Using the mitochondrial barcoding region to correlate research with 58 species in 19 genera of the family Laelapidae with the aim of determining the origin, phylogenetic relationships, and ...biogeographic historical distribution characteristics of mites in the family Laelapidae. Phylogenetic trees were obtained using Bayesian inference (BI) and Maximum-likelihood (ML) methods, based on three fossil records calibrated as molecular clock nodes, to estimate the divergence time of mites in the family Laelapidae as well as to apply Dispersal-Extinction-Cladogenesis (DEC) analyses to obtain biogeographic history inferences. The result showed species of the genera Hyperlaelaps and Haemolaelaps and some species of the genus Androlaelaps in the family Laelapidae were divided into clades of the genus Laelaps in both the BI and ML trees. Divergence time estimates and biogeographic history analysis revealed that the family Laelapidae likely diverged from other taxa during the Middle Jurassic (ca. 156.73 Mya), with Asia considered the most likely ancestral region for the family Laelapidae. Species of various genera began to undergo massive diversification events during the Cenozoic Tertiary. The results suggest that some genera in the family Laelapidae need to be re-defined or new genera need to be established; the Late Cretaceous to Late Neogene warm period would have promoted the divergence and expansion of species in the family Laelapidae. The divergence and dispersal of the family Laelapidae species is most likely a joint response to the continued northward drift of the Indian plate away from the Gondwana paleo-continent and gradually closer to Asia during the Late Cretaceous and the geological activity of the Tibetan Plateau during the Cenozoic Tertiary. The results strengthen our understanding of the origin and evolution of species in the family Laelapidae.
The fast capacity/voltage fading with a low rate capability has challenged the commercialization of layer‐structured Ni‐rich cathodes in lithium‐ion batteries. In this study, an ultrathin and stable ...interface of LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 (NCM) is designed via a passivation strategy, dramatically enhancing the capacity retention and operating voltage stability of cathode at a high cut‐off voltage of 4.5 V. The rebuilt interface as a stable path for Li+ transport, would strengthen the cathode–electrolyte interface stability, and restrain the detrimental factors for cathode–electrolyte interfacial reactions, intergranular cracking and irreversible phase transformation from layered to spinel, even salt‐rock phase. The as‐optimized NCM displays a higher cyclability (i.e., 206.6 mA h g−1 at 0.25 C (50 mA g−1) with 92.0% capacity retention over 100 cycles) and a better rate capability (141.0 and 112.6 mA h g−1 at 12.5 and 25 C, respectively) than pristine NCM (205.0 mA h g−1 with 73.0% capacity retention at 0.25 C; 120.9 and 93.1 mA h g−1 at 12.5 and 25 C, respectively).
An ultrathin and functional passivation interface of LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM) is achieved via phosphorization and passivation, dramatically enhancing the electrochemical performance of the cathode. The interface not only acts as a stable channel for lithium‐ion transport, but also, more importantly, strengthens the cathode/electrolyte interface stability, exhibits the detrimental factors, which renders NCM as an ideal candidate for high lithium‐ion batteries.
Immunologically-cold tumors including glioblastoma (GBM) are refractory to checkpoint blockade therapy, largely due to extensive infiltration of immunosuppressive macrophages (Mϕs). Consistent with a ...pro-tumor role of IL-6 in alternative Mϕs polarization, we here show that targeting IL-6 by genetic ablation or pharmacological inhibition moderately improves T-cell infiltration into GBM and enhances mouse survival; however, IL-6 inhibition does not synergize PD-1 and CTLA-4 checkpoint blockade. Interestingly, anti-IL-6 therapy reduces CD40 expression in GBM-associated Mϕs. We identify a Stat3/HIF-1α-mediated axis, through which IL-6 executes an anti-tumor role to induce CD40 expression in Mϕs. Combination of IL-6 inhibition with CD40 stimulation reverses Mϕ-mediated tumor immunosuppression, sensitizes tumors to checkpoint blockade, and extends animal survival in two syngeneic GBM models, particularly inducing complete regression of GL261 tumors after checkpoint blockade. Thus, antibody cocktail-based immunotherapy that combines checkpoint blockade with dual-targeting of IL-6 and CD40 may offer exciting opportunities for GBM and other solid tumors.
A kind of CdS/Cd-BiOCl immobilized films photocatalyst was prepared. The optical and physicochemical properties of the CdS/Cd-BiOCl photocatalysts were analysed, and the detailed characterization ...revealed CdS/Cd-BiOCl films photocatalyst with good charge carrier separation effect. The reusabilities and photocatalytic properties of the samples were studied. The 15%CdS/Cd-BiOCl photocatalyst exhibited superior performance in photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline (TC) and favorable stability under visible light irradiation. As for the photodegradation rate of TC, 15%CdS/Cd-BiOCl exhibited an excellent photodegradation activity, which is 4.06 and 9.53 times higher than that of CdS/Cd and BiOCl, respectively. The results showed that dominant active species are •O2− and •OH radicals during photodegradation. The charge transfer in Z-scheme CdS/Cd-BiOCl films photocatalyst could synchronously generate conduct band (CB) electrons in BiOCl and valence band (VB) holes in CdS, and metal Cd served as electron mediator. This work can be a reference for the design of film photocatalysts and new insight for photodegradating towards contaminants.
Display omitted A ternary composite CdS/Cd-BiOCl immobilized films photocatalyst was prepared to photodegradate tetracycline (TC) antibiotics efficiently under visible light irradiation. The Z-scheme CdS/Cd-BiOCl heterojunction highly boosted the migration and separation of the electron-hole pairs and greatly enhanced the photoactivity.
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•Heating for 0–30min caused the setting of protein gel in meat emulsions.•LF-NMR distinguished fat and water proton mobility in meat emulsion systems.•Raman spectroscopy quantified ...the changes in secondary protein structures.•PCA determined the critical time for gel setting in heated meat emulsions.
Emulsion-type sausages were produced, at 80°C for either 0, 10, 20 or 30min, using homogeneous Taihu pork batters. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR), with or without deuterium oxide (D2O) substitution, evaluated the proton mobility states related to both water and fat molecules, or fat molecules only, respectively, in the sausage samples, during heat-induced gelation. The decreasing trend in the area proportion of main peak T21, reflected a tighter gel structure in emulsion-type sausages. Raman spectra (400–3600cm–1) revealed decreased α-helix, but increased β-sheet, β-turns and random coil contents, during the gelling process. Moreover, principal component analysis (PCA) showed significant correlations between secondary protein structures with distribution of water and fat in the gel matrix. Furthermore, this study established the relationship of water and fat protons mobility with changes in secondary protein structures, and described the critical time of gel formation in emulsion-type pork sausages.
Aroma is an essential trait for apple fruit quality, but the understanding of biochemical mechanisms underlying aroma formation is still limited. To better characterize and assess the genetic ...potential for improving aroma quality for breeding, many efforts have been paid to map quantitative trait loci (QTLs) using a saturated molecular linkage map. In the present study, aroma profiles in ripe fruit of F
population between 'Fuji' and 'Cripps Pink' were evaluated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) over 2019 and 2020 years, and the genetics of volatile compounds were dissected. In total, 38 volatile compounds were identified in 'Fuji' × 'Cripps Pink' population, including 23 esters, 3 alcohols, 7 aldehydes and 5 others. With the combination of aroma phenotypic data and constructed genetic linkage map, 87 QTLs were detected for 15 volatile compounds on 14 linkage groups (LGs). Among them, a set of QTLs associated with ester production identified and confirmed on LG 6. A candidate gene
in the QTL mapping interval was detected. Over-expression of
in tomato and apple fruits showed significantly higher esters accumulation compared to the control, indicating it was critical for the ester production. Our results give light on the mode of inheritance of the apple volatilome and provide new insights for apple flavor improvement in the future.
This study aims to evaluate the role of the fibrinogen/albumin ratio (FAR) in predicting platinum resistance and survival outcomes of patients with ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC).
Coagulation ...function and D-dimer, serum albumin, CA125 and HE4 levels were measured before surgery in OCCC patients undergoing initial surgery in our institution. FAR was calculated as fibrinogen/albumin level. The correlation between these indicators and clinicopathological features, platinum response, and survival outcomes was further analyzed. The Kaplan-Meier method and multivariable Cox regression model were used to assess the effects of FAR on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).
Advanced stage patients accounted for 42.1% of the 114 participants. Optimal cytoreductive surgery was achieved in 105 patients, and the complete resection rate was 78.1%. FAR was associated with tumor stage, residual tumor and platinum response. A receiver operating characteristic curve for predicting platinum response showed that the optimal cutoff point of the FAR was 12%. The sensitivity was 73.3% and the specificity was 68.2%. In multivariate analysis, FAR ≥12% (HR = 4.963, P = 0.002) was an independent risk factor for platinum resistance. In addition, FAR and D-dimer proved to be independent negative factors for outcomes including both PFS and OS. The median follow-up time was 52 months. A high FAR (≥ 12%) showed a stronger correlation with poor OS and PFS in the subgroup analysis of advanced and completely resected patients.
The FAR might be a potential preoperative biochemical marker for predicting treatment response and oncological outcomes in OCCC patients.
Femur stiffness, for example axial and bending stiffness, integrates both geometric and material information of the bone, and thus can be an effective indicator of bone strength and hip fracture ...risk. Femur stiffness is ideally measured from quantitative computed tomography (QCT), but QCT is not recommended for routine clinical use due to the public concern about exposure to high-dosage radiation. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is currently the primary imaging modality in clinic. However, DXA is two-dimensional and it is not clear whether DXA-estimated stiffness has adequate accuracy to replace its QCT counterpart for clinical application. This study investigated the accuracy of femur stiffness (axial and bending) estimated from CTXA (computed tomography X-ray absorptiometry) and DXA against those directly measured from QCT. Proximal-femur QCT and DXA from 67 subjects were acquired. For each femur, the QCT dataset was projected into CTXA using CTXA-Hip (Mindways Software, Inc., USA). Femur stiffness at the femoral neck and intertrochanter were then calculated from QCT, CTXA and DXA, respectively, and different elasticity-density relationships were considered in the calculation. Pearson correlations between QCT and CTXA/DXA measured stiffness were studied. The results showed that there were strong correlations between QCT and CTXA derived stiffness, although the correlations were affected by the adopted elasticity-density relationship. Correlations between QCT and DXA derived stiffness were much less strong, mainly caused by the inconsistence of femur orientation in QCT projection and in DXA positioning. Our preliminary clinical study showed that femur stiffness had slightly better performance than femur geometry in discrimination of hip fracture cases from controls.
Aroma is a key quality attribute of apples, making major contributions to commercial value and consumer choice. However, the mechanism underlying molecular regulation of aroma formation genes and ...transcription factors remains poorly understood in apples. Here, we investigated the aroma volatile profiles of two apple varieties with distinctive flavors using headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 35 volatile compounds were identified in Granny Smith and Jonagold apples. Aldehydes were the most abundant volatiles contributing to the aroma in Granny Smith apple while esters were the dominant volatile compounds in Jonagold apple. In order to know more about the expression levels of aroma-related genes involved in the metabolic pathways, transcriptome sequencing of these two different apple varieties was conducted utilizing the Illumina platform. In total, 94 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found in the fatty acid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, the mevalonate pathway and phenylpropanoid pathway. Furthermore, compared to the Granny Smith apple, the expression of multiple genes and transcription factors were upregulated in the Jonagold apple, which might play important roles in the synthesis of aroma volatile compounds. Our study contributes toward better understanding on the molecular mechanism of aroma synthesis in apples and provides a valuable reference for metabolic engineering and flavor improvement in the future.
Spatial filtering for EEG feature extraction and classification is an important tool in brain-computer interface. However, there is generally no established theory that links spatial filtering ...directly to Bayes classification error. To address this issue, this paper proposes and studies a Bayesian analysis theory for spatial filtering in relation to Bayes error. Following the maximum entropy principle, we introduce a gamma probability model for describing single-trial EEG power features. We then formulate and analyze the theoretical relationship between Bayes classification error and the so-called Rayleigh quotient, which is a function of spatial filters and basically measures the ratio in power features between two classes. This paper also reports our extensive study that examines the theory and its use in classification, using three publicly available EEG data sets and state-of-the-art spatial filtering techniques and various classifiers. Specifically, we validate the positive relationship between Bayes error and Rayleigh quotient in real EEG power features. Finally, we demonstrate that the Bayes error can be practically reduced by applying a new spatial filter with lower Rayleigh quotient.
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