative life cycle inventories and databases and can facilitate consistent uncertainty quantification in future life cycle assessment methodologies.

Tracking Three Decades of Global Neodymium Stocks and Flows with a Trade-Linked Multiregional Material Flow Analysis.

Neodymium (Nd), an essential type of rare earth element, has attracted increasing attention in recent years due to its significant role in emerging technologies and its globally imbalanced demand and supply. Understanding the global and regional Nd stocks and flows would thus be important for understanding and mitigating potential supply risks. In this work, we applied a trade-linked multiregional material flow analysis to map the global and regional neodymium cycles from 1990 to 2020. We reveal increasingly complex trade patterns of Nd-containing products and a clearly dominant but slightly weakening role of China in the global Nd trade (for both raw materials and semi- and final products) along the life cycle in the last 30 years. A total of 880 kt Nd was mined accumulatively and flowed into the global socioeconomic system, mainly as NdFeB permanent magnets (79%) in semi-products and conventional vehicles and home appliances (together 48%) in final products. Approximately 64% (i.e., 563 kt Nd) of all the mined Nd globally were not recycled, indicating a largely untapped potential of recycling in securing Nd supply and an urgency to overcome the present technological and non-technical challenges. The global Nd cycle in the past three decades is characterized by different but complementary roles of different regions along the global Nd value chain: China dominates in the provision of raw materials and semi- and final products, Japan focuses on the manufacturing of magnets and electronics, and the United States and European Union show advantages in the vehicle industry. Anticipating increasing demand of Nd in emerging energy and transport technologies in the future, more coordinated efforts among different regions and increased recycling are urgently needed for ensuring both regional and global Nd supply and demand balance and a common green future.

Mechano-Sensing Channel PIEZO2 Enhances Invasive Phenotype in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Mechanically gated PIEZO channels lead to an influx of cations, activation of additional Ca2+ channels, and cell depolarization. This study aimed to investigate PIEZO2's role in breast cancer. METHODS: The clinical relevance of PIEZO2 expression in breast cancer patient was analyzed in a publicly available dataset. Utilizing PIEZO2 overexpressed breast cancer cells, and in vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted. RESULTS: High expression of PIEZO2 was correlated with a worse survival in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) but not in other subtypes. Increased PEIZO2 channel function was confirmed in PIEZO2 overexpressed cells after mechanical stimulation. PIEZO2 overexpressed cells showed increased motility and invasive phenotypes as well as higher expression of SNAIL and Vimentin and lower expression of E-cadherin in TNBC cells. Correspondingly, high expression of PIEZO2 was correlated with the increased expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related genes in a TNBC patient. Activated Akt signaling was observed in PIEZO2 overexpressed TNBC cells. PIEZO2 overexpressed MDA-MB-231 cells formed a significantly higher number of lung metastases after orthotopic implantation. CONCLUSION: PIEZO2 activation led to enhanced SNAIL stabilization through Akt activation. It enhanced Vimentin and repressed E-cadherin transcription, resulting in increased metastatic potential and poor clinical outcomes in TNBC patients.

Exploring potential opportunities for the efficient development of the cobalt industry in China by quantitatively tracking cobalt flows during the entire life cycle from 2000 to 2021.

Owing to its key role in high-tech industry and clean energy technology, cobalt has been regarded as a critical material in many countries. In this paper, material flow analysis was used to quantitatively track cobalt material flows in China throughout the entire life cycle from 2000 to 2021. Based on data pertaining to cobalt commodity trade, cobalt loss during raw material processing, and recovered cobalt, we analysed the actual cobalt consumption in China. During the study period from 2000 to 2021, the main findings were as follows: (1) China's cobalt raw material imports accounted for 84.7% of the total raw materials acquired, while the export of cobalt-containing end products amounted to 32.6% of the total production. (2) China's cumulative net import of all cobalt commodities reached 561 kt, and battery products accounted for 73.3% of the total cobalt consumption. (3) China recovered 77 kt of cobalt from end-of-life products, while 327 kt of cobalt was not recovered. (4) The cumulative cobalt loss during raw material processing reached 288 kt, with the highest loss occurring in refining (51.0%), followed by manufacturing and fabrication (26.5%), beneficiation (12.3%), and ore mining (10.2%). The overall utilization efficiency of cobalt was 73.8% throughout the entire life cycle. (5) China's actual cobalt consumption reached 497 kt, accounting for 51.9% of the apparent cobalt consumption. Moreover, 61.1% of the cobalt products produced in China was consumed domestically, while 38.9% was exported. The massive export of cobalt commodities resulted in China bearing a disproportionate responsibility for carbon emission reduction. The research results can provide a scientific reference for the reasonable adjustment of the trade structure of cobalt commodities and realization of the economic and efficient utilization of cobalt resources in China.

S-Propargyl-cysteine prevents concanavalin A-induced immunological liver injury in mice.

CONTEXT: S-Propargyl-cysteine (SPRC), an endogenous H2S modulator, exerts anti-inflammatory effects on cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disease, but it remains unknown whether SPRC can prevent autoimmune hepatitis. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the preventive effect of SPRC on concanavalin A (Con A)-induced liver injury and uncover the underlying mechanisms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mice were randomly divided into five groups: control, Con A, SPRC (5 and 10 mg/kg injected intravenously once a day for 7 days), and propargylglycine (PAG; 50 mg/kg injected intraperitoneally 0.5 h before SPRC for 7 days). All mice except the controls were intravenously injected with Con A (20 mg/kg) on day 7. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels were evaluated using kits. Inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IFN-γ) in the blood and in the liver were detected by ELISA Kit and real-time PCR, respectively. The expression of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway proteins (p-JNK and p-Akt) and apoptosis proteins (Bax and Bcl-2) was detected using western blotting. RESULTS: SPRC reduced the levels of AST (p < 0.05) and ALT (p < 0.01) and decreased the release of the inflammatory cytokines. Mechanistically, SPRC increased H2S level (p < 0.05) and promoted cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE) expression (p < 0.05). SPRC inhibited the MAPK pathway activation and the apoptosis pathway. All the effects of SPRC were blocked by the CSE inhibitor PAG. CONCLUSIONS: SPRC prevents Con A-induced liver injury in mice by promoting CSE expression and producing endogenous H2S. The mechanisms include reducing the release of inflammatory cytokines, attenuating MAPK pathway activation, and alleviating apoptosis.

Metabolic Interactions and Differences between Coronary Heart Disease and Diabetes Mellitus: A Pilot Study on Biomarker Determination and Pathogenesis.

Comprehensive understanding of plasma metabotype of diabetes mellitus (DM), coronary heart disease (CHD), and especially diabetes mellitus with coronary heart disease (CHDDM) is still lacking. In this work, the plasma metabolic differences and links of DM, CHD, and CHDDM patients were investigated by the strategy of comparative metabolomics based on 1H NMR spectroscopy combined with network analysis for revealing their metabolic differences. A total of 17 metabolites are related to three diseases, among which valine, alanine, leucine, isoleucine, and N-acetyl-glycoprotein are positively correlated with CHD and CHDDM (odds ratios (OR) > 1). The trimethylamine oxide, glycerol, lactose, indoleacetate, and scyllo-inositol are closely related to the development of DM to CHDDM (OR > 1), and indoleactate (OR: 1.06, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01-1.12) and lactose (OR: 2.46, 95% CI: 1.67-3.25) are particularly prominent in CHDDM. We identified three multi-biomarkers types that were significantly associated with glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C) at baseline. All diseases demonstrated dysregulated glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and amino acid biosynthesis pathway. In addition, enrichment in tryptophan metabolism observed in CHDDM, enrichment in inositol phosphate metabolism observed in DM, and the metabolites related to microbiota metabolism were dysregulated in both DM and CHDDM. The comparative metabolomics strategy of multi-diseases offers a new perspective in disease-specific markers and pathogenic pathways.

A Dual-emitting Two-dimensional Nickel-based Metal-organic Framework Nanosheets: Eu3+/Ag+ Functionalization Synthesis and Ratiometric Sensing in Aqueous Solution.

Using two-dimensional (2D) nickel-based metal organic framework (Ni-MOF) nanosheets as a matrix, Eu3+ and Ag+ were incorporated to synthesize Ag/Eu@Ni-MOF with double luminescence centers of Eu3+ ion (615 nm) and organic ligand (524 nm). And a ratiometric luminescence sensor is constructed based on Ag/Eu@Ni-MOF for sensitive detection of biothiols in aqueous solutions. The dual-emissive fluorescence properties can be tuned by changing the amounts of Ag+ ions doping. The results of temperature and pH effects on the fluorescence of Ag/Eu@Ni-MOF indicates that the Ag/Eu@Ni-MOF is a temperature-sensitive material and the fluorescence of Ag/Eu@Ni-MOF can keep stable over a wide pH range. Due to the binding of -SH in cysteine (Cys) and glutathione (GSH) with Ag+, the ligand luminescence was significantly inhibited by weakening the Ag + influence on the energy transfer process in the MOFs. Therefore, ratiometric fluorescent sensing of biomolecular thiols was realized based on the dual-emission Ag/Eu@Ni-MOF. More importantly, the fluorescence color change can be observed with naked eyes to realize visual detection. The ratiometric fluorescent sensor exhibits high performance for Cys and GSH detection with a wide linear range of 5-250 µM and a relatively low detection limit of 0.20 µM and 0.17 µM, respectively. Furthermore, the biothiols content in human serum was determined with satisfactory results. It proves the Ni-MOF nanosheets can be used as a stable matrix for construction luminescent MOFs for the first time, and validate the great potential of Ag/Eu@Ni-MOF as a ratiometric fluorescent probe for point-of-care testing (POCT) in disease diagnosis.

Prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorders and associated factors one month after the outbreak of the COVID-19 among the public in southwestern China: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has rapidly spread across the whole world and brought strong psychological impact. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) in the general people of southwestern China and associated factors 1 month after the outbreak of the COVID-19. METHODS: This study was started on 4-10 Feb 2020 based on online survey. The present work was carried out in the provinces of southeastern China, including Sichuan Province, Guizhou Province, Yunnan Province, and Chongqing City.1593 respondents aged 18 years and above administered to this study. Data on whether they have experienced confirmed or suspected COVID-19 of themselves/family members/acquaintances were also collected, and based on 'yes' answers, the number of affected individuals (via COVID-19) were categorized into four exposure levels i.e., non-affected, less, moderately, or significantly affected. The civilian version of the PTSD checklist and the self-reported information about COVID-19 were used. RESULTS: The prevalence of PTSD was approximately 25.2%(n = 401/1593). The chances of developing PTSD were 6.053(OR = 6.053, 95% CI 1.394 to 26.280) or 3.673(OR = 3.673, 95% CI 1.738 to 7.765) times higher among respondents who had been significantly and moderately affected than those who had not been affected, accordingly. Male (OR = 1.484, 95% CI 1.147 to 1.920),younger age individuals (40 ~ 49 age group/<30 age group, OR = 0.395, 95% CI 0.258 to 0.606) and health care workers (OR = 1.788, 95% CI 1.155 to 2.277) were at higher risk of developing PTSD. CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight that a positive correlation between the pandemic and PTSD. It is urgent to establish a screening and prevention systems for the population who are significantly exposed to COVID-19,and provide different psychological intervention strategies for different groups.